ShareThisWho knew Barbie had a last name? The teen model was officially introduced to millions of little girls as Barbie Millicent Roberts on March 9, 1959.
And whether it is due to doll-sized doses of Botox or just a really strong constitution, Barbie is looking pretty much the same as she did a half-century ago. Her taste in fashion has changed (more than 50 designers have dressed her) and the updo has undergone a few updates, but little girls have been stalwart in their admiration through three generations.
Barbie has had more than 100 jobs over 50 years, including several that were for the times thought of as strictly for the Ken dolls of the world. She's been a doctor, a reporter, an astronaut and "American Idol" winner. According to Mattel, she's even been a presidential candidate. (No mention of which party she represented. Certainly not the Green Party, although Barbie has often been environmentally conscious. Everything in her dream house has always been pink. And that extends to the real beach house that was redecorated for the long-legged icon's 50th birthday.)
What made Barbie so appealing, so much so that Hoovers worldwide were clogged by millions of miniature open-toed spike heels over the years? Maybe it was because little girls were tired of playing Mommy and wanted to be the ones having fun for a change. Barbie was pretty and playful. She had a pint-sized closet full of clothes and could be a bridesmaid one day and a bride the next. She could marry again and again without a nasty divorce and go from college dorm room to the boardroom in the time it took to exchange her leggings and "Flashdance" