2013-10: I recently saw a Facebook link to a mother who found a "solution" to the horrible, horrible problem of naked Barbies in the toy box. The "solution" is to paint "bathing suits" on the Barbie dolls. That way Barbie would never be naked. Of course, Barbie is doll. She is never naked. But you know how little girls are: one minute they forget to put Barbies expensive clothing back on, along with the accessories, and the next they are twerking at the MTV awards.
"My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be,'' Handler wrote in a 1994 autobiography. ``Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.''
Ruth Handler, the inventor of the Barbie doll in 1959, quoted in NY Times, Sunday April 28, 2002.
Another example of how "spin" works. You define a nuclear missile as a "peace-keeper", and a bill that increases pollution as "the Clear Skies Act". And you define a toy that glorifies unrealistic body shapes and conspicuous consumption as something that is all about giving women "choices".
The idea of the Barbie Doll was not well-received by Mattel's male executives, but it became a hit and made a fortune for Mattel, especially once it got the idea of selling outfits and accessories to go with the doll. In other words, it became a training tool for little girls: acquire and acquire and acquire.
How ironic is it that, later in life, after suffering from breast cancer, Handler created a new, more satisfactory prosthetic breast, which she called "Nearly Me" and later sold the company for $1 million.
Copyright © 2002 Bill Van Dyk All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 Bill Van Dyk All rights reserved.
