Rethinking Barbie (the doll) and her positive impact

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please. You bethesda moms were so threatened when my Dd insisted on bringing her Barbie to the pool. You would not let your dds near her. She was ostracized! My dd loved dressing her Barbie up and creating new outfits for her. Today my dd is a fashion designer in a private design house. Did I mention how much I hate Bethesda mothers? F u all.

Is Hot Topic a private design house? You sound classy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the last generation or so revolted against Barbie, I think they fixated on the wrong things and completely missed the critically important positive impact the Barbie doll made on girls. Hear me out.

Barbie was launched at a time when the only dolls available were baby dolls. Generations of girls were limited to dolls and related toys that fostered gendered stereotypes of playing house and preparing for a life of motherhood and housework.

Barbie wasn’t a wife or mother. Barbie was living her best life as a presumably wealthy single lady! Her boyfriend was an afterthought, and he didn’t have a career, house, or car.

Barbie on the other hand was a doctor, lawyer, president, etc. She was everything because she could be anything.

And she never married or had kids. She didn’t need to.

That’s the impact she made at a time when the only other dolls and toys for girls were baby dolls with diapers, bottles, kitchens, etc.

Barbie shifted the narrative.

“Math class is tough.”

— Barbie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Talk_Barbie

Math class *IS* tough, for most of the boys as well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the last generation or so revolted against Barbie, I think they fixated on the wrong things and completely missed the critically important positive impact the Barbie doll made on girls. Hear me out.

Barbie was launched at a time when the only dolls available were baby dolls. Generations of girls were limited to dolls and related toys that fostered gendered stereotypes of playing house and preparing for a life of motherhood and housework.

Barbie wasn’t a wife or mother. Barbie was living her best life as a presumably wealthy single lady! Her boyfriend was an afterthought, and he didn’t have a career, house, or car.

Barbie on the other hand was a doctor, lawyer, president, etc. She was everything because she could be anything.

And she never married or had kids. She didn’t need to.

That’s the impact she made at a time when the only other dolls and toys for girls were baby dolls with diapers, bottles, kitchens, etc.

Barbie shifted the narrative.

“Math class is tough.”

— Barbie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Talk_Barbie

Definitely a PR fiasco.

But I have to say that once math class involved letters, I was lost.

Fast forward to now: C suite exec with fancy degrees (including a JD) at a big DC gig impacting policy around the globe.

And I agree that math class is hard. I’ll go a step further: once you hit high school, math class is useless and isn’t a good predictor of academic performance or future success.

[Anonymous]

You haven't considered that a good chunk of the world's professions require a foundation of high school math even if yours doesn't? Not very Barbie-related but come on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You haven't considered that a good chunk of the world's professions require a foundation of high school math even if yours doesn't? Not very Barbie-related but come on!

Sure. Some professions do. Most do not.

So why force students who clearly aren’t stem-oriented to take calculus? Why not have them double-down on other subjects that will better equip them for their career path?

All I am saying isn’t Barbie wasn’t wrong when she said math class is hard. And that doesn’t make her stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While the last generation or so revolted against Barbie, I think they fixated on the wrong things and completely missed the critically important positive impact the Barbie doll made on girls. Hear me out.

Barbie was launched at a time when the only dolls available were baby dolls. Generations of girls were limited to dolls and related toys that fostered gendered stereotypes of playing house and preparing for a life of motherhood and housework.

Barbie wasn’t a wife or mother. Barbie was living her best life as a presumably wealthy single lady! Her boyfriend was an afterthought, and he didn’t have a career, house, or car.

Barbie on the other hand was a doctor, lawyer, president, etc. She was everything because she could be anything.

And she never married or had kids. She didn’t need to.

That’s the impact she made at a time when the only other dolls and toys for girls were baby dolls with diapers, bottles, kitchens, etc.

Barbie shifted the narrative.

Barbie becomes what sells, its not a role model and shouldn't be marketed as "a positive impact maker".

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone expect a doll to be anatomically correct? I mean do LOL dolls with eyes half the size of their head make girls insecure about their eyes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the last generation or so revolted against Barbie, I think they fixated on the wrong things and completely missed the critically important positive impact the Barbie doll made on girls. Hear me out.

Barbie was launched at a time when the only dolls available were baby dolls. Generations of girls were limited to dolls and related toys that fostered gendered stereotypes of playing house and preparing for a life of motherhood and housework.

Barbie wasn’t a wife or mother. Barbie was living her best life as a presumably wealthy single lady! Her boyfriend was an afterthought, and he didn’t have a career, house, or car.

Barbie on the other hand was a doctor, lawyer, president, etc. She was everything because she could be anything.

And she never married or had kids. She didn’t need to.

That’s the impact she made at a time when the only other dolls and toys for girls were baby dolls with diapers, bottles, kitchens, etc.

Barbie shifted the narrative.

“Math class is tough.”

— Barbie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Talk_Barbie

Definitely a PR fiasco.

But I have to say that once math class involved letters, I was lost.

Fast forward to now: C suite exec with fancy degrees (including a JD) at a big DC gig impacting policy around the globe.

And I agree that math class is hard. I’ll go a step further: once you hit high school, math class is useless and isn’t a good predictor of academic performance or future success.

You sound bad at math.

[Anonymous]

You know what Barbie has done? She has evolved. She's been living in the world since the 1959 and she has been representative of the experience of some women in every decade since. Of course many variations on Barbie have been regressive, feminist Barbie wouldn't have survived for 60 years.

But Barbie, like the generations of women who lived these 60 years, has changed as she's gone along.

