Barbie, an American icon that was a product of the Mattel Company, revolutionized the lives of young girls and women for many decades. The creation of Barbie, meant for many young girls the opportunity to have choices during a time when women were limited. Although, Barbie has long been criticized for being associated with domesticity and her appearance among many other things, she is nonetheless an iconic figure in American History. As a female who grew up playing with Barbie dolls, for many people like myself, she was more than a toy, she was an influence that many woman have tried to emulate because she was an innovate figure in the 1960s and has continued to be well into today. The intention of this paper is to examine what were the intentions of Barbie doll creator Ruth Handler when the doll debuted in 1959 as well as the magnitude of Barbie’s impact on women and women’s history. Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll conceived the idea of creating a doll after a family trip to Europe where she discovered an adult doll that was a German sex toy. Once she returned to the United States she made a discovery in regards to the toys of young girls saying as quote” I saw these little girls playing grown up and knew that the only dolls available on the market were baby dolls where the child is limited to playing mommy, or toddler or companion dolls where the child is limited to playing with a girlfriend; there was no adult doll with which a child could truly dream her dreams in the early fifties” (Piche). Hence the Barbie doll made its debut through her company Mattel in March of 1959 it not only revolutionized the way women thought of themselves but caused controversy because it did not directly encourage domesticity. When Barbie made her debut in 1959, “she wore a black-and-white striped one-piece bathing suit, black heels, white sunglasses and too much eyeliner
This website article provides the history of Barbie and her newly inspiring images for young women. Barbie was the new popular doll during World War 2 because she provided something inspiring for young girls and something that mothers felt strong about, independence. Barbie helped with what was being told to women, that they didn’t have to settle for being just a housewife or a stay at home mother. Women around the country could have a variety, a choice to work and have a career. “Barbie’s early professions were limited
Students are often required to submit essays throughout the school year, however, many are not able to write an effective essay. After extensively reading and analyzing This I Believe narratives, I came across many essays that are great examples for students to use as a template for effective writing. One essay that stood out amongst the rest was, “A Grown-Up Barbie” by Jane Hamill; I recommend this short narrative for students that strive to achieve an effective essay because it provides useful rhetorical devices such as: anecdote, imagery and diction.
In the essay 'Our Barbies, Ourselves,' Emily Prager explores the history of the Barbie doll and talks about the Barbie doll itself. Prager seems convinced that the Barbie doll was an object created by a man and that Barbie reeks of sexuality, sexual innuendo and serves as the anti-feminist embodiment of every man's fantasy. In her own expressive and persuasive modes to fashion an essay designed to persuade the reader that the Barbie doll is a twisted and corrupt tool designed by men to combat the feminist revolution. Though her attempts at persuasion are commendable, I was not swayed in my opinions on Barbie. If anything, I just found fault with this writer's point of view, and I found her accusations to be outrageous and her 'facts' to be completely wrong.
In Marge Piercy’s, “Barbie Doll,” we see the effect that society has on the expectations of women. A woman, like the girl described in ‘Barbie Doll’, should be perfect. She should know how to cook and clean, but most importantly be attractive according to the impossible stereotypes of womanly beauty. Many women in today’s society are compared to the unrealistic life and form of the doll. The doll, throughout many years, has transformed itself from a popular toy to a role model for actual women. The extremes to which women take this role model are implicated in this short, yet truthful poem.
“If Barbie was designed by a man, suddenly a lot of things made sense to me,” says Emily Prager in her essay “Our Barbies, Ourselves” (Prager 354). Prager’s purpose for writing this essay is to explain the history of Barbie and how the doll itself has influenced and continue to influence our society today. Prager is appealing to the average girl, to those who can relate to the way she felt growing up with Barbie seen as the ideal woman. Emily Prager uses a constant shift between a formal and informal tone to effectively communicate her ideas that we view women today based upon the unrealistic expectations set forth by Barbie. By adopting this strategy she avoids making readers feel attacked and therefore
Marge Piercy has ironically paired a suicidal girl with the well know child’s toy Barbie. By giving the poem the title “Barbie Doll”, Piercy shows how society expected the girl in the poem to attain the desired qualities of a “perfect woman”. This masterpiece allows the reader to see inside the world of this troubled young woman who differs from the norms of society. After reading this poem I concluded that society in some ways compares woman to Barbie dolls, which in turn reflects the qualities that society values about women. Piercy does a wonderful job at showing societies perspective on the “perfect woman”. Her use of symbols, tone, and the comparison between the girl and Barbie allow the reader to see how society expects certain traits from females.
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.
