Barbie: bimbo or savvy baby boomer woman?
An Update to “Playtime in Yesteryear”: By Boomer Yearbook.com
http://boomeryearbook.com/blog/2008/11/08/playtime-in-yesteryear
It appears that Barbie is indeed part of the not so small group of baby boomer women. In fact, many baby boomer women have probably owned a few Barbie dolls and in the unlikely event that they haven’t, they have probably given some to children or grandchildren. We are all familiar with that beautiful stereotypical doll that sure looks good for turning fifty! Yes, Barbie was born and created in 1959 by a woman named Ruth Handler for the Mattel Company that was owned by her husband and his partner. Barbie was named after their daughter and when the Ken doll was introduced he was named after their son.
It must have been amazing to them to see their children’s names and their creations become such a world wide phenomenon. The iconic doll became the baby boomers women symbol of female beauty. However, Barbie also began to be widely criticized for her stereotypical, unrealistic portrayal of the perfect woman. Yet, the unending criticism did not interfere with Barbie’s popularity. She also became a symbol of what a woman could accomplish; from the acquisition of enormous wealth complete with fancy cars and clothes among other accessories, to fabulous careers that had been traditionally male oriented. As the 60’s saying goes, “She’s come a long way, baby.”
Barbie Doll Collection
However, Barbie didn’t always have access to such esteemed careers. In her early teen and adult days, the Barbie doll was regarded as a stereotypical dumb blonde; a materialistic, shallow airhead worrying only about her looks and social status. Therefore, in an attempt to counteract the gender stereotyping that many believed the Barbie doll presented, Mattel Inc. created different careers for Barbie as well as International Barbie dolls designed to represent varying cultures.
Ah, it is hard to believe that the pop culture star has made it to the golden age of fifty. And what a tumultuous journey it has been! It seems that even when one stereotype about Barbie is addressed, another one emerges. Nonetheless, whatever new criticisms or stereotypes about Barbie appear in the future, we at Boomer Yearbook think Barbie is sure to remain a static symbol of Western culture for baby boomer women, echo boomer women, generation x, y and beyond.
What do you think? Will Barbie continue to evolve or will she forever be saddled with her bimbo image?
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