Barbie: 50 years of Influence and Controversy
The story of a plastic doll and how it shaped society
Biography
Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, after Handler's daughter. In a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s, her parents' names are given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin. Barbie attended Willows High School and fictional Manhattan International High School in New York City, based on the real-life Stuyvesant High School. She has an on-off romantic relationship with her beau Ken (Ken Carson), who first appeared in 1961. Like Barbie, Ken shares his name with one of Ruth Handler's children. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006 they were back together again. (wikipedia)
Origin Story
This story takes place in the 1930’s. It’s a story that starts out sounding like one we’ve all heard before. Girl meets Boy. Girl falls in love with Boy. Girl graduates from high school. Girl has visions of great career success in the real world. Girl wants to go to college. Parents are not overly enthusiastic about college since it is more traditional to get married and raise a family. Girl goes to college anyway and marries boy too. This married girl and boy are Ruth and Elliot Handler.
In the mid 1940’s, the young ambitious duo Ruth, the 10th child of Polish immigrants, and Elliot Handler, owned a company that made wooden picture frames. Elliot and his partner Harold Mattson built the samples and Ruth was in charge of marketing them. Elliot began to use the scraps of wood from picture frames to make doll furniture. This was the beginning of their toy business. It was in 1945 that Ruth and Elliot Handler joined with their close friend Harold Mattson to form the Mattel company (MATT for Mattson, and EL for Elliot) (dolls4play).
The Handlers raise two children, Barbie and Ken. Ruth notices that her daughter's play dolls are all children (and paper) and that opportunities to try out adult roles are limited with these toys. The search for dolls allowing adult role play begins. This was not necessarily a new idea because there were adult fashion dolls, such as Cissy and Miss Revlon, which were on the market.
During a family trip to Switzerland in 1956, Ruth Handler, was strolling through the charming streets of Lucerne when she spied a plastic adult-figured doll hanging in a store window. Created by Reinhard Beuthien in the early 50's. Bild-Lilli first appeared as a cartoon charcter in the German Bild newpaper on June 24, 1952. Bild-Lilli's adventures found immediate appeal with readers, especially the male readers,and it was decided to create a doll in Lilli's likeness. (bild-lilli.com). The voluptuous German toy Bild-Lilli presented an answer to the problem.
In 1958 the first Barbie dolls are manufactured in Japan under the direction of chief engineer Jack Ryan. Jack Ryan—a Yale-educated missile engineer who was plucked from a defense contractor to design toys for Mattel--has been called the "Father of Barbie" and, by The New York Times, "Mattel's real secret weapon" (newsweek 2009).
In 1959, Handler launched her billion-dollar baby—and enough irate feminist tracts to fill countless women's studies courses (newsweek, 2009)--tat the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. After initial resistance from toy retailers and a successful television ad campaign the Barbie franchise launches.
The marketing of Barbie is driven by Ernest Dichter, director of the Institute for Motivational Research. A PhD who studied psychology at the University of Vienna, Dichter used Freudian analysis to bring a "scientific" approach to marketing.
The phenomenon behind Barbie was that she was an affordable toy that had those same grown up accessories as the other adult dolls.
Fun Facts:
The first Barbie cost $3.
Today, more than 1 billion Barbie's have been sold
At first, Barbie was a teenaged fashion model, but she's had over 80 careers since then, from astronaut to a medic in Desert Storm.
Barbie didn't have a belly button until 2000.
Barbie is made from polyvinylchloride.
Barbie is eleven and one half inches tall.
If Barbie was human sized, she would stand 5 foot 6 inches tall, weigh 110 pounds, and have a 39 inch bust, 18 inch waist and 33 inch hips.
Timeline:
"Plastic money", the credit card, came into use in 1958 with the invention of the American Express Card, the same year that plastic was used to mass produce Barbie.
In 1959, Barbie Millicent Roberts was born 11 1/2 inches tall and weighing 11 ounces. She debuted as a teenage model in a black and white striped swimsuit that came with sunglasses, high-heeled shoes, and gold-colored hoop earrings. Her body was shapely with movable head, arms, and legs.
Barbie first appears on television on the Mickey Mouse Club show.
In 1963 "Sex and the Single Girl" is published.
In 1967 the "Twist and Turn" Barbie is released, with swivel waist and hips.
In 1971, with the "Malibu Barbie", Barbie's eyes look straight ahead for the first time. Older Barbies' eyes looked slightly down and to the side.
In 1975, "Skipper", Barbie's sidekick, sprouts breasts.
In 1979 Barbie gets a new accessory, the "Fur & Jewels Safe" with a security alarm.
In 1980 Black Barbie is released. She is designed by Kitty Black Perkins, a black woman.
Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America in 1983.
In 1984 Barbie is sold with the slogan "We girls can do anything". "Day-to-Night" Barbie comes with a briefcase, calculator, newspaper and business card. And Mattel releases "She-Ra, Princess of Power", promoted with the slogan "The fate of the world is in the hands of one beautiful girl". Also in 1984, Geraldine Ferraro makes a bid for Vice President of the United States. And finally in 1984 (busy year) Drexel Burnham Lambert supplies $231 million to Mattel.
In 1992 the average American girl owned 7 Barbies. (distorted barbie)
In 2000 the first Silkstone Lingerie Barbie was released with great success.
In 2003 Lingerie Barbie #6 is met with controversy surrounding her clothing and sales are stopped by Mattel.
Silkstone:
Silkstone Barbie dolls are made of a very hard vinyl, Silkstone, that mimics the heavy and smooth feel of porcelain. Silkstone is a resin, sand and quartz composite that is easy to clean and can stand almost anything from chemicals to heat and staining. The dolls' heads are vinyl. Most collectible and play Barbie dolls are made of a softer vinyl that "gives" when touched.
Collectible:
Some Barbie® dolls have a variation of this waist. Modern Barbie® All Barbie® dolls produced beginning in 1972. (An "accepted" date among many collectors for the beginning of the Modern Barbie® era.) Vintage Barbie® All Barbie® dolls produced before 1972.
In 2000 the first Silkstone Lingerie Barbie was released with great success. This was the beginning of the very successful Silkstone Fashion Model collection for adult collectors.
Those collectors immediately fell in love with the sophisticated vintage influence. Many vintage Barbie collectors who had never collected modern Barbie dolls began to add Silkstones to their collection, especially using the Lingerie Silkstone Barbie Dolls to display vintage fashions.
These first edition Lingerie Fashion Model Barbies (#1 & #2) are considered to be the most valuable of the Lingerie Silkstones and are the only silkstone Barbies selling to collectors at a premium.
Lingerie Barbie:
The Lingerie Barbie #1 Blonde: The same doll as as a brunette is the #2 Lingerie Silkstone, the brunette seems to be a little harder to find. They are both Limited Editions and came wearing only a white satin bra and panty ensemble trimmed with white lace and pale pink bows, white stockings and garters. (2000)
The Lingerie Barbie #2 Brunette: A white satin bra and panty ensemble trimmed with white lace and pale pink bows, white stockings and garters. (2001)
The Lingerie Barbie #3 Black Jet : Barbie® doll is both striking and sassy in her black satin bra and panty ensemble trimmed with black lace and pale blue bows, black stockings and garters. Her long jet black hair is styled in a sleek ponytail pulled up and away from her delicately featured face. (2001)
The Lingerie Barbie #4 Bubblecut: The fourth Lingerie doll in the Barbie® Fashion Model Collection, Barbie® looks darling in delicate pink. Intricate pale pink lace accents her heavenly bustier ensemble. Pink peek-a-boo peignoir floats over soft pink, feminine underpinnings. Sheer pink stockings and sling back high heels add flirtatious finishing touches. Barbie® wears her platinum hair in a short curly style reminiscent of the Bubble Cut, and accented with a pink bow. (2002)
The Lingerie Barbie #5 AA: The Barbie® Fashion Model Collection unveils its first-ever African-American Silkstone™ doll, the fifth Lingerie Barbie® doll. Her enchanting ensemble begins with a delicate black merry widow bustier with pink bow accent. Her matching robe offers alluring cover. Golden hoop earrings and high heels complete this simple but elegant ensemble. (2002)
The Lingerie Barbie #6 Redhead: The sixth Lingerie Barbie® doll in the Barbie® Fashion Model Collection is simply sassy in a short pearl-grey satin slip trimmed in black lace. Her thigh-high stockings add a hint of flair. Completing her look is a simple black ribbon bow in Barbie® doll's striking long, straight red hair. (2003)
Sources:
A Doll's House Divided: By Eliza Gray | NEWSWEEK Published Feb 21, 2009 From the magazine issue dated Mar 2, 2009 retrieved 22 feb 2009 from http://www.newsweek.com/id/185788
http://bild-lilli.com/
The distorted barbie at http://detritus.net/projects/barbie/ retrieved 22 feb 2009
http://www.honors.umd.edu/HONR269J/projects/wolf.html Barbie: The Early History © 2000, Erica Wolf
http://www.dolls4play.com/barbiehistory.html
http://www.barbiecollector.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie
http://www.loti.com/barbie_mattel_1959.htm
http://www.barbiemuseum.nl/barbie_history.htm
