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Barbie: Women's friend or foe?

Has the Barbie doll helped women in their quest for equal rights, or has she hindered women’s progress? Barbie’s fans and supporters feel that she has done a great deal to advance women’s rights. When Barbie was first introduced, in 1959, the norm for Western women was to marry and start a family while in their early to mid twenties. Some women completed college, but this was not generally expected of them, nor was it widely expected that women would pursue a career.  Barbie, according to her supporters, gives young girls broader aspirations about what they might or can become.

Barbie first appeared as a teenaged-fashion model and a wardrobe of outfits and accessories, purchased separately, to support her in her modeling career. In 1961, Mattel began to expand Barbie’s career horizons. New outfits offered Barbie the chance to be a babysitter, a nurse or a stewardess with American Airlines. In 1965, Barbie could be a student teacher and even an astronaut. The 1970s saw Barbie’s options expanding to include professional ballerina, Olympic figure skater, Olympic skier, and, no longer relegated to the realm of assisting, a surgeon. 

As Barbie’s options grew, so did those of her audience, according to her advocates. But those who see Barbie as a negative role model, rather than a positive one, view her costume changes differently.

From this perspective, Barbie’s outfits mirrored the changing times rather than inspired them. Mattel recognized that capturing the interests and aspirations of the times was a savvy marketing strategy. Astronaut Barbie was popular in 1965, four years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. When the TV program Baywatch was enjoying success in 1994, Baywatch Barbie came on the scene. With Operation Desert Storm came Desert Storm Barbie, in 1992. Barbie even caught the Trekkie wave when she got her Starfleet outfit in 2000.

So, say her critics, Barbie does not inspire girls to expanded career goals; she is mirroring the trends and interests of the time, and in so doing, generating an ongoing profit for Mattel. Critics also point to Barbie’s measurements, unrealistic even for fashion models. If Barbies are meant to be role models, then one can imagine that not only their clothing but their bodies will influence the girls playing with them. Whether a fan or a critic of Barbie, peoples opinions and feelings about these dolls run strong. Barbie is unprecedented in her role as a cultural icon.