Barbie is turning fifty this year, making her the oldest teenager that I am aware of. Note Barbie’s humble beginnings:
She looks like Lucille Ball on Valium, which is kind of cute in an ooky way.
There was a lot of first-wave feminist hating on Barbie, which I get but also don’t get. I realize that Barbie may reinforce unrealistic body image on young girls, but she’s also just a doll. Sure, it’s a good idea to make her waist and thighs a little thicker, but I don’t see how a doll single-handedly destroys somebody’s self-esteem. Besides, when I was a kid, I didn’t want to be like Barbie. I wanted to be like D.J. Tanner on Full House.
Oh Mylanta!
To be fair, I was never real into Barbies. I preferred books and interpretive dancing to the soundtrack of Somewhere in Time. My mother never bought me a Barbie, but I had them, usually hand-me-downs from my cousins. My Finnish grandmother gave me a Saami Barbie.
Reindeer sold separately.
One of the unique things about Barbie is that she’s one of the few dolls for girls that is a grown-up. Barbie has been a doctor, a veterinarian, a pilot… she’s even run for president three times! Playing with Barbie instead of a baby doll means that the imagination is going in a totally different direction, and I think that’s important. Children should have all kinds of different toys. Note that I’m not knocking baby dolls. I still have mine somewhere. Her name is Anastasia.
I had Saami Barbie, Hawaiian Barbie, and a few of the standard blondes, but the Barbie that I never got but desperately wanted was Totally Hair Barbie, aka the best selling Barbie of all time.
I’m pretty sure I actually had those bangs in 1992. I also crimped my hair, but sadly, it has never grown to my feet.
Remember Barbie and the Rockers?
This video makes me laugh until Ken comes on and then I’m just totally creeped out by him. I’m so glad Barbie dumped his sorry ass.
Never did like Barbie. Only ever got one and I chucked her away and played with the sparkly pink components of the box instead. Always did enjoy storage porn. I think Barbie is the least of our problems if we're talking about unrealistic, unhealthy body expectations from young girls - she's the tip of the iceberg. ondressingup’s last blog post..Sunday Night at the Homestead
that armadillo bag gave me nightmares... i had only one maybe two barbie dolls in my time. never really was my thing. E’s last blog post..shoe sale!!!!
I had some barbies when I was little but never liked them much. My sister used to paint them earrings and makep up with a pen haha! hope you're having a nice week! xx Raquel’s last blog post..Butterfly
The first time I saw a Barbie I thought it was really cool, then my neighbor made Barbie and Ken have sex and it was painful and Barbie was ruined for me. Diana’s last blog post..6,768 Miles Apart
Aw, this is a nice post. I liked barbies for a period when I was around 7-8 or so, and I was so jealous of a friend who had tons of barbies, a barbie house and a barbie car and everything. And when we went to our cabin I used to play with my mum's old barbies from the 60s and I thought they looked so strange. Ariella’s last blog post..The contents of my bag.
Ha ha ha! "Oh, mylanta!" Classic!
My mother would never buy my sisters or I Barbie when we were little--now Barbie creeps me out a bit! DJ Tanner was the shizz!
haha, i can't stop laughing with the saame barbie and THE TOTALLY HAIR barbie!:D:D. "reindeer sold separately"....thanks for cheering up my boring morning!
aww DJ Tanner! i loved that show. maggie’s last blog post..The River Took Her, Ma