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Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.

Barbie is the figurehead of a brand of Mattel dolls and accessories, including other family members and collectible dolls. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over six decades and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parodies of the doll and her lifestyle. Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company's largest and most profitable line.

The brand has expanded into a long-running multimedia franchise since the late 1980s, including video games and CGI/computer-animated films, the latter which began in 2001, became originally available on home video formats and broadcast regularly on the Nickelodeon cable channel in the United States from 2002 to 2017. Since 2017, the franchise has been moved over to streaming services.

Barbie and her best male friend Ken have been described as two most popular dolls in the world. Since its launch, ''Barbie'' has transformed the toy business in affluent communities globally by becoming a vehicle for the sale of related merchandise (accessories, clothes, friends and relatives of Barbie, etc.). Writing for ''Journal of Popular Culture'' in 1977, Don Richard Cox noted that Barbie has a significant impact on social values by conveying characteristics of female independence, and with her multitude of accessories, an idealized upscale life-style that can be shared with affluent friends.

Sales of Barbie dolls declined sharply from 2014 to 2016. In 2020, Mattel sold $1.35 billion worth of Barbie dolls and accessories and this was their best sales growth in two decades. This is an increase from the $950 million the brand sold during 2017.

History

Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.

During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper '' Bild''. Lilli was a blonde bombshell, a working girl who knew what she wanted and was not above using men to get it. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.

Upon her return to the United States, Handler redesigned the doll (with help from local inventor-designer Jack Ryan) and the doll was given a new name, ''Barbie'', after Handler's daughter Barbara. The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday.

The first Barbie doll wore a black-and-white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde or brunette. The doll was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model", with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production.

Louis Marx and Company sued Mattel in March 1961. After licensing Lilli, they claimed that Mattel had "infringed on Greiner & Hausser's patent for Bild-Lilli's hip joint", and also claimed that Barbie was "a direct take-off and copy" of Bild-Lilli. The company additionally claimed that Mattel "falsely and misleadingly represented itself as having originated the design". Mattel counter-claimed and the case was settled out of court in 1963. In 1964, Mattel bought Greiner & Hausser's copyright and patent rights for the Bild-Lilli doll for $21,600.

Ruth Handler believed that it was important for Barbie to have an adult appearance, and early market research showed that some parents were unhappy about the doll's chest, which had distinct breasts. Barbie's appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model. This would be the last adjustment Ruth would make to her own creation as, three years later, she and her husband Elliot were removed from their posts at Mattel after an investigation found them guilty of issuing false and misleading financial reports.

Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys. In 2006, it was estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls had been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.

The standard range of Barbie dolls and related accessories are manufactured to approximately 1/6 scale, which is also known as ''playscale''. The standard dolls are approximately 11½ inches (29 cm) tall.

Appearances in media/multimedia franchises

Since the mid-to-late 1980s, Barbie-branded products included not only the range of dolls with their clothes and accessories, but also a large range of branded goods such as books, apparel, cosmetics, video games and audiovisual content. Barbie is well-known for her appearance as a virtual actress in a series of computer-animated feature films starting with ''Barbie in the Nutcracker'' in 2001, which were distributed on home video formats and broadcast on Nickelodeon in the United States ( and globally) until 2017. Since 2017, they have been revamped as streaming television films, branded as animated "specials" and released through streaming services, primarily on Netflix.

As at the release of the film ''Barbie in the Pink Shoes'' on February 26, 2013, the film series have sold over 110 million units globally. Before the films, the brand had two television specials released in 1987 in response to the rise of digital media at that time; '' Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World'' and its sequel. Since 2012, she has appeared in several television and web series; including '' Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse'', '' Barbie: Dreamtopia'', '' Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures'' and '' Barbie: It Takes Two'' and as a supporting character in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' films and the ''My Scene'' media franchise. In 2015, Barbie began appearing as a vlogger on YouTube called ''Barbie Vlogger'' where she talks about her fictional life, fashion, friends and family, and even charged topics such as mental health and racism. She was portrayed by Australian actress Margot Robbie in a live-action film adaptation which is scheduled to be released on 21 July 2023 by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States.

