Happy Birthday to Barbie and Me
This year I celebrate my 67th birthday. So does Barbie. We both debuted in 1959.
Also in 1959, Alaska and Hawaii became states, Fidel Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba, and Miss Able and Miss Baker, two monkeys, became the first living beings in the US space program to survive their flight.
Into this world, Barbie became a top selling doll almost immediately. Despite the diversity in her appearance and vocations today, in 1959 she appeared as a teenage model in a black and white striped bathing suit with white skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair in dimensions that would equate to being 5 foot 9 inches tall with an unrealistic 18-inch waist.
While she was a popular doll that provided many girls with hours of fun, she also perpetuated an ideal body image for women that was unobtainable. Her presence focused on women as objects of beauty, reinforcing a rather narrow view of women. After WWII, when women proved they could be successful in any role, societal pressure urged women to return to a slate of traditional roles. In the 1960s, Barbie became a nurse, flight attendant, ballerina, and amazingly midway through the decade, she became an astronaut!
Over the years, Barbie has held many roles and careers, and today her appearance has broadened with dolls with curvy and short body types, and multiple races and ethnicities. Barbie has also gotten out ahead, first appearing as president of the United States in 2004, a leadership role we are still waiting for a woman to hold.
In reality, Barbie is 67, but she hides her age. Why isn’t she proud? I’ve learned a lot in my sixty-seven years, and I am looking forward to learning more. Isn’t it time for her to break out of her time warp and appear with graying hair and a few lines on her face, marks of wisdom and experience?
