Since her debut on March 9, 1959 (officially considered her birthday), Barbie has become a cultural icon, teaching girls (boys too) that they can be anything they want to be. Barbie’s been a US Air Force pilot, a dentist, a NASCAR driver, an astronaut, a nurse, a firefighter, a model, a news anchor, a candy store cashier, a chef, an ambassador for world peace, a ballerina, a veterinarian, a Sea World trainer, a business executive, a bus driver, a cheerleader, a palaeontologist, a cowgirl, an architect and a police officer. She’s taught sign language, Spanish, dance, swimming, art, aerobics and special education.
Yay Barbie as an Anglican minister and Hillary Clinton, above! In about 1992, my 8 year old son and his friend Kim made a sculpture - they took my daughter's Barbies and masking taped them to a large piece of plywood. It was quite fantastical and a friend of mine offered to buy it as a piece of art. But Anna was upset to find her Barbies plastered all over a board. Another artistic career cut short.
My complain about Barbie has always been her absurdly small feet. We big footed women suffer enough from footism - begone, Cinderella and her ugly sisters with their giant feet! - without having this role model with her itsy bitsy footies preset for high heels. Feh.
AND ... here's the most stunning array of photographs, the Smithsonian photo contest finalists.
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