Barbie and its Effect Historically- Pooja Challi

Image source: Yvonne Hemsey - Getty Images

With over a billion dolls sold worldwide, Barbie has dominated the market of toys for decades. Ever since the release of the first ever barbie in 1959 it seemed that almost everyone had their own during their childhood. Yet, what keeps Barbie so popular is its versatility and growth over the years. Its concept has altered and gradually changed over the years, successfully standing its ground as the most popular toy in the world.

In contrast to the success and love Barbie has today, back in 1955, during a mattel-sponsored market study, many criticized the doll for promoting unrealistic body proportions. In response to this, Mattel did not change the figure of the Barbie but rather chose to market the commercials solely to children, becoming the first toy company to ever do so. So, when the Barbie doll finally debuted it received skepticism. However, not soon after it had taken the world by storm.

Mattel had started to introduce more and more toys that would rewrite and change the past narrow-minded beliefs of what a woman could achieve. In 1962, Mattel debuted the dream house. The dream house was originally simple with one room, one television and one record player, yet what made it the “dream” was that Barbie herself owned the house. Even though this may seem insignificant from today’s standards, in that time period women rarely owned property by themselves. As a result, seeing Barbie do what many had thought of as impossible provided encouragement to many women and young children at the time.

From 1965 onward, Mattel debuted the Miss astronaut Barbie, surgeon Barbie, registered nurse Barbie and a myriad of other dolls. By releasing Barbie with these occupations, Mattel effectively conveyed to girls the career opportunities they had at their fingertips. From a societal standpoint, this caused a major shift in the mindsets of young women regarding their role in the world. Now, children felt they could achieve more and free themselves of the social norms placed upon women at the time.

Around this time Mattel had expanded on their inclusivity by releasing “Christie,” a black doll who was friends with Barbie. However, this doll faced criticism as many felt that Mattel had enforced European beauty standards instead of advancing African ones. Years later, Mattel tried to expand their diversity once again by releasing the “Nikki” and “Teresa” dolls which replaced the “Christie” doll.

From its creation in 1959, though Barbie has faced its fair share of criticisms and obstacles, the toy has remained incredibly popular because of its versatility in an ever-changing world as well as its pattern of challenging gender norms. It has established an interesting relationship in terms of societal impact, empowering women to change their standards, but also in some ways held them back from other forms of justice. Nevertheless, it appears that beyond the toy, the concept of Barbie is one that has forever impacted our modern-day culture, becoming representative of the change we’ve achieved as a society and indicating where we're going next.

Sources:

Smith, Kaitlin. “A Brief History of Barbie: From Fashion Model to Ida B. Wells.” Facing History & Ourselves, 30 Mar. 2022, www.facinghistory.org/ideas-week/brief-history-barbie-fashion-model-ida-b-wells.

Holland, Brynn. “Barbie through the Ages.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 14 July 2023, www.history.com/news/barbie-through-the-ages.