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All
Dolled Up.
In a world
where children's
dolls are so
life-like they
can eat, drink,
cry and even
excrete Natalie
Barrett
finds out why
Mattel's Barbie
doll is still
making millions
and investigates
the icon status
of the miniature
blonde
bombshell.
The Barbie
phenomenon is
one that has
taken the world
by storm for the
past forty
years. It
has inspired
artist's works,
academic's
studies and
feminist's
rants. Two
Barbie dolls are
sold every
second of every
day and the
eleven and a
half-inch toy
has made more
money than
Madonna. I
set out to find
out why the doll
is so popular
and what she
represents in
today's society?
My first port
of call for
research was the
Internet.
Using one of the
major search
engines
available I
simply typed in
the word
"Barbie".
I was astounded
at how many
matches came up;
it was going to
take a lot
longer than I
thought.
Hundreds of
sites all
offering the
best information
on the doll had
filled the
screen,
everything from
background
history to
information on
collector's
auctions was in
the list.
I also used
questionnaires
and informal
interviews as
research to get
a more general
outlook on what
people think of
the doll.
Sifting through
the research one
thing started to
become more and
more apparent:
there's more to
Barbie than
meets the eye…
Invention
of the Plastic
Princess
The basic
Barbie doll is
just an eleven
and a half inch
tall piece of
polystyrene
moulded into a 4
3/4 inch bust,
three inch waist
and 3 1/4 inch
hips topped with
a pretty head
and plastic
hair. Ruth
Handler, the
co-founder of
Mattel,
introduced her
to the world in
1959. This
all sounds
pretty normal
for the making
of a toy doll,
but there is a
twist to the
tale.
The idea of a
doll with a
woman's figure
came to Ruth
while she was on
trip to Germany
with her
husband, Elliot.
They had seen
and purchased a
'Lilli' doll,
which was
produced in the
mid-fifties and
modelled after a
German comic
strip character.
She was sultry
and quite
pornographic,
described as a
"gold
digging
prostitute."
This image was a
million miles
away from the
all-American
sweetheart that
Ruth had in mind
for the Mattel
doll. She
gave it to her
daughter,
Barbara, to play
with and watched
as she acted out
role-plays and
changed the
dolls clothes.
A few trips
to Japan and
meetings with
the board later
and Barbie is
born - created
to "project
every little
girls dream of
the
future."
Because it was
her daughter
that inspired
her, Ruth
thought that it
was only right
to name the doll
after her.
This little
twist to the
Barbie tale was
quite a shocker
for me, which
made me want to
know what other
people thought
about the dolls
origins. I
went off in
search of the
answer…and I
found that no
one cared!
Everyone that I
spoke to, after
telling how
Barbie was once
a German porn
star, was a
little surprised
at first but got
over it very
quickly.
They all seemed
to have the same
answer – she
has to have
originated from
somewhere, after
all she is just
a toy!
Through
the Ages
After finding
out about her
origins I set
out to begin
answering my
first question,
why is Barbie so
popular? I
looked at the
changes she has
gone through
since she was
created.
Barbie has had
almost five
hundred
makeovers in her
forty-year
existence and
has always kept
up with the
times. The
first ever
Barbie doll was
dressed in a
black and white
stripy swimsuit,
had side-ways
glancing eyes
and moveable
arms, legs and
head.
Since then she
has been given
bendable legs,
elbows, knees
and ankles and
her head, waist,
arms, hands and
legs all swivel
- much to Ken's
delight!
In 1971 the
sideways glance
turned into a
straight-ahead
look and she
became a hippie
to fit in with
the whole peace
and love scene
of that time.
1980 saw the
introduction of
black and
Hispanic Barbie,
with oriental
Barbie following
a year later and
Native American
Barbie in 1993.
She has always
been up to date
with fashions
and trends
amongst the
youth culture
and has even had
her outfits
designed by the
likes of
Jean-Paul
Gualtier and
Yves Saint
Laurent.
The doll’s
popularity was
given a huge
boost when
Mattel enlisted
the help of
Ernst Dichter, a
motivational
psychologist
famous for
helping
advertisers find
ways of getting
people to buy
just about
anything.
At first his
study was
disheartening as
it revealed that
parents did not
want their
daughters to
play with the
"sexy"
doll. But
it also proved
that Barbie's
outfits
fascinated the
young girls and
that they
enjoyed putting
the doll into
fantasy
situations where
she needed a
constant change
of
wardrobe.