Both Raphel's and Arneson’s articles show the commercialism of American Girl Dolls, of the newer generations, by sharing their own stories about the way the dolls influenced their lives and the stories they shared with their friends.
In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros, the young girls didn't mind they did not receive other things such as new Barbie's or Ken Barbie's and the friends to go along with the dolls (206). These girls were just happy to play with their own dolls. The girls have bonded with each other and they enjoy playing with each other's dolls. A doll brings two or more children together for fun and social entertainment. Have you ever listened to a child frequently you will hear a child say " so what” that means the child really don't care, it don't matter; nothing else mattered to the two little girls. In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros to purchase a brand new Barbie doll meant that the dolls are expensive in the store so the girls are very happy and pleased to own a second hand Barbie. When the parent places the dolls in the child's hands the dolls take on the character of the owner's beauty; culture; how girls see themselves and the future when the kids are all grown up. Barbie is a fun toy to dress up. Each child has her or his own imagination of a Barbie doll. I, too, myself, like watching all the different cultural background Barbie dolls in the malls or Macy's Department Store around Christmas times. Most large department stores dress
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.
In 1992 it was the “year of the women” and barbie had her own campaign, conducting her a major role in women’s society! Her hair was longer and she made an impact wherever she went (http://xroads.virginia.edu) . In 1994 Barbie was announced a ‘real women’ by Finnish researchers, even though she was unrealistic and and didn 't teach nurturing like most dolls or toys did. In Saudi Arabia they cut barbies toy sales because she didn 't meet up with their religion, and they didn 't want their children falling out of their faith because of a toy, a barbie was later released to accommodate in Saudi Arabia. Barbie today in the 2000’s is a doll never imagined before, with thoughts of a doll with traveling wifi and a doll that can talk. Barbie’s wardrobe today is keeping up with the trends of every teen in America. Barbie today is made to talk, sing, and do real actions, but she is maintained for children as young as 6 years old! Barbie, in today’s world, is bigger than ever imagined and she has made an impact across the globe and still will as long as the demand for her is still
It was not until the 1950s that Americans began to feel the positive growth of the post-war economy. People these days watched a lot of television shows, teenagers were trying to set a new music trend, and girls were playing with their paper dolls. So, it was back then that "the Barbie doll came as an inspiration to Mattel co-founder Ruth Handleer as she watched her young daughter, Barbara, playing with paper dolls" (Barbie, par 3). This inspired her because she always saw that her daughter was playing with her paper dolls making believe that the dolls were human beings and about their careers. So, as soon as Ruth notices this, she acknowledged, "playing make-believe and pretending about the future is an important part of growing up"(Barbie, par3). She began doing some research, and discovered that there really weren't any dolls that actually had a body, except for paper dolls, but the idea was to create a doll in which the girls could actually change their clothes, comb them, etc. So she decided to do this by designing a doll that was three dimensional to try and fill the gap. Therefore, after several designs, in 1959, Mattel Inc. introduced to the market, Barbie the Teenage Fashion Model. The public had never seen a doll like this ever before because all that had ever existed before were baby and paper dolls. Ever since Barbie was introduced into the market, it has been the most popular fashion doll ever designed. As years have passed by, the Barbie doll has reflected the fashion industry all throughout its fashion trends and changes. Not only did it represent the fashion industry, but also it became friends of an entire generation of girls. Today, not only do girls play with them but people also collect them as treasures, which will later on be worth thousands of dollars.
Published in 1971, the poem Barbie Doll was wrote by Marge Piercy during a time of feminist movements. As stated in the journal Womans Values In Society As Reflected In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie doll”, “1960s is the key year of the revival of the feminist movement in America which is known as the second wave of feminism” (Padmanugraha 5). During these times the main concerns for women were over their sexuality, work and family. Elizabeth Boyd, in Romancing feminism: From women’s studies to women’s fiction tackles the topic of feminism expressing:
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
Barbie was invented and named after Barbara, the daughter of Ruth Handler who is the co-founder of Mattel. Barbie was first introduced in March 9, 1959 during an American Toy Fair in New York. That same date is also known as Barbie’s birthdate. Ruth Handler’s inspiration in creating Barbie originated from a German doll named Bild Lilli. During the 1950’s, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants so Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll. The first Barbie doll that was launched was wearing a black and white zebra striped swimsuit, a signature top-knot pony-tail and has a brunette or blonde hair colour. The Barbie was marketed as a “Teen-age Fashion Model” with her clothes designed and created by Charlotte Johnson, Mattel’s fashion designer. Barbie was marketed extensively via television and has been copied by other toys. Barbie was sold worldwide in over 150 countries and it was said that 3 Barbies were being sold every second (Barbie, n.d., par. 1...