Fictional biography

Barbie's full name is ''Barbara Millicent Roberts''. In a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s, her parents' names are given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin. In the Random House novels, Barbie attended Willows High School; while in the ''Generation Girl'' books, published by Golden Books in 1999, she attended the fictional Manhattan International High School in New York City (based on the real-life Stuyvesant High School).

She has an on-off romantic relationship with her then-boyfriend Ken (full name "Kenneth Carson"), who first appeared in 1961. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006, they were hoping to rekindle their relationship after Ken had a makeover. In 2011, Mattel launched a campaign for Ken to win Barbie's affections back. The pair officially reunited in Valentine's Day 2011. At the release of ''Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures'' in 2018, the pair are seen as just friends or next-door neighbors.

Mattel has created a range of companions and relatives for Barbie. She has three younger sisters: Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea (named Kelly until 2011). Her sisters have co-starred in many entries of the ''Barbie'' film series, starting with ''Barbie & Her Sisters in A Pony Tale'' from 2013. Retired members of Barbie's family included Todd (twin brother to Stacie), Krissy (a baby sister), and Francie (cousin). Barbie's friends include Hispanic Teresa, Midge, African American Christie, and Steven (Christie's boyfriend). Barbie was also friendly with Blaine, an Australian surfer, during her split with Ken in 2004.

Barbie has had over 40 pets including cats and dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub, and a zebra. She has owned a wide range of vehicles, including pink Beetle and Corvette convertibles, trailers, and Jeeps. She also holds a pilot's license, and operates commercial airliners in addition to serving as a flight attendant. Barbie's careers are designed to show that women can take on a variety of roles in life, and the doll has been sold with a wide range of titles including ''Miss Astronaut Barbie'' (1965), ''Doctor Barbie'' (1988), and ''Nascar Barbie'' (1998).

Legacy and influence

Barbie has become a cultural icon and has been given honors that are rare in the toy world. In 1974, a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for a week. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris at the Louvre held a Barbie exhibit in 2016. The exhibit featured 700 Barbie dolls over two floors as well as works by contemporary artists and documents (newspapers, photos, video) that contextualize Barbie.

In 1986, the artist Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie. The painting sold at auction at Christie's, London for $1.1million. In 2015, The Andy Warhol Foundation then teamed up with Mattel to create an Andy Warhol Barbie.

Outsider artist Al Carbee took thousands of photographs of Barbie and created countless collages and dioramas featuring Barbie in various settings. Carbee was the subject of the feature-length documentary Magical Universe. Carbee's collage art was presented in the 2016 Barbie exhibit at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris in the section about visuals artists who have been inspired by Barbie.

In 2013, in Taiwan, the first Barbie-themed restaurant called "Barbie Café" opened under the Sinlaku group.

The ''Economist'' has emphasized the importance of Barbie to children's imagination:

On September 7, 2021, following the debut of the streaming television film '' Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams'' on Netflix, Barbie joined forces with Grammy Award-nominated music producer, songwriter, singer and actress Ester Dean and Girls Make Beats – an organization dedicated to expanding the female presence of music producers, DJs and audio engineers – to inspire more girls to explore a future in music production.

50th anniversary

In 2009, Barbie celebrated her 50th birthday. The celebrations included a runway show in New York for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The event showcased fashions contributed by fifty well-known haute couturiers including Diane von Fürstenberg, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Bob Mackie, and Christian Louboutin.

Barbie Dream Gap Project

In 2019, Mattel launched the "Barbie Dream Gap Project" to raise awareness of the phenomenon known as the "Dream Gap": beginning at the age of five, girls begin to doubt their own intelligence, where boys do not. This leads to boys pursuing careers requiring a higher intelligence, and girls being underrepresented in those careers. As an example, in the U.S., 33% of sitting judges are female. This statistic inspired the release of Judge Barbie in four different skin tones and hairstyles with judge robes and a gavel accessory.

Thank You Heroes

In May 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mattel announced a new line of career dolls modeled after the first responders and essential workers of 2020. For every doll purchased, Mattel donated a doll to the First Responders Children's Foundation.

Habitat for Humanity

In February 2022, Mattel celebrated its 60-year anniversary of the Barbie Dreamhouse by partnering with Habitat for Humanity International. Mattel committed to taking on 60 projects, including new construction, home preservation, and neighborhood revitalization.