The new
marketing
strategy would
be 'Barbie - the
teaching aid'.
This was a toy
that would help
young girls
acquire the
skills they
needed to find a
man! Don't
be too enraged
grrls - we are
talking about
the fifties
here!
This
marketing tactic
was successful
for a while but
started to
disintegrate
when second wave
feminist groups
became stronger.
They opposed the
way that the
doll taught
young girls that
they should only
look their best
to attract a
man.
Feminists stated
that the doll
was a
"distortion
of
femininity"
and at the 1972
Toy Fair in New
York they passed
out leaflets
accusing Barbie
of encouraging
girls "to
see themselves
as mannequins,
sex objects or
housekeepers."
Barbie's
popularity was
decreasing at
huge speed.
Over the next
few years Ruth
Handler was
charged for
fraud and
sentenced to
five years of
community
service for
hiding
embarrassing
sales figures.
She resigned
from the company
in 1975.
Mattel still
managed to keep
Barbie near the
top of the toy
kingdoms charts
but the
phenomenon was
starting to come
apart at the
seams.
In 1983
Mattel employed
Jill Barad to
turn the Barbie
sales around.
She came up with
the idea of
reinventing the
doll as a model
of female
empowerment with
the slogan
"we girls
can do
anything."
Sales boomed as
Mattel cranked
out Barbie in
just about every
profession you
can imagine.
Work
it girl!
The
pint-sized toy
of all things
pink has managed
to tot up an
amazing five
hundred careers
in her
forty-year
existence, and
the list is on
going.
From a teenage
model in 1959
she has covered
an array of
skilled jobs
including nurse,
astronaut,
doctor, business
executive, TV
reporter,
teacher, police
officer,
professional
basketball
player and even
a presidential
candidate.
In 1989 she
joined the US
Army, which was
followed with
fashions
inspired by the
Marines, Air
Force and Navy
uniforms.
She had a
short-lived rap
music career
with a band call
Barbie and the
Beats and was
even a cowgirl
for a while
named Westward
Ho! - A
rather apt title
from some
peoples point of
view!
Millennium
GRRL
The year 2000
was
revolutionary
for the blonde
beauty when
Mattel
introduced a new
line of
Generation
Girls, one of
which was
Butterfly Art
Barbie - named
after the
butterfly tattoo
on her stomach.
One of her
grrlfriend's
even had a nose
ring!
This new
image that the
princess of pink
had taken on was
only to be
topped off with
the
groundbreaking
partnership of
Mattel and Girls
Inc, with a
three-year
contract.
Girl's Inc is a
non-profit
organisation
that was
formerly the
Girls Club of
America sporting
motos such as
"Inspire
girls to be
strong, smart
and bold young
women."
The new Barbie
advertising
campaign
features
portraits of
tough looking
girls with
attitude,
holding hockey
sticks next to
the slogans
"girls
rule" and
"be
anything."
In the corner of
the black and
white poster
reads
"Barbie"
in small pink
lettering.
This came as
a major shock to
a lot of
anti-Barbie
groups as Girls
Inc was
previously one
of Barbie's main
critics.
Isabel Carter
Stewart,
managing
director of
Girls Inc, tells
CNN.com "We
are delighted to
have Mattel - a
corporation that
has such
tremendous
impact on the
lives of girls -
as our partner.
Their products
help girls dream
about the
future, and our
programmes help
girls prepare
and plan to
achieve their
goals."
What better way
to silence your
critics than to
pay them off?
In this same
year, backed by
Girls Inc,
Barbie runs for
President!
Some of her
campaign issues
include
education,
equality, animal
kindness, the
environment and,
of course, world
peace - how very
Miss World!
What more could
she ask to top
off her
extensive CV?
Barbie
is NOT your
friend!
Despite
Barbie's
undeniable
success there
are a large
amount of people
across the globe
that would love
to see the
Barbie doll off
the production
line for good.
Going back to
the feminist
organisations,
which I
mentioned
previously,
Barbie stands
for all that is
bad in the
debate of
equality.
But it is not
just feminist
groups that
disagree with
the doll;
parents are also
boycotting the
mini icon.
One
Internet web
site that I came
across while
researching was
called 'Mothers
Who Think.'
The women of
Montpelier,
Vermont, USA,
run the site.
