Barbie is an interesting toy to me.  A solid role model for girls who does basically everything in the world.
I've loved Barbie since I was a little girl, and then grew up to get into marketing for children's toys. She's such an icon.. a figurehead for the toy fashion doll market for the last 50 years. But heck, there's still been controversies and lawsuits, and even parodies of her and her lifestyle. Guess that speaks to her popularity.
Yeah, anything that spurs on lawsuits is a popular thing.  What's your favorite Barbie?
I like most of them fairly equally. As a kid, I didn't care. I will say, it kind of saddens me that sales have hit a steep decline since 2014, which it's hard to say why. Rise of technology? Maybe because girls are being encouraged to not just play with girl dolls? Either way, I hope the Barbie line sustains itself.
I feel like it could be because of people pushing girls to do more "boy" things in general (including jobs).  They could be not wanting to buy them anymore.  I'm sure they'll still have enough business to stay around, maybe not as big as they used to.
That's an interesting theory. I would agree with parts of it. But either way, there's no denying she had a significant impact on social values because she showed characteristics of female independence, and she idealized an upscale life-style that can be shared with affluent friends. She made people aspire to be more and aim to reach higher success because of how she was depicted.
She definitely had a huge effect on the world.  There's probably a lot of women out there who were inspired by Doctor Barbie or some other kind.
with affluent friends. Starting in 1987, Barbie has expanded into a media franchise, including animated films, television specials, , and music.
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
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 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 fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parodies of the