When Ruth Handler created Barbara Millicent “Barbie” Roberts in 1959, she probably had no idea that this plastic doll would go on to impact the lives of girls and women for more than six decades. Barbie’s anatomical structure – long neck, large breasts, tiny waist, long legs, and feet frozen in a high heel position – represented a physical look few women, and certainly even fewer young girls, could hope to achieve. 

“We all had Barbie’s in the 60’s. What I remember most was her flawless figure (read boobs, which most of us did not have till much later). I also remember hounding my mother to buy more clothes for her. And, of course, when the Ken doll came out later, we all rushed out to buy one. But what my girlfriend and I did with him and Barbie shall remain in our memories!!”

Ruth, along with her husband, Elliot, and Harold Matson, founded Mattel, Inc., in 1945, initially operating the company out of the Handler’s garage. Handler invented Barbie to give girls an alternative to playing mommy with baby dolls and instead envision other possibilities for what women might do.

Barbie The Movie Doll, Margot Robbie as Barbie

“My two daughters played with their Barbies endlessly. During their playtimes, they created scenes for their dolls to reveal professional goals, create friendship groups, and express their feelings. I think that their pretend play with Barbie and friends was instrumental in their development as thoughtful, imaginative, strong, healthy, career people.”

Perhaps if Barbie had remained frozen in time, she would have been relegated to the toy trash heap. But Mattel executives knew that the iconic doll had to change with the times. Barbie became more than a fashion doll, turning up dressed as a woman tackling a wide variety of professions.

“I used to think I knew Barbie, having grown up seeing her strange, permanently tippy-toed feet and unlikely outfits. Until I read an article on the occasion of her 60th birthday (she could now join AARP!). I learned that, while Barbie never ages, the folks at Mattel had grown up over the years. 

Barbie  morphed from having blonde hair, blue eyes, and a perfect figure to having different skin, hair, and eye colors, and taking on a body that more closely resembled real world women. There were also Barbies in wheelchairs and with prosthetic limbs. 

“Now there were Barbies of color – seven different skin tones, Barbies in wheelchairs or with prosthetic legs, Barbie doctors, and Barbie rocket scientists. She even put on a few pounds, albeit plastic ones. Whatever Barbie was synonymous with decades ago, it’s possible now to read her as an empowered everywoman.”

Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie – Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk

Of course, the more jobs Barbie tackled, the more dolls  and doll clothes there were for moms to buy their daughters. Along with the dolls came the famous Barbie Dream House, campers, cars, offices, gymnastic equipment, and many other accessories. 

“I remember playing with my one Barbie. When my daughter played, she had half a dozen Barbies and a plastic tub full of accessories from clothes to cars and houses. And this was before Barbie dabbled in careers from doctor to astronaut.”

Many things affect how children select their toys. Not all parents could afford purchasing all those Barbies and everything that went with the doll’s burgeoning lifestyle. Peer pressure kicks in with friends and siblings making a difference. 

“As the only girl with three older brothers, their toys had more of an influence. I wanted to play with their baseball gloves and Matchbox cars. I grew to use the term ‘Barbie’ as an insult, to describe a woman who was a fake, and looking to present herself as the ultimate/perfect female.”

Baby Boomer women are perhaps the generation most influenced by Barbie. Born anywhere from 1946 to 1964, this cohort was in their formative years when Barbie dolls hit toy store shelves.

“Looking back, I can see her unrealistic body could have impacted how young girls experienced body dissatisfaction, but I feel there were other and more impactful influences at that time. Barbie was fantasy and pretend play, but models like Twiggy, Lauren Hutton and those that graced the pages of popular magazines, were real life and what my friends and I aspired to be like.” 

Later, Baby Boomers, as mothers and grandmothers, would purchase Barbie dolls for their daughters and granddaughters. GenXers, born between 1965 to 1979, did not escape the Barbie phenomenon, although their experience would be different. Now we have Millennials (1980 to 1995) and Generation Z (1996 to 2010) purchasing the dolls for their children or for themselves.

Margot Robbie as Barbie – Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk

“All the hullabaloo over Barbie’s body, although understandable, pales in comparison to a bottom line fact: universal access. I don’t think you can raise a child that will not play with Barbie at home or elsewhere. It’s like trying to avoid a Disney princess.”

There were past attempts to give Barbie a starring role in her own story, bringing the doll to the big screen in a feature film that was not an animated cartoon. Because the doll often stoked controversy, finding the right tone, crafting a workable script, and casting actors who could carry it off was a challenge. Those efforts failed until now. A perfect storm – a script written by Greta Gerwig and her real life partner Noah Baumbach, directed by Gerwig, and starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken – hits screens at the right time. 

And early reports say that Gerwig has done the seemingly impossible, creating a film that will please Barbie’s fans, as well as her critics, and is being embraced by Mattel itself. The company hopes not only to sell many more dolls, but will use Barbie as a launch pad for its theatrical division with other toys, like Hot Wheels, starring in films.

“Rather than obsess or stress over the messages Barbie may impart, let kids play. Emphasize how you can add to the play. All culture imparts good and bad role models and messages. Just try to make your values as loud as the products being marketed.”

And now the film offers the opportunity for daughters, mothers, and grandmothers an opportunity to come together to view Gerwig’s film and Robbie’s performance and have conversations about a doll that continues to have influence across generations.

“Barbie” is rated PG-13 for “suggestive references and brief languages.” Adults may want to view the film first before bringing a very young child.

Top photo: Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken – Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: Dale Robinette

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