Are You A Barbie Girl?: Examining The Evolution Of An Icon

I don’t know if you are aware, but we are currently experiencing another round of Barbie fever. Little girls (and the inner child of grown women) are being reignited with the lure of a limitless and luxurious lifestyle. The Barbie movie is set to be released this month and I am already seeing pink everywhere. When I first heard about the movie release, it honestly didn’t faze me. If I am being candid, I am not a big fan of remakes and overt parodies. But, as people began sharing and creating their Barbie moments, I got hit with the nostalgia bug. After all these years, I am again reminded of the imprint Barbie left on me and countless young girls around the world.

In the 1950s, co-founder of Mattel Ruth Handler, observed her daughter playing with paper dolls. This sparked a vision to create a 3-D doll. Through the doll, Ruth hoped little girls would see they could be anything they wanted to be. Barbie was always intended to be a representation that women had choices. Handler saw Barbie as a reflection of the times, with the first doll mimicking the glamour of 1950s stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. In March 1959, the first Barbie doll named after Ruth's daughter, made its debut at the New York Toy Fair. In its first year, 300,000 Barbie dolls were sold.

Playing with Barbies was an act of visualization. I would become absorbed in dressing and re-dressing Barbie, mixing, and matching her outfits and her shoes, deciding which vehicle she would drive. As a young girl, I was totally enraptured with the endlessly fascinating world of Barbie. Often my friends and I would link up and barter outfits and accessories . This took the experience up to another level. Between the wardrobe, cars, homes, and companion pieces, things in the Barbie universe began to become costly.

How many things did you own in the Barbie Universe? I remember feeling grateful and a little snooty at one point because I had like 15 dolls, 2 cars, the dream house, and most of the furniture in it. When I was in the 6th grade, one of my classmates invited me over to play with her Barbies, of course I said yes. Once I got permission from my mom to go, I headed to her house with some of my prized pieces. I recall arriving at her house, beaming to show off my collection. We went into her "very nice" finished basement. What I saw next made my mouth drop. This girl not only had what seemed to be everything Mattel ever made for Barbie, but it was set up on displays.

Before visiting my classmate that day, I had no idea Barbie had a game room, a Winnebago, a pool house, and a limousine with a hot tub in the back. My classmate had so many items we played with Barbies for hours. That girl had so much Barbie stuff, I never took my things out of my book bag. I wasn’t embarrassed or anything like that, I just simply forgot. If you think about it, playing with the dolls can develop one’s social skills. Acting out scenes based off of what one deems entertaining shows you what you deem is important.

Looking back on my childhood, my Barbie era showed me what was important to me at the time. Barbie offered a variety of ideologies a young lady could imagine herself in. Through Barbie, you could imagine yourself as a rock star, a judge, or a wife. The best part of being in the Barbie world is that you never had to imagine yourself with limitations because she never had any. I hope the movie is good and deserving of the Barbie title. Regardless, of the reviews of the new cinematic release, this movie reminded women all of over the world, that they were probably once a Barbie girl.