Barbie Doll (Historical Context)

Historical Context

In her essay, “Through the Cracks: Growing Up in the Fifties,” originally published in Partisan Review and later reprinted in Part-Colored Blocks for a Quilt, Marge Piercy describes the social pressures exerted on women to conform in mid-twentieth century America, claiming that those who did not were labeled “sick.” Piercy writes, “If you wanted something you couldn’t have easily or that other people did not want or wouldn’t admit to wanting, if you were angry, if you were different, strange, psychic, emotional, intellectual, political, double-jointed: you were sick, sick, sick.” Commenting on the demands to physically conform, she notes that women’s clothes were meant to accentuate breasts and hips while simultaneously “squashing” any parts of the body, such as the stomach, which might stick out. Piercy’s mother bought her a girdle when she was twelve years old, telling her that she “was now a woman.” Images of restraint are common in Piercy’s writing about her childhood and adolescence, as is her anger at the pain such restraint caused. “Women must accustom themselves to a constant state of minor pain, binding themselves in a parody of the real body to be constantly ‘attractive’ . We didn’t have bodies then, we had shapes. We were the poor stuff from which this equipment carved the feminine.” Piercy’s anger at the ways in which ideas of beauty destroyed women’s self-confidence and enslaved them to male desire is evident in the cynical and bitter irony of “Barbie Doll,” which symbolically tells the story of a woman who could not resist, or accommodate, society’s demands. Of late 1950s America, Piercy says that “Even the notion of acceptable beauty was exceedingly limited and marred a whole generation of women who grew up knowing it (training in self-hatred) and a whole generation of men who felt they were entitled to it, and any actual woman not resembling the few idols was very second best: or Everyman has the right to the exclusive possession of Marilyn Monroe.”

In 1959 when Piercy was twenty-three years old, Mattel created and sold the first Barbie doll. Named after Barbara, the daughter of the founders of Mattel Toys (Ruth and Elliot Handler), Barbie was the first doll with an adult body to appear in America. She was a doll of idealized proportions but with no genitals or nipples. This allowed the doll to be feminine and sexual but non-offensive at the same time. The Handlers claimed they got the idea while watching their growing daughter begin to imitate adult conversation and behavior. They wanted to give their daughter (and potential consumers) a doll that would represent the teenager she and other children would become. Special attention was given to Barbie’s outfits, which were designed to appeal simultaneously to a young girl’s idea of teenage independence and fun and a parent’s idea of wholesomeness. The original Barbie had a tennis dress, a bathing suit, a ballerina outfit, a wedding dress, and a football game outfit, encompassing all of the (gendered) roles of a conventional suburban, middle-class American life. By playing with Barbie, young girls learned what was expected of them. They were given the illusion of freedom, of inventing themselves through the many Barbie costumes. As the country changed in the 1960s, however, so did Barbie. Her facial features were softened, along with her skin tone, and she was given a new hairstyle — a bubblecut — to reflect the changing times. In the 1970s Barbie changed yet again. Now Barbie’s bright blue eyes looked directly ahead, signaling an assertive, confident woman who makes her own decisions. The sexual revolution and women’s liberation helped to create a new image of what girls could be. Barbie has continued to “evolve” along with society. Mattel has put out a number of different Barbies to reflect those changes. Their stable of dolls has included Betsy Ross Barbie (to commemorate the bicentennial) Twist and Turn Barbie, Color Magic Barbie, Action Adventure Barbie, Francie (an African-American Barbie), and a host of other Barbies meant to reflect the changing values of American society and the opportunities available to women.

Compare & Contrast

• 1959: Mattel Toys introduces the first Barbie Doll.
• 1966: Francie, Barbie’s “mod” cousin, is introduced in a polka-dotted top and gingham bikini bottom.
• 1967: African-American Francie “Barbie” is introduced.
• 1976: Barbie is given a place in “America’s Time Capsule” at the nation’s bicentennial celebration.
• 1971: Discarding any submissive undertones, Barbie’s eyes, once adverted in a side-glance, now look straight ahead.
• 1975: During the Winter Olympics, Barbie is marketed abroad as the athlete of the year, appearing as a swimmer, skier, and skater, with a gold medal draped around her neck.
• 1982: “Punk” Barbie is released.
• 1985: “Day to Night” Barbie, Mattel’s version of the yuppie lifestyle, is released. She has everything from modern office equipment (a tiny calculator) to an evening gown designed for the night out on the town.
• 1986:“Astronaut” Barbie is released.
• 1988: “Dr. Barbie” is released.
• 1990: Mattel sponsors the “Barbie Summit” in New York City. Thirty-nine children from around the world meet and discuss world hunger, environmental degradation, and war and peace.
• 1995: “Karaoke” Barbie is released.
• 1993: Barbie sales reach $1 billion in 1993. She and related products account for 34 percent of Mattel’s overall sales.
• 1997: Mattel announces plans to give Barbie a more realistic figure and tone down the makeup. The new Barbie will reportedly have a wider waist, slimmer hips and a smaller bustline, and will be phased in gradually.