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There are few toysand few fictional charactersas iconic asBarbie.
To the rest of the world, Barbie defies categorizationencompassing the good and the bad.
From her swimsuit debut in 1959 to the Balmain ready-to-wear collaboration of 2022, Barbie remains relevant.
Today, Barbie is no longer just for girls.
She is more diverse, and so is Ken.
The dolls now come in a variety of body shapes, skin tones, and hairstyles.
Barbie and her friends are championing more diversity and inclusion, mirroring the reality of modern society.
Who is Barbie?
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In the 1950s, inventorRuth Handlerwatched her daughter play with paper dolls.
At the time, young girls were encouraged to develop their nurturing instincts with baby dolls.
Handler’s husbandElliot Handlerhadcoincidentallystarted a toy company known asMattel, Inc.in the mid-1940s.
The couple presented a thin plastic doll, referred to as a teenage fashion model.
In a sophisticated striped swimsuit, the doll came in blonde and brunette.
Her high ponytail anticipated the swinging sixties.
Her eyes glanced demurely aside.
Her name wasBarbie, after the Handler’s daughter Barbara.
Some toy critics and focus-group members were skeptical.
The new doll seemed more racy than the traditional baby dolls.
In the first year of production, Barbie sold over 300,000 units.
A Fashion Icon
From her earliest incarnation, Barbie has been the penultimate fashionista.
Her original black-and-white swimsuit has seen been supplemented by thousands of outfits.
Over 50 life-size fashion designers have created looks for herincluding Versace, Calvin Klein, and Burberry.
In the 1980s, Jane Fonda and neon sweatbands were the mode.
As fashions morphed, so did Barbie’s stylishmakeup.
Her cat eyes and pursed rosebud lips transitioned into a smile in 1977.
Her face shape also shifted over the decades to be a slightly more realistic shape.
While the Lilli doll had painted-on heels, Barbie’s feet are bare.
Children could collect tiny plastic shoes to slide onto her feet, marginally improving her shoddy balance.
Built Like a Barbie
Barbie’s body has inspired decades of debate.
Impossibly slender and busty from the beginning, her figure has changed with the times.
Her original waist was adapted to rotating but maintained shocking proportions.
Then around 1997, Barbie at last acquired abelly button.
Her swivel waist was phased out in favor of a sculpted plastic torso.
Her breasts shrank somewhat and her waist widened to a more natural shape.
However, Barbie remained unrealistic.
Many have alleged that this extremely unrealistic figure has been detrimental to thebody imagesof decades of young women.
Despite the less explicit messaging of some later models, the Barbie-effect has long troubled parents and psychologists.
Similar concerns has been voicedpredominantly by mothers and the burgeoning feminist movementalmost since the doll’s debut.
Some kids mocked the larger dolls, but modern little ones have felt the impact of cultural shifts.
The gamble of changing one of the most recognizable toys in the world was not lost on Mattel.
Romance and Role Models
Barbie’s boyfriendKen Carsonwas introduced in 1961.
Blonde like his lady friend, Ken’s physique has also changed over the years.
He evolved from a slender build to a buff body.
The character’s backstory is set in Willows, Wisconsin, a fictional town from which Barbie also hails.
Throughout their storiedhistory together, Ken served as Barbie’s arm candy.
Like Barbie, Ken has acquirednew body typesto reflect:slim and broad.
Both Barbie and Ken have held manycareers.
In 1973, Barbie was asurgeonat a time when only 9% of doctors were women.
In 1985, she became a CEO too, with big hair and a pink power suit.
The diverse offerings now presented by Mattel are a great step towardsinclusive toys.
However, Barbie’s relationship to race is a complex one.
In 1968, Mattel introduced Barbie’s friendChristie, a stylish young Black woman with an afro hairstyle.
She was joined by her boyfriendBrad, the first Black male doll of the Barbie universe.
Dolls of color were, however, relegated to the supporting cast of the doll world until 1980.
Barbie has long been criticized as promoting Eurocentric beauty standards.
For many years, Barbies of color were created using the same mold as the caucasian dolls.
The diverse Fashionistas line is cheaper and tends to come with fewer extra props.
Black dollsor dolls of color in generalare still presented as alternative and often harder to find.
Like many of the concepts she represents, Barbie has survived over 60 years.
Creativity, whimsical play, and a girls can do attitude offered by the toy still hold appeal.