Like her, don't like her, whatever, but she's been a barometer for societal change, and she has been a feminist icon as much as a feminist target as a result. Anyone who wants to reduce her to one thing is really silly, it is a toy that has managed to survive time of incredibly rapid and intense social change by learning and adapting to the world changing around her (or I should say, Mattel has done that, quite masterfully and most assuredly with a closer eye on profits than the wellbeing of young girls).

Barbie is a conversation starter, whether people like it or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the last generation or so revolted against Barbie, I think they fixated on the wrong things and completely missed the critically important positive impact the Barbie doll made on girls. Hear me out.

Barbie was launched at a time when the only dolls available were baby dolls. Generations of girls were limited to dolls and related toys that fostered gendered stereotypes of playing house and preparing for a life of motherhood and housework.

Barbie wasn’t a wife or mother. Barbie was living her best life as a presumably wealthy single lady! Her boyfriend was an afterthought, and he didn’t have a career, house, or car.

Barbie on the other hand was a doctor, lawyer, president, etc. She was everything because she could be anything.

And she never married or had kids. She didn’t need to.

That’s the impact she made at a time when the only other dolls and toys for girls were baby dolls with diapers, bottles, kitchens, etc.

Barbie shifted the narrative.

“Math class is tough.”

— Barbie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Talk_Barbie

Definitely a PR fiasco.

But I have to say that once math class involved letters, I was lost.

Fast forward to now: C suite exec with fancy degrees (including a JD) at a big DC gig impacting policy around the globe.

And I agree that math class is hard. I’ll go a step further: once you hit high school, math class is useless and isn’t a good predictor of academic performance or future success.

You sound bad at math.

Being bad at math *is* privilege. -DP (I have a math degree, but know not to let that slip in most situations)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the last generation or so revolted against Barbie, I think they fixated on the wrong things and completely missed the critically important positive impact the Barbie doll made on girls. Hear me out.

Barbie was launched at a time when the only dolls available were baby dolls. Generations of girls were limited to dolls and related toys that fostered gendered stereotypes of playing house and preparing for a life of motherhood and housework.

Barbie wasn’t a wife or mother. Barbie was living her best life as a presumably wealthy single lady! Her boyfriend was an afterthought, and he didn’t have a career, house, or car.

Barbie on the other hand was a doctor, lawyer, president, etc. She was everything because she could be anything.

And she never married or had kids. She didn’t need to.

That’s the impact she made at a time when the only other dolls and toys for girls were baby dolls with diapers, bottles, kitchens, etc.

Barbie shifted the narrative.

“Math class is tough.”

— Barbie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Talk_Barbie

Definitely a PR fiasco.

But I have to say that once math class involved letters, I was lost.

Fast forward to now: C suite exec with fancy degrees (including a JD) at a big DC gig impacting policy around the globe.

And I agree that math class is hard. I’ll go a step further: once you hit high school, math class is useless and isn’t a good predictor of academic performance or future success.

You sound bad at math.

Being bad at math *is* privilege. -DP (I have a math degree, but know not to let that slip in most situations)

Privileged: I am bad at math and I am CXO @ a non profit.
Immigrant - scores an A- in Calculus and gets rejected from state college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the last generation or so revolted against Barbie, I think they fixated on the wrong things and completely missed the critically important positive impact the Barbie doll made on girls. Hear me out.

Barbie was launched at a time when the only dolls available were baby dolls. Generations of girls were limited to dolls and related toys that fostered gendered stereotypes of playing house and preparing for a life of motherhood and housework.

Barbie wasn’t a wife or mother. Barbie was living her best life as a presumably wealthy single lady! Her boyfriend was an afterthought, and he didn’t have a career, house, or car.

Barbie on the other hand was a doctor, lawyer, president, etc. She was everything because she could be anything.

And she never married or had kids. She didn’t need to.

That’s the impact she made at a time when the only other dolls and toys for girls were baby dolls with diapers, bottles, kitchens, etc.

Barbie shifted the narrative.

“Math class is tough.”

— Barbie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Talk_Barbie

Definitely a PR fiasco.

But I have to say that once math class involved letters, I was lost.

Fast forward to now: C suite exec with fancy degrees (including a JD) at a big DC gig impacting policy around the globe.

And I agree that math class is hard. I’ll go a step further: once you hit high school, math class is useless and isn’t a good predictor of academic performance or future success.

You sound bad at math.

Being bad at math *is* privilege. -DP (I have a math degree, but know not to let that slip in most situations)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the last generation or so revolted against Barbie, I think they fixated on the wrong things and completely missed the critically important positive impact the Barbie doll made on girls. Hear me out.

Barbie was launched at a time when the only dolls available were baby dolls. Generations of girls were limited to dolls and related toys that fostered gendered stereotypes of playing house and preparing for a life of motherhood and housework.

Barbie wasn’t a wife or mother. Barbie was living her best life as a presumably wealthy single lady! Her boyfriend was an afterthought, and he didn’t have a career, house, or car.

Barbie on the other hand was a doctor, lawyer, president, etc. She was everything because she could be anything.

And she never married or had kids. She didn’t need to.

That’s the impact she made at a time when the only other dolls and toys for girls were baby dolls with diapers, bottles, kitchens, etc.

Barbie shifted the narrative.

Barbie becomes what sells, its not a role model and shouldn't be marketed as "a positive impact maker".

Can you agree that a time when the only dolls were babies and little girls were essentially enmeshed in a world with only toys related to motherhood was a real thing and the launch of Barbie—a single successful independent woman—was a paradigm shift?