Barbara Millicent Roberts, or more popularly known to the world as "Barbie" was was introduced at the American Toy Fair in New York City in February of 1959 by Ruth and Elliot Handler, founders of Mattel Toys. Ruth originally thought of the idea while her daughter, Barbara, was playing with paper dolls. She realized that as her daughter grew older and began to imitate adult conversations and the world around her, she needed a three-dimensional representation of it as well. She shared her idea of a woman doll for children with her husband and the all-male executive team at Mattel, but they refused saying that it would be too expensive to produce and would have little appeal to the American public. In 1956, while touring in Europe, Ruth chanced upon a relatively popular "adult doll", the Lilli doll. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a German comic strip. The adult-figured Lilli doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. Eventually, Ruth convinced the team to try and develop this adult doll for children. Mattel acquired the rights to the Lilli doll. A new body/mold was designed, a new concept was created (innocent, all-American image), and the doll was given a new name: Barbie, after Handler's daughter, Barbara.
"The first Barbie doll wore a black-and-white "zebra-striped" swimsuit and ponytail with tightly-curled bangs. The dolls were available either as blonds or brunettes." She was introduced as a "teenage model." She had her own fashion-line of clothing specially designed by the Matell team (Charlotte Johnson). They created a wardrobe from which each child could choose an outfit to create her own personality for Barbie; therefore they had to develop fashions to coordinate with society's expectations and aspirations.
Barbie was not a success at first. During and after the New York Toy Show its sales were yet to be what Mattel expected. Most of the buyers, used to baby dolls, did not like the new adult look of Barbie. When Barbie was conceived and launched, the doll segment of the toy market was dominated by other companies (Vogue dolls and Ideal Toy &Novelty Corporation).
In order to deal with those two strong competitors, and with the issue of the adult look, Mattel commissioned a toy study by Ernest Ditcher, a famous marketing man at that time.
Although Barbie was created as a toy for girls, the sexual nature of the doll suggests it was created for the pleasure of men and envy of women. Prager compares the figure of Barbie to the kind of women who would be seen in the Playboy mansion or be a frequent guest on explicit television shows. This is the image of a mans...
Talking Barbie said things like “I love being a fashion model!” The model that came out in 1968 looked different than the others. Barbie’s hair was blond, red or brunette. Her hair was also pulled into a bun with a curl on each side of her face. She had blue eyes with eyelashes, light brown eyebrows with peach colored lips and checks.
I recommend the book “The Good, The Bad, And The Barbie” By Tanya Lee Stone because it exceeded my expectations for a non fiction book. This book explains in detail the evolution of the barbie doll, starting with how it was first created and ending with where the doll stands now. The book explains all the good, like showing the world that girls can be anything they want to be, the bad, how the doll was giving customers body image issues, and all about the barbie, like the different types of barbie dolls and how the barbie became a known name. I recommend this book because I think it is interesting to learn more about the doll that you played with growing up and how a piece of plastic became this popular.
Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, whose husband co-founded Mattel, the world's largest toy company. She noticed a gap in the market as she saw her daughter, Barbra, playing with adult paper dolls. At the time, the market for young girls was focused on baby dolls, but Barbra and her friends preferred to play with a grown-up version, dressing them up in outfits and pretending they were the grown up women they were playing with. Ruth then thought to create a 3- dimensional fashion doll that she would name Barbie after her daughter, Barbra. When presenting the idea to executives at Mattel, she was shot down, being told that they were too expensive to make for the amount of detail Ruth ...
Unblemished skin, windows of the soul with double eyelids, shaped eyebrows, chiseled nose, full red lips, burnished white teeth, jam-packed busts, and curves that spoke of perfect triad numbers all clothed with head turner costumes– words that illustrate the undeniably and undisputedly most successful and most famous doll of all time, Barbie. She is an: “[…] anatomically improbable molded plastic statuette [that] has become an icon [in fashion and has become a representation of every girl’s dream].” (qtd. in Ament 1) She was invented by Ruth Handler who was the co-founder of Mattel Fashion. The name, Barbie, was in honor of Ruth’s daughter, Barbara. “Ruth was inspired to create a three-dimensional toy based on adult paper dolls that have changeable clothes. She suggested it to her husband, Elliot, [who was also the] co-founder of Mattel Fashion.” (qtd. in Moss) Elliot and Ruth made everything just to make Barbie popular and accessible to every girl. And as they say, the rest is history.
