18
Popular Culture Review
queen’s crown” (Scott 1). “Barbie Loses Her Sales Figures,” observed NPR in
2008 in a brief indicating a 12 percent decline in Barbie’s earnings (“Barbie
Loses”). A few months later, The Guardian noted, “It had to come to this
eventually. When Barbie’s tranquility was shattered seven years ago with the
arrival of four sassy rivals with pouting lips, pug noses and stumpy legs it was
only a matter of time before the world’s most famous doll dropped her permasmile, rolled up her sleeves and let the cat fight begin” (Pilkington).
The popular press pitted Barbie against Bratz, fueling the doll wars. In
many ways, the feud has been advantageous for both, providing dolls with
visibility and meaningfulness in the digital age when sales for traditional toys,
especially dolls, have remained flat (Clark 76). Although Bratz’s sales grew
considerably. Barbie merchandise still garnered income of over $3 billion
dollars per year, suggesting room for more than one popular doll line, despite
the sexist “cat fight” language. Yet the doll wars function as a metaphor for
something much larger than dueling corporate entities: they underscore the
dominant images of femininity in modem culture and the stmggle young girls
encounter as they confront questions of gender and identity.
Ruth Handler created Barbie to fill a gap in the doll market. In the 1950s,
the only dolls available were baby dolls, which prompted young girls to think
about their future roles as mothers. Handler fashioned Barbie as a way for girls
to become more comfortable with their developing breasts and their lives as
females. Barbie play assured them that they would not little girls forever and
allowed them to fantasize their futures. Because Barbie had no precise storyline,
she could be anything her owner wanted her to be, allowing for diverse modes
of play. As Barbie designer Ivy Ross notes, “She isn’t anything in particular, so
she becomes a vehicle for [girls’] dreams, their aspirations, their frustrations,
their dress rehearsal for everyday life” (qtd. in Clark 91-92). Barbie’s wardrobe,
however, became a crucial part of her identity, and through it, Ruth Handler
singlehandedly gave girls entree into the world of fashion by providing stylish,
exquisitely made outfits of the finest fabric and detail. Chic and classy, the
Barbie image exuded confidence, consumerism, and individualism. Yet other
characteristics defined Barbie as well: white, blonde, impossibly slender, pretty,
ready for fun and adventures, packaged in pink, and perfect. Barbie, dazzling
unrealistically, stood at the center of her own play universe, everything around
her an accessory, including boyfriend Ken.
Barbie’s status as an independent woman primed her to join the work force,
and she proved versatile. According to Eric Clark, “She started as a model and
over the years has had more than 90 careers. She has been fashion editor,
ballerina, stewardess, astronaut, nurse, veterinarian, a paleontologist, firefighter.
Marine Corps sergeant, concert pianist, aerobics instmctor, rock star, fashion
designer. She has mn for president three times and competed in the Olympics”
(85). Through it all, however, looking good remained a top priority. In the
1980s, when Mattel hit a rough period, the company under the direction of
product manager Jill Barad repositioned Barbie as a lifestyle brand and a symbol