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Culture March 30, 2017
When you hear the term “Barbie,” images of girls playing dollhouse probably pop into your mind before symbols of female empowerment. As one of the 100,000 estimated Barbie collectors around the world, though, I’ve learned that vintage Barbies can teach the modern woman plenty of relevant lessons about femininity and empowerment.
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To find out more about what Barbie can symbolize to the modern woman, ENTITY reached out to Lutz Muller, owner of toy intelligence firm Klosters Trading Corp., which advises on global toy retail trends.
Ready to explore a (vintage) Barbie world? Here are five empowering lessons the modern woman – and her future daughters – can learn from a vintage Barbie doll collection.
Barbie, for better or for worse, has been associated with societal beauty standards. As Muller explains, “Essentially, Barbie was [originally] the type of doll mothers wanted their daughters to be like: pretty, chaste, demure, and mainly Caucasian.”
Although the criticism of Barbie’s projection of one image of women – blond, slim, and well endowed – definitely has its merits, it’s important to consider the physical variety Barbie has shown throughout the years. As a timeline by the LA Times illustrates, Barbie kicked off the 60s with a brunette bob before straightening her newly blond locks for a Malibu feel in 1971. By the 80s, Barbie’s hair looked bigger than her – until it was crimped down to accent her bright 90s makeup.
The fact is, when I see a vintage Barbie from the 60s, I can see what my Grandma probably dreamed of looking like. When I laugh at the clothes from a 80s Barbie, I can chuckle imagining my mom wearing the same rainbow explosion. In a way, Barbie is a time machine you can use to see how temporary society’s definition of “fashionable” and “beauty” really are. What is more beautiful than that?
Although it may sound a little silly, I can also read my vintage Barbie collection as a timeline of women’s rights. Barbie’s first official gig – which reportedly was a teenage fashion model – is the kind of stereotype that would probably make a feminist cry. As Barbie’s whopping 126-job career path continues, though, a different picture of Barbie – and women – emerges. By 1973, she can be a surgeon instead of only a nurse (1961); in 1985, she boasts the title “Business Executive” instead of “Career Girl” (1963). And let’s not forget when, in 1992, she emerged as a Presidential Candidate.
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According to people like Ottawa Herald Editor Jeanny Sharp, one of the most empowering changes to Barbie is 2016’s introduction of three body types. Now, dolls can feature eight skin tones, 14 facial structures, 22 hairstyles, 18 eye colors and three body types. That same year, Mattel also gave Barbie’s personality a feminist boost by revealing “the DC Super Hero Girls,” or “the warrior doll,” according to Muller.
When I look at my vintage Barbie dolls, I’m reminded of how far women have come – from available careers to society’s expectations of how a woman “should” look or act. To put it simply, my vintage Barbie dolls illustrate how much I have to be grateful for today.
How often do you qualify your interests, saying something like, “Well, I love getting my nails done…but of course I can get down and dirty with the guys!” or “I love dresses, but I’m still a feminist!” Like Emma Gray from the Huffington Post argues, women need to start owning their interests and stop caring what they “should” do. If you do want to change this behavior, Barbie might be the place to start…
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People are often surprised when they learn that I collect vintage Barbie dolls. Considering that I grew up as a major tomboy, love playing soccer and ran a Mud Run with my dad for fun one summer, I don’t blame them. However, my collection and I prove that women don’t have to choose between femininity and ability. We can feminine and smart, appreciative of beauty yet skeptical of beauty standards, and have a “girlish” hobby but still kick butt in the office.
Still not convinced? Then just consider Barbie herself. Now, I’m not saying that Barbie is a role model that women should strive to emulate. However, as a doll, she’s strongly associated with femininity, appearance and “girlishness.” These traits have often been devalued in society, yet, as Chapman University reports, two Barbie dolls are sold every second in the world. Mattel has built an empire off of femininity – so why shouldn’t females be able to retain their femininity while rocking a power suit?
Most likely, when you think of Barbie, you don’t think of her as a rebel fighting against social norms. A peek at her history, though, reveals a different story. When Ruth Handler first introduced Barbie in 1959, the doll was unlike any other product on the market. Instead of being a toddler or baby doll, this doll boasted womanly features that allowed girls to experiment with their visions of the future. Americans were initially skeptical – some even accused Barbie of being too sexualized for children – but 351,000 dolls sold in the first year.
Even today, Barbie still pushes the envelope. Case in point? One of Mattel’s latest products, the Barbie Hologram. “It is voice activated, is active 24 hours a day (as long as the toy stays plugged in) and kids can ask Barbie to change her appearance, including her clothes and skin tone,” explains Muller. And while previous “techy” Barbies (like Hello Barbie) flopped, “the Barbie Hoologram is likely to do better if the opinions of national retail buyers are anything to go by.”
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When I see my vintage Barbie dolls, I think of Ruth Handler daring to introduce a new toy – which is still expanding the definition of “toy” – and becoming one of the #womenthatdo in the process.
It’s impossible to deny that women have changed since Barbie was first introduced on March 9, 1959. Yet, when you look at a vintage Barbie doll, it’s also impossible to ignore the similarities of women then and now.
In my case, the similarities are literal: one of Barbie’s vintage friends is named “Casey” and sports a thinner, more athletic body type that mimics my own. In other cases, the connections are less obvious – but equally powerful. Maybe you see your closet in Barbie’s 1959 wardrobe, from the striped red and white crop top and a fitted navy skirt to the boyfriend-cut jeans that are still in style. Or maybe you like that the original Barbie doesn’t overtly smile or look you straight in the eye; she’s the mysterious “cool girl” we channel while jamming to a Beyoncé song.
As Muller explains, this ability for girls of various “racial, economic, generational, religious and geographical divides” to all enjoy and see themselves in the same doll is the “reason why Barbie is not going away.”
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Maybe the biggest lesson that Barbie can teach the modern woman, then, is that women – regardless of the exact fashions we flaunt or occupations we hold – are constant. We are the past, we are the present and, yes, maybe female really is the future.
And, in that future, there will always be a glimmer of the women that came before us…the same women who played with the vintage Barbie dolls sitting on our display shelves today.