Controversies

Body image

From the start, some have complained that "the blonde, plastic doll conveyed an unrealistic body image to girls."

Criticisms of Barbie are often centered around concerns that children consider Barbie a role model and will attempt to emulate her. One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a young woman, leading to a risk that girls who attempt to emulate her will become anorexic. Unrealistic body proportions in Barbie dolls have been connected to some eating disorders in children.

A standard Barbie doll is tall, giving a height of at 1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate. In 1963, the outfit "Barbie Baby-Sits" came with a book titled ''How to Lose Weight'' which advised: "Don't eat!". The same book was included in another ensemble called "Slumber Party" in 1965 along with a pink bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs. (50 kg), which would be around 35 lbs. (16 kg) underweight for a woman tall. Mattel said that the waist of the Barbie doll was made small because the waistbands of her clothes, along with their seams, snaps, and zippers, added bulk to her figure. In 1997, Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs.

In 2016, Mattel introduced a range of new body types: 'tall', 'petite', and 'curvy', releasing them exclusively as part of the Barbie Fashionistas line. 'Curvy Barbie' received a great deal of media attention and even made the cover of ''Time'' magazine with the headline "Now Can We Stop Talking About My Body?". Despite the curvy doll's body shape being equivalent to a US size 4 in clothing, some children reportedly regarded her as "fat".

Although Barbie had been criticized for its unrealistic-looking "tall and petite" dolls, the company has been offering more dolls set to more realistic standards in order to help promote a positive body image.

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Diversity

Complaints also point to a lack of diversity in the line. Mattel responded to these criticisms. Starting in 1980, it produced Hispanic dolls, and later came models from across the globe. For example, in 2007, it introduced "Cinco de Mayo Barbie" wearing a ruffled red, white, and green dress (echoing the Mexican flag). ''Hispanic'' magazine reports that:
More recently, Professor Emilie Rose Aguilo-Perez has argued that over time, Mattel shifted from ambiguous Hispanic presentations in their dolls to one that is more assertive in its "Latinx" marketing and product labeling.

"Colored Francie" made her debut in 1967, and she is sometimes described as the first African-American Barbie doll. However, she was produced using the existing head molds for the white Francie doll and lacked distinct African characteristics other than dark skin. The first African-American doll in the Barbie range is usually regarded as Christie, who made her debut in 1968. Black Barbie was launched in 1980 but still had Caucasian features. In 1990, Mattel created a focus group with African-American children and parents, early childhood specialists, and clinical psychologist, Darlene Powell Hudson. Instead of using the same molds for the Caucasian Barbies, new ones were created. In addition, facial features, skin tones, hair texture, and names were all altered. The body shapes looked different, but the proportions were the same to ensure clothing and accessories were interchangeable. In September 2009, Mattel introduced the So In Style range, which was intended to create a more realistic depiction of African-American people than previous dolls. In 2016, Mattel expanded this line to include seven skin tones, twenty-two eye colors, and twenty-four hairstyles. Part of the reason for this change was due to declining sales. The brand now offers over 22 skin tones, 94 hair colors, 13 eye colors and five body types.

Mattel teamed up with Nabisco to launch a cross-promotion Barbie doll with Oreo cookies in 1997 and 2001. While the 1997 release of the doll was only released in a white version, for the 2001 release Mattel manufactured both a white and a black version. The 2001 release ''Barbie Oreo School Time Fun'' was marketed as someone with whom young girls could play after class and share "America's favorite cookie". Critics argued that in the African American community, ''Oreo'' is a derogatory term meaning that the person is "black on the outside and white on the inside", like the chocolate sandwich cookie itself. The doll was unsuccessful and Mattel recalled the unsold stock, making it sought after by collectors.

In May 1997, Mattel introduced ''Share a Smile Becky'', a doll in a pink wheelchair. Kjersti Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student in Tacoma, Washington with cerebral palsy, pointed out that the doll would not fit into the elevator of Barbie's $100 Dream House. Mattel announced that it would redesign the house in the future to accommodate the doll.