In this town
Barbie has been
banned, along
with McDonalds
and, in some
houses, TV.
To this whole
community the
doll represents
two of the worst
evils:
commercialism
and sexism.
The local school
secretary does
not permit her
daughter to even
look at the
doll, let alone
play with it
saying,
"Barbie is
supposedly the
perfect female
image when
actually there
are very few
women who look
like that at
all."
On
this site there
are links to
articles that
the women have
written or read
and want to
share with the
other mothers.
A few examples
were: The
Littlest Harlot,
Reluctant Role
Model and What's
it all about
Barbie?
These opinion
pieces express
clearly their
thoughts and
feelings of the
doll and talk
about why she is
not a suitable
toy for their
children.
Another
movement against
the Barbie doll
is the Barbie
Liberation
Organisation.
In 1994 they set
out to stage a
very
controversial
form of protest
- they hit a toy
store directly.
In the middle of
the night the
protesters
switched the
voice boxes of
GI Joe and Teen
Talk Barbie
dolls and put
them back on the
shelves.
This caused a
lot of publicity
and media
coverage as GI
Joe was found to
be saying the
unlikely phrase
"lets go
shopping"
and Barbie
stated,
"Vengeance
is mine!"
Another
form of
opposition came
this year in the
form of fashion.
Some of the high
street stores
are stocking the
very popular
slogan T-shirts.
One that I came
across and
bought this
summer read,
"Barbie is
a slut - by
Sindy!"
I have heard
this phrase
before and
wondered where
it had come
from. I
decided to add
it to my
questionnaire
and ask 'is
Barbie a slut?'
The
truth is out
there!
The
questions that I
decided to ask
were based
around peoples
representations
of the doll and
if they would
let their
children play
with it. I
also asked if
she was an
appropriate roll
model for young
girls and
whether or not
her stats should
be made more
life-like.
The results were
as I had
predicted…everyone
answered along
the same lines
saying that
Barbie just
represents a
popular toy with
“funky
clothes” and
that she was an
“introduction
to imaginative
play.”
Most of the
people I spoke
to did not think
that Barbie was
an appropriate
role model.
Some of the most
popular answers
were:
“doesn’t
work but gets
everything she
wants,” and
“she’s too
thin and
unrealistic.”
The
question of her
being a slut was
answered almost
unanimously –
Barbie is NOT a
slut! She
is interpreted
as one through
the context of
her being human;
if she were a
real life person
her image and
possessions
would make
people come to
assumptions
about where she
acquired her
money.
But, as she is
just a doll/toy
how can she
possibly be a
slut?
Overall
the majority
ruled that
Barbie does not
represent
anything other
than a toy to
the average
person.
Most women and
girls have owned
one at some
stage and most
mothers would
buy a Barbie for
her daughter
without really
thinking about
it. Barbie
is seen as a
threat and a bad
role model only
through the eyes
of a select
number of
people, to the
rest she is
simply a
plaything.
Final
thought
After
all of the
research and
conversing I
went through for
this article I
have an
enlightened view
of Mattel’s
Barbie Doll.
I now know where
she originated
from, how she
has evolved over
the years, how
Mattel managed
to keep her
popular over the
years and how
she is able to
change her image
to fit in with
the times.
But, it all
remains history
in my opinion
because: SHE IS
JUST A TOY!!!
I have sifted
through feminist
writings and
mother’s
arguments but
the same answer
keeps popping up
in front of my
eyes. I
understand how
people can look
at her and see a
young lady, with
petite
(unlikely) body
measurements,
loads of money,
hundreds of
occupations and
a very unique
life style, but
she is not
supposed to be
real.
Young
girls love to
dress her up and
brush her hair,
they like to
enact role-plays
and make up
stories about
her.
Twenty-something’s
have started
using her as an
icon of popular
culture –
buying t-shirts
and accessories
with her logo on
it. She is
also an
extremely
valuable
collectors
piece, with
thousands of
people of all
ages visiting
fairs and
auctions just
for Barbie dolls
on a regular
basis.
She
is one of the
most popular
search requests
on the Internet
and it is a fact
that there are
more Barbie
dolls in the US
than humans!
Barbie
spans across all
ages; she can be
magical,
educational,
collectable,
tacky and
serious.
In my opinion
– long may she
reign over the
magical world of
toys and humans! |
