Barbie: A Historical Analysis

For over fifty years since Mattel Inc. first revealed her to the world, Barbie Millicent Roberts, Barbie, has grown to be the world’s most famous fashion doll. Apart from revolutionizing the toy industry, the doll has impacted and also been a mirror of an evolving society. I, therefore, posit that even though she might be a doll, she forms part of our cultural understanding of things.

Barbie was conceptualized on the back of changing stereotypes about the traditional roles of women and their place in society, and specifically targets young girls with the idea that the doll becomes a projection of the girls’ dream of her future adult-self. Additionally, the creators of Barbie have always maintained a level of mystery on what is publicly known about the origin of the doll, thereby adding to her appeal while she is also subliminally coded to impact culture significantly. Admirably, it is evident from Mattel’s diverse Barbie catalog that the brand has tried to speak toward respecting diversity and promoting social integration. Consequentially, Barbie’s circle over the years has grown to accommodate persons of various nationalities, ethnicities and even disabilities (Mattel, Inc.).

However, despite the brands’ effective appeal to girls by tapping into their aspirational nature; according to Mattel, Barbie

has had more than 100 professions, critics argue that she also fails to represent specific segments of women in society, for example; mothers and women in academia. Ideally, career success has always motivated Barbie; her only opportunities for caregiving have been as a babysitter, teacher, and doctor, in effect representing the changing realities of most women.

Mattel Inc., the producer, intentionally markets the doll as a fashion icon to foster the belief of girls having choices too. Furthermore, its advertising focuses on the fun of picturing being grown up like Barbie

and speaks to the importance of female aspiration. However, since the doll needs to be constant accessorizing, the persistent purchase of Barbie

accessories, in turn, influences the behavior of its consumers generally. The subsequent consumerism exacerbates the commonly peddled notion that we can improve ourselves solely by buying a particular product.

Because of her idealization, Barbie is usually portrayed as the epitome of career and financial success, independence, and material wealth (Wright, 2003). According to Lizabeth Cohen (2003), the portrayal of Barbie’s thirst for material possessions is reflective of the postwar consumerism that was promoted as a way of improving the economy.

Crucially, it is noteworthy that Barbie was introduced to the market at the onset of mass consumerism and marketers tapped into this growing phenomenon by ensuring they created return customers. Also, by targeting children, advertisers sought to set them up for a lifetime of consumption (Cohen).

Additionally, the whole aura around Barbie

being trendy should be castigated for installing an unrealistic expectation on the value of appearance. While it is fair to say that the standard of beauty has always shifted through the ages, Barbie’s unattainable standard of beauty has arguably had some detrimental effect on the psyche of girls about their image. However, it is also important to consider that Barbie’s original shape “typified what the feminine ideal was in the late 1950s” (Handler, 1994), and our current information age only amplifies this ideal.

In conclusion, Ruth Handler (1994) intimates that Barbie

has always shadowed the popular culture, even though that might have helped set some trends in the proverbial stone. While the doll’s appeal may not always be politically correct, she still manages to trigger a child’s imagination, and if that imagination is off-putting, maybe we should reconsider, for posterity’s sake, the values our society espouses.

Works Cited

Mattel, Inc. www.barbiemedia.com. Accessed 1 Aug. 2018.

Cohen, L. A Consumer’s Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America. Vintage. 2003. Print.

Handler, R. Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story. Longmeadow Press. 1994. Print.

Wright, L. “The Wonder of Barbie: Popular Culture and the Making of Female Identity.” Essays in Philosophy. 2003.