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The History of Barbie
Barbara Millicent Roberts was first debuted on March 9th, 1959, rocking her black and white swimsuit waiting to take over the world! Barbie was the first three dimensional doll introduced in America relicted after the German doll, stemming from paper dolls (www.Barbiemedia.com) . Since barbie came out in 1959 she has been rolling through the years, acquiring fashions and looks from each decade she lives in. Her journey began in the sixties and is still going today in 2016. Barbies’ fashion is incredible, and even was handmade at a time, some clothing items are even worth a lot of money. Barbie is the woman of the years by having many careers, having a stunning wardrobe, and changing the standards of dolls everywhere
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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 …show more content…
Barbie rocked and rolled in the world, she was a vet, even owned her own car and dream house! Girls in every time era dreamed to be she was a role model, even though she didn 't teach nurturing. Barbie is a ‘person’ who has really grasped the image of each time era. Fashion is a statement to everyone, and everyone has their own style. Barbie is a someone who gave women power and a way to express themselves. As technology advances so does Barbie, she makes a difference and she gives girls things to strive for in life, even if it isn 't something
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
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 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.
Think of an iconic figure with killer curves and a wardrobe most women would die for? Many names may pop through your mind. Kate Moss? Gisele? Naomi Campbell? Now let's narrow it down a bit more. How about a woman who was also a former news anchor, UNICEF Summit Diplomat, Presidential candidate, and astronaut? The only girl who fits all of these descriptions is Barbie Millicent Roberts, a fair skinned blonde standing at 11 1/2 inches. Since Barbie's debut, she's been reproduced by the billions to meet the never ending demand. Even after 50 years she’s still flying off of toy-store shelves. Two Barbie dolls sell every second, and Mattel’s worldwide sales of Barbie top $1.5 billion every year. The company estimates that 90 percent of U.S. girls between the ages of 3 and 10 own at least one dolls. These numbers indicate that Barbie is still a big part of our culture and lives, and although controversy surrounds her at every step, she still manages to be a well known, sought after woman. Let's delve into the history of how this woman came to be.
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.
The poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy has such a deep message that will instantly pull the heartstrings of many individuals within the world upon reading. Each and every person standing on the planet has had a moment in their life when they do not feel as if they can meet anyone 's standards. They also feel as if they are too fat and ugly to fit it to today’s society. We all have been told some very hurtful words in our lives, some that stick for longer than others, within the creases of our fragile brain. We continuously tell ourselves that it 's going to be okay at the end of the day but the real question is, will it real be okay? When initially looking at the title, one may come to the conclusion that the poem is
“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
I more so focused on the article Barbie because it reminded me a the movie “Life-Size” that I used to watch all the time as a child. The film came out in the year 2000 and it is about a girl who brings her Barbie to life. The Barbie character is played by African-American model, Tyra Banks. In the film the Barbie comes to life and has to deal with the changes of her Barbie world in comparison to the real world. Barbie explains how she has multiple jobs and a closet full of clothes, nice jewelry and shoes. This is how Barbie is view by young girls and it formulates the idea that this is what females are expected to do and look like. Tyra Banks is known world wide and is considered to be and idol for many. I believe that she was chose to play this role due to the fact that she is seen to the world as a beauty icon. Little girls that have watched Life Size, thought that Tyra was beautiful and even though she faced many challenges in the real world she ended up not being able to survive without all of her belongings in her picture perfect world. The Barbie character attempted to bake and do clerical work but it wasn't as easy as her unrealistic world made it see. Another thing that caught my interest was that the Barbie in the film was African American versus an Americanized caucasian
In 1945, Ruth and Eliott Handler founded Mattel – one of Americas leading manufacturing companies of today. The idea for the Barbie doll was conceived when Ruth watched her daughter play with adult paper dolls. She noticed the importance of being able to change the doll's clothes, and decided to create a three-dimensional fashion doll, naming her Barbie after Barbara (her daughter). At the time, the toy market was dominated by baby dolls and toddler dolls. Barbie was a new conception that became a worldwide hit. Since her debut in 1959, Barbie has remained one of the most popular toys of all time. There are two Barbie's sold every second, and more than one billion dolls have been sold around the world (Maine, 2000, cited in Slayen, 2011).
Martin, Melanie. “Negative Effects of Barbie on Girls.” eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
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
Barbie Girl captures the essence of Daisy Buchanan. All Daisy truly cares about in life is being the prettiest girl in parties , even if that means that being in loveles marrige. When Daisy says “ I hope she’ll be a fool” it shows how much Diasy loves her life of being a beautiful ditsy foul in comfortable life. She is fine with being treated liked a Barbie doll and having no control of her life as long as she has a comfrotable lifestyle.
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.
According to Lisa Belkin, Barbie is good for society because she’s fun to play with and she encourages little girls to use their imagination and dream big. Many young girls who play with Barbie dolls have realized that she is just a doll. Some of these little girls don’t have the desire to look like Barbie; they just think Barbie is just a doll that they play with and leave them everywhere. At a young age girls are given their first Barbie doll and thought what “perfect” should be. Barbie portrays the perfect image and life. Not only is Barbie tall, skinny, and beautiful, she has all the luxurious accessories to match her perfect life. To go along with her perfect life she is accompanied with the perfect boyfriend, family and dream house.At a young age girls are also being influenced by this doll, what they should look like, and what kind of life they sgould lead. Young girls strive to achieve this look which is life threatening to obtain. Regardless to the changes they made to Barbie, she is still far from real. Little girls that are mature enough don’t strive to look like Barbie because she’s just a plastic doll.(Debate.org, 9). According to “The Intentions behind the creation of Barbie”, Barbie dolls ...
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”).