Did Barbie really do everything?

Did Barbie really do everything?

Barbie, the infamous doll first debuted on the 9th of March 1959. A doll who was created by Ruth Handler with the aim of girls having the ability to imagine and fantasise about what they may be like when they grow up, a refreshing concept amongst the ongoing media that promoted a sole role for women, a sole being: a housewife. 

The Barbie exhibition displayed in London creates a timeline of the Barbie doll as she progresses through various looks, lives and labels. As you enter, you are met with the first ever Barbie doll (a little scary looking when you go for a close up). 

Timelines of logos and various pivotal developments within the Barbie world are shown as you continue, with mention to Barbie’s sisters, friends and boyfriend Ken. It soon opens up to a circular room, with Barbie dolls lined along the wall in chronological order, explaining their relevance to that time period.

The exhibition gives credit to names who were involved with Barbie — through her clothing and image — with the likes of Oscar De La Renta (the first fashion designer to create a line for Barbie), Carlyle Nuera (who designed the doll marking the 65th anniversary of Barbie) as well as famous figures who offered influence to Barbie dolls, such as Diana Ross and Gladys Knight to Barbie’s friend ’Christie O’Neil’ who was later relaunched as ’Superstar Christie’.  

Barbie encapsulated what a woman was and could be in many ways, yet as an 11.5 inch plastic doll, she still faces similar criticism to women in the media that we recognise in our lives. Portrayed as a body, not a toy, that women should unrealistically aim to achieve, despite its target audience being young girls…imagine the beliefs it instilled in them without us realising.

Growing up, I didn’t have many Barbie dolls, partly because I was amongst the many Monster High doll fanatics, as well as the cost of Barbie and all her fun accessories, but in reflection, also because of the subconscious distaste I had for the doll. In more specific terms: jealousy. 

Barbie had it all, the sisters, girlfriends, the boyfriend. But we all forgot one major thing.

She’s plastic. Cold, shiny, hard plastic.

Even just as a plastic doll, she couldn’t, as a woman, have a purpose other than to seemingly bring others down and appeal to the male gaze. Amazing, isn’t it? That a whole generation of women could be so concerned with their appearance due to a plastic doll: an object.

For so many years, myself and other girls carried around this undiscussed offence to Barbie, only questioned in recent years with developments in the media, such as the Times releasing an issue about developments with Barbie’s body, and what that meant for Mattel, as well as the Barbie film released in 2023 (mentioned in the exhibition as well as a display of Margot Robbie’s skater outfit)

But what made us dislike the doll?

She was everything. Girly but smart, with everything a girl could ever want, the lifestyle, but also the drive to earn it herself. So what wasn’t there to like?

The fact that she was a girl with everything.

As time progressed, the Barbie ‘hate train’ seemed to grow, with colours being associated with her and therefore avoided. Pink clothing or accessories and blonde hair as obvious examples. Many of us relate to having had a ‘tomboy phase’ when we were younger, and I remember part of my desire for one was due to the comments that boys around me would made about Barbie, that she was ‘embarrassing’ or ’dumb’. All whilst they were sat on the floor with their Zip Lock folders containing their pristine Pokémon cards that they guarded with their life. 

So I avoided pink, as did many other girls, but little did we know that a seemingly small act could harbour a far deeper issue. Pink wasn’t just associated with Barbie, it was associated with girls, Barbie only furthered that narrative. So by writing off pink as ‘gross’, many of us subconsciously wrote off girls who felt comfortable expressing ‘femininity’ in a similar fashion. It’s a shameful and painful thing to admit, but many of us girls had a deep-rooted jealousy for the doll, so much so, that we felt there was no other suitable response. 

I found this exhibition extremely eye-opening for this reason, and would recommend to anyone looking for an interesting activity in London. 

So to answer my initial question, “Did Barbie really do everything?”. Aside from the countless jobs and glamorous lifestyle, Barbie reflected current trends and affairs as more roles became accessible to women, she acted as a mirror, reflecting how society could be just as shallow as she was hollow. She acted as a role model to girls around the globe, encouraging them to dream big about their futures, no matter what it looked like, embracing stereotypically ‘girly’ things, whilst still promoting the exploration of ‘boyish’ things. She was also able to share some experience with women, that if you are a successful one, especially one who doesn’t ‘fit the mould’ of a smart woman, the world will do anything to try and push you down.

So yes, Barbie really did do everything.