Analysis of Barbie Doll - Essay Example

Running Head: Analysis of Barbie Doll Insert His/her ANALYSIS OF BARBIE DOLL The Barbie doll has become a fashion icon for young girls. Barbie doll was first invented in the year 1959 by Ruth Handler. It was introduced in an American Toy Fair in New York. The dolls were sold at $3 each during the first year that they were brought in the market. It is an adult female doll which is actually a plastic figure, molded in the form of a human being and is basically for children’s playing purpose. The clothes and physical features of these dolls are a reflection of the American society.

These dolls are not only a thing that children like playing with but for girls it helps them imagine what they would look like when they grow up. The Barbie doll became the dream of many girls. The history of the Barbie doll started with the love story of a young boy and girl who fell in love and at that time in America there was a little tradition of girls going to college so they got married at a young age whose name are Ruth and Elliot Handler who had two children Barbie and Ken. They both owned a company in the 1940’s that used to make wooden frames.

This is how their toy business started and after that both of them joined their close friend Harold Mattson to form a company which could create such a doll which would be famous all over the world and the company was named Mattel where Matt stands for Mattson and el for Elliot. This is how Barbie came into existence and Ruth hired Charlotte Johnson to do Barbie’s wardrobe and in 1958 the patent of Barbie was obtained. The Japanese were the first one to manufacture hand-stitched clothes of the first Barbie dolls.

The Barbie doll was portrayed as a fashion model for the teenagers. From the time of its existence till today, the Barbie doll has taken on many professions like a doctor, dentist, paleontologist, firefighter and many others. Barbie was made as a symbol of perfection with no defects. (“Barbie’s History”, retrieved 2011) Children when played with these dolls could not relate themselves with the Barbie. The main reason was that the common people cannot be as good looking as her. She was supposed to be a fashion icon.

It was not realized that not everybody could afford to be as fashionable as the doll herself. Moreover there was no Barbie that was made pregnant or abused. These dolls basically represented the white class of the American society. The first Black Barbie doll came into the market in the 1980.These dolls were made for the African American so that they could relate themselves with the black Barbie doll. These dolls were made to promote equality because in America there also live black American so in order to understand the sentiments of their children Black Barbie doll was introduced so that their young children could look up to such a thing which they would want to become when they grow up.

(“Black Feminist Thought in the Matrix of Domination”, retrieved 2011) Nowadays examination of different marketing strategies relating to the Barbie brand are being formulated, which includes the effects that the barbie’s themes and tropes have on female identity and the perception of the public relating to femininity and masculinity, both. Barbie is sometimes regarded as the “American Dream”. She is supposed to be glamorous, having a fabulous career with every right to do whatever she wants to.

Some people are of the opinion that Barbie can be regarded as a woman who has many choices. Young women idolized her as a source of inspiration. Barbie is said to be associated to the Southern California lifestyle. The Barbie’s house signifies conceptions and enactments of war time violence. It can also be said that Barbie is a gendered victim. As she has a lot of feminine beauty, she requires protection from men. This could be an important factor in the study of the Barbie Doll. Barbie is also believed to be an icon of gay sub-culture.

It can be said that Barbie is a creation that fulfills every man’s desires. Many ideologies are associated with the Barbie doll. She is considered to be a liberated woman. We can rightly say that Barbie possess western values and features. She is also regarded as a post feminist. The white Barbie Doll was more dominant than the Black Barbie Doll. The main reason behind this factor was the minority state of the black Americans and the majority of the white Americans. In short, we can say that Barbie has been a famous and notified symbol of glamour, feminism, beauty and many other features which inspired many young girls and woman.

(Killpatrick, M, 2011) While concluding the negative facts, Barbie can be seen as source of enforcement in relations to oppression and domination because it is not necessary that every girl who can afford a Barbie doll and be inspired by it can afford to dress up and be trendy like the doll herself. This is a major cause of oppression among girls of the lower and middle class. This was not noticed that only rich and upper class girls were able to be as fashionable and stylish as their ideal “Barbie”.

As for the source of domination, it was the white Barbie doll that actually became a mere source of domination of white Americans over black Americans. Though black Barbie dolls were also manufactured, but they could not succeed to be as pretty and attractive as the white Barbie dolls. This proved to be one of the sources of domination of white Americans and oppression of black ones. References Barbie's History. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2011, from Dolls 4 Play: http://www.dolls4play.com/barbiehistory.

html Black Feminist Thought in the Matrix of Domination. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2011, from Hartford Web Publishing: http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/252.html Killpatrick, M. (2011, May 25). Genuine Ken: Courting and Gender Roles in Neoliberal America. Retrieved July 7, 2011, from The Monkey Science Journal: http://searchforsigns.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/genuine-ken/