Barbie from the Beginning – A Brief Bio of this Cultural Icon
Who is Barbie? Sure, you know that she is considered a cultural icon, that she has shaped fashions just as she has imitated them, and you may also know that she has come under quite a bit of fire in modern times. How did this doll – which has a figure that defies the laws of gravity and nature – capture the hearts and minds of generations of girls? How did Barbie manage to have so many accessories created just for her?Â
Here is a look at Barbie from the beginning – a brief bio of this cultural icon!
Barbie was first born on March 9, 1959. Her role in the doll line-up of the time was that of a teenage fashion doll.
The brainchild of Mrs. Ruth Handler, this doll was to be the answer to the thousands of little girls who were still dressing paper dolls, but because of the materials, these dolls did not withstand little hands for long. At the same time, this fashion doll was to be the innovation that would replace the paper dolls altogether.
The doll was christened Barbara Millicent Roberts, but everyone soon knew her simply as Barbie.
Interestingly, the doll would have never seen the light of day if it were not for Reinhard Beuthin, a German cartoonist for a rather ill-reputed German paper that in its heyday was famous for yellow journalism more than anything else. Nonetheless, Mr. Beuthin’s cartoons were the inspiration for a manufactured doll named Lilli in 1955. Mrs. Handler saw this doll, brought it back to America, and Barbie was fashioned after Lilli. In 1964, Mr. & Mrs. Handler purchased the rights to Lilli, and so Barbie’s inspiration and competition was eliminated.
Since fashion was part and parcel of Barbie, it fell to fashion designer Charlotte Johnson to dream up a wardrobe for the doll. She was one of Mattel’s employees, and routinely took her ideas from the catwalks of Paris. Over the years, famous designers have created some of her outfits. Amongst the names – which read like a who’s who of the fashion industry – are Calvin Klein, Bob Mackie, Christian Dior, and Ralph Lauren.
Barbie originally had a boyfriend - Ken, little sisters Skipper, Tutti, Stacie, Kelly, and Krissy, a little brother named Todd, and cousins Francie and Jazzie. Additionally, she has a large number of friends.
While originally Barbie was just a fashion doll, she gradually graduated from that image and began to portray a number of professions, such as nurse and flight attendant. After some heavy criticism from women’s rights groups, Barbie once again graduated and became now a doctor, astronaut, and took on several other professions. Always stylish, she was impeccably dressed. While this was useful in placating some critics, her body shape has given rise to criticism far and wide, even in her backyard. Since it has been scientifically proven that her bodily proportion are unattainable for any woman, many moms have been hesitant to introduce her to her daughter for fear that these kids will begin to have a warped sense of self image.
Adding fuel to the fire was the popular Teen Talk Barbie, which appeared on store shelves in 1992. She would utter such phrases as “I love shopping.†While parents claimed that this doll was becoming a shallow caricature of itself, they positively cried out in protest when one of the phrases was “Math class is tough.†Not even Barbie’s new occupations could cover the multitude of criticism that soon cropped up.
Controversy appears to also follow Barbie internationally. In 2003 Saudi Arabia passed a law that forbade the sale of Barbie dolls because she refuses to dress according to the precept of Islam.
No matter that home grown or foreign controversies may be making mincemeat of Barbie, with collectors worldwide she is always in favor. The numbers of serious collectors are estimated to be upward of 100,000, but the odds are that there are quite a lot more than that.
In a step that might be reminiscent of the Lilli doll, the year 2006 saw the introduction of the Barbie Mini Kingdom, which showcases Barbie dolls at about half the size they usually are.