Since Barbie’s debut in 1959 she has been influencing young girls and swaying their perceptions of beauty when in reality her body, measuring 39-18-33 (bust, waist, hips) is unable to bear a child, she would be incapable of holding up her own back and neck and she is so disproportioned she would need to crawl on all fours (Slayen). Despite popular belief, maybe it is beginning to seem as if Barbie is not so perfect after all. However that has not stopped young girls from admiring their Barbie Dolls perfection, and in ...
90% of girls ages three through ten owned at least one Barbie doll. Ruth Handler’s idea for children to live there adult fantasies through a toy, came to life in a tall beautiful blonde doll. Barbra Millicent Roberts, or Barbie for short was named after Handlers daughter. Barbie was originally molded after the European Lilli doll that was made to be a gag gift, but Handler transformed this idea into so much more. The first Barbie doll was created in 1959, changing the toy making industry forever. This simple idea turned into a massive success. The sponsor of the phenomenon was Mattel Inc. founded by Ruth Handler and her Husband. Ruth Handler’s original idea of Barbie was revolutionary due to the many impacts on society this small doll created.
Not many arguments or tests are done on the positive effects of Barbie. Sure, she is a role model but what about when girls set goals for themselves and later in life do not meet these expectations? Unlike Barbie, most of these goals are unrealistic and cannot be met. Barbie provies alternatives to the female stereotype of a mother and wife, but marriage isn’t perfect like the way it is portrayed. She goes through absolutely no struggles.
Margie Pearcy's "Barbie Doll" details the image that society projects upon and expects from its young female population. From an early age these young women struggle to conform to the standards that society has defined for them. The results often are disastrous, leading to emotional conflicts that are often difficult if not impossible to resolve.
Barbie’s fashion and occupations changed, adapting to what was popular at the time. Valentina Tereshkova was the first female astronaut, so Barbie was soon released as an astronaut, “showing girls that any career is within reach” (Barbiemedia 2011). In the 1970s Barbie reflected the alternative lifestyles of the 70s with maxi skirts in and hair styles that were long and straight. Also in the 70s Barbie was finally looking straight instead of sideways and had an open smile. His was due to the feminist movement and female empowerment. Barbie changed in the late 70s with fuller hair, blue eye shadow and pale pink lip gloss that were trending in this time. (Barbiemedia
Lord, M. G. Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of A Real Doll. New York: Avon Books, 1994.
For starters the title, “Barbie Doll” holds a meaning. It symbolizes the ideal figure of a female body. Society creates this ideal that is embed into every century. It is never ending. It is intended that she must have the twig like arms and legs, the minuscule waist and nose,
In a way, Barbie is a role model for girls to look to for confidence, because she is extremely talented and educated, and is considered the example of a career woman. Juggling over 130 careers on her resume, Barbie has accomplished the above and beyond. From rock start to pilot,Barbie has had every job a child could possibly ever dream about. This includes her being an astronaut and going to the moon; four years before Neil Armstrong. Even in the 90s, she ran for president before woman even made the presidential ballot. “My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.” From the start Ruth Handler, the co-owner of the Mattel creations and creator of the Barbie doll, created Barbie for the purpose of inspiration to young girls. Handler saw that her young daughter, Barbara, enjoyed playing with adult female doll...
One day, as Ruth Handler watched her daughter play with paper dolls, she noticed that often the dolls were put into adult scenarios, such as grocery shopping, working, et cetera (“The Creation of Barbie”). As most dolls in this era, the 1950’s, were either babies or small children, Handler got an idea: what if she created an adult doll (“The Creation of Barbie”)? So, she drew up a design for one, and she named her Barbie, after her daughter, Barbara (“The Creation of Barbie”). Then, in 1959, Mattel, a huge and very popular toy company, picked up the idea (“The Creation of Barbie”). Barbie made her first appearance in New York, at the annual toy fair (“The Creation of Barbie”). That year, 351,000 Barbie dolls were sold, which was a sales record in America (“The Creation of Barbie”). Today, Barbie continues to be the most popular doll in the world, with two sold every minute (“The Creation of Barbie”).
Barbie was first launched in March 1959, after Ruth Handler, president of Mattel, Inc., went on a trip to Europe and discovered a unique German doll, “Bild Lilli.” The aforementioned doll was special in that she was an adult, whereas man...