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Barbie in American Pop Culture

In: Other Topics

Submitted By sonik19
Words 3455
Pages 14
Irakli Mbrica
HI 300: American Pop Culture
Prof. Blower
12/13/13
American Woman
Barbie’s Impact on Womanhood from 1950s-Current Times

As you walk into any Toys-R-Us or other toy store, you will undoubtedly come across a wide section of nothing but pink. When you browse this area more closely, you will recognize the iconic name, Barbie, branded across a wide selection of dolls, houses, clothing, cars, and other accessories. Most likely, you will notice a news anchor and a computer engineer Barbie, representing the new Barbie careers of the 2010s. If you were shopping in any other decade since the late 1950s, you would see Barbie dolls with different costumes and careers. Since its inception in 1959, by creator Ruth Handler, the Barbie doll has taken on more than 100 different career paths and has become the most successful doll ever produced. This iconic and often controversial doll has had a great deal of influence on every decade since the late 1950s. From its very inception, Barbie was an innovative fashion doll, whose desirability and influence among girls quickly skyrocketed. It was the first ever adult-bodied doll, equipped with breasts, long legs, and a small waist. Previously, the only dolls for girls were baby or infant dolls that allowed little girls to play mommy. But with Barbie, little girls were soon able to imagine being much more than just mothers or wives, and could play as any career they wanted. The Barbie doll was not simply a fashionable toy, but a role model for individuality and freedom of choice for all females. It broke through gender barriers by teaching girls they could be anything they dreamed. However, the doll received a great deal of outrage and criticism throughout the decades as well. In its early years, people criticized the toy for being too sexual and lascivious. On the one hand, this reaction was understandable because

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