Bad influence concerns

In July 1992, Mattel released '' Teen Talk Barbie'', which spoke a number of phrases including "Will we ever have enough clothes?", "I love shopping!", and "Wanna have a pizza party?" Each doll was programmed to say four out of 270 possible phrases, so that no two given dolls were likely to be the same (the number of possible combinations is 270!/(266!4!) = 216,546,345). One of these 270 phrases was "Math class is tough!", which led to criticism from the American Association of University Women; about 1.5% of all the dolls sold said the phrase. The doll was often erroneously misattributed in the media as having said "Math is hard!". In October 1992, Mattel announced that ''Teen Talk Barbie'' would no longer say "Math class is tough!", and offered a swap to anyone who owned a doll that did.

In 2002, Mattel introduced a line of pregnant Midge (and baby) dolls, but this ''Happy Family'' line was quickly pulled from the market due to complaints that she promoted teen pregnancy, though by that time, Barbie's friend Midge was supposed to be a married adult.

In September 2003, the Middle Eastern country of Saudi Arabia outlawed the sale of Barbie dolls and franchises, stating that they did not conform to the ideals of Islam. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice warned, "Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful." The 2003 Saudi ban was temporary. In Muslim-majority nations, there is an alternative doll called Fulla, which was introduced in November 2003 and is equivalent to Barbie, but is designed specifically to represent traditional Islamic values. Fulla is not manufactured by Mattel (although Mattel still licenses Fulla dolls and franchises for sale in certain markets), and (as of January 2021) the "Jewish" Barbie brand is still available in other Muslim-majority countries including Egypt and Indonesia. In Iran, the Sara and Dara dolls, which were introduced in March 2002, are available as an alternative to Barbie, even though they have not been as successful.

In November 2014, Mattel received criticism over the book '' I Can Be a Computer Engineer'', which depicted Barbie as being inept at computers and requiring that her two male friends complete all of the necessary tasks to restore two laptops after she accidentally infects her and her sister's laptop with a malware-laced USB flash drive. Critics complained that the book was sexist, as other books in the ''I Can Be...'' series depicted Barbie as someone who was competent in those jobs and did not require outside assistance from others. Mattel later removed the book from sale on Amazon in response to the criticism, and the company released a " Computer Engineer Barbie" doll who was a game programmer rather than designer.

"Role model Barbies"

In March 2018, in time for International Women's Day, Mattel unveiled the "Barbie Celebrates Role Models" campaign with a line of 17 dolls, informally known as "sheroes", from diverse backgrounds "to showcase examples of extraordinary women". Mattel developed this collection in response to mothers concerned about their daughters having positive female role models. Dolls in this collection include Frida Kahlo, Patti Jenkins, Chloe Kim, Nicola Adams, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Bindi Irwin, Amelia Earhart, Misty Copeland, Helene Darroze, Katherine Johnson, Sara Gama, Martyna Wojciechowska, Gabby Douglas, Guan Xiaotong, Ava Duvernay, Yuan Yuan Tan, Iris Apfel, Ashley Graham and Leyla Piedayesh. In 2020, the company announced a new release of "shero" dolls, including Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario. In July 2021, Mattel released a Naomi Osaka Barbie doll as a part of the 'Barbie Role Model' series. Osaka originally partnered with Barbie two years earlier. A month earlier, a Julie Bishop doll was released to acknowledge the former Australian politician, as was one for general practitioner Kirby White for her work during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. In August 2021 a Barbie modelled after European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was released.

Collecting

Mattel estimates that there are well over 100,000 avid Barbie collectors. Ninety percent are women, at an average age of 40, purchasing more than twenty Barbie dolls each year. Forty-five percent of them spend upwards of $1000 a year.
Vintage Barbie dolls from the early years are the most valuable at auction, and while the original Barbie was sold for $3.00 in 1959, a mint boxed Barbie from 1959 sold for $3552.50 on eBay in October 2004. On September 26, 2006, a Barbie doll set a world record at auction of £9,000 sterling (US$17,000) at Christie's in London. The doll was a Barbie in Midnight Red from 1965 and was part of a private collection of 4,000 Barbie dolls being sold by two Dutch women, Ietje Raebel and her daughter Marina.

In recent years, Mattel has sold a wide range of Barbie dolls aimed specifically at collectors, including porcelain versions, vintage reproductions, and depictions of Barbie as a range of characters from film and television series such as ''The Munsters'' and '' Star Trek''. There are also collector's edition dolls depicting Barbie dolls with a range of different ethnic identities. In 2004, Mattel introduced the Color Tier system for its collector's edition Barbie dolls including pink, silver, gold, and platinum, depending on how many of the dolls are produced. In 2020, Mattel introduced the Dia De Los Muertos collectible Barbie doll, the second collectible released as part of the company's La Catrina line which was launched in 2019.

Parodies and lawsuits

Barbie has frequently been the target of parody:
* Mattel sued artist Tom Forsythe over a series of photographs called ''Food Chain Barbie'' in which Barbie winds up in a blender. Mattel lost the lawsuit and was forced to pay Forsythe's legal costs.
* In Latin America, notable controversies include a 2018 legal dispute involving the Panama-based Frida Kahlo Corporation's allegations that Frida Kahlo's great-niece in Mexico had wrongly licensed the Frida Kahlo trademark for the "Frida Kahlo Barbie" doll.
* Mattel filed a lawsuit in 2004 in the U.S. against Barbara Anderson-Walley, a Canadian business owner whose nickname is ''Barbie'', over her website, which sells fetish clothing. The lawsuit was dismissed.
* In 2011, Greenpeace parodied Barbie, calling on Mattel to adopt a policy for its paper purchases that would protect the rainforest. Four months later, Mattel adopted a paper sustainability policy.
* ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' displayed a "Barbie Crystal Meth Lab".
* ''Saturday Night Live'' aired a parody of the Barbie commercials featuring "Gangsta Bitch Barbie" and "Tupac Ken". In 2002, the show also aired a skit, which starred Britney Spears as Barbie's sister Skipper.
* In November 2002, a New York judge refused an injunction against the British-based artist Susanne Pitt, who had produced a "Dungeon Barbie" doll in bondage clothing.
* Aqua's song "Barbie Girl" was the subject of the lawsuit '' Mattel v. MCA Records'', which Mattel lost in 2002, with Judge Alex Kozinski saying that the song was a "parody and a social commentary".
* Two commercials by automobile company Nissan featuring dolls similar to Barbie and Ken was the subject of another lawsuit in 1997. In the first commercial, a female doll is lured into a car by a doll resembling G.I. Joe to the dismay of a Ken-like doll, accompanied by Van Halen's "You Really Got Me". In the second commercial, the "Barbie" doll is saved by the "G.I. Joe" doll after she is accidentally knocked into a swimming pool by the "Ken" doll to Kiss's "Dr. Love". The makers of the commercial said that the dolls' names were Roxanne, Nick and Tad. Mattel claimed that the commercial did "irreparable damage" to its products, but settled.
* In 1999, Canadian nude model Barbie Doll Benson was involved in a trademark infringement case over her domain name, BarbieBenson.com.
* In 1993, a group calling itself the Barbie Liberation Organization secretly modified a group of Barbie dolls by implanting voice boxes from G.I. Joe dolls, then returning the Barbies to the toy stores from where they were purchased.
* Malibu Stacy from ''The Simpsons'' episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" (1994).
* ''Savior Barbie'' refers to a satirical Instagram account. Savior Barbie is depicted as being in Africa where she runs an NGO that provides drinking water to locals and makes sure to provide footage that depicts her glorious acts of goodness. The account is likely to have inspired others such as "Hipster Barbie" and "Socality Barbie".

Competition from Bratz dolls

In May 2001, MGA Entertainment launched the ''Bratz'' series of dolls, a move that gave Barbie her first serious competition in the fashion doll market. In 2004, sales figures showed that Bratz dolls were outselling Barbie dolls in the United Kingdom, although Mattel maintained that in terms of the number of dolls, clothes, and accessories sold, Barbie remained the leading brand. In 2005, figures showed that sales of Barbie dolls had fallen by 30% in the United States, and by 18% worldwide, with much of the drop being attributed to the popularity of Bratz dolls.

In December 2006, Mattel sued MGA Entertainment for $1 billion, alleging that Bratz creator Carter Bryant was working for Mattel when he developed the idea for ''Bratz''. On July 17, 2008, a federal jury agreed that the Bratz line was created by Carter Bryant while he was working for Mattel and that MGA and its chief executive officer Isaac Larian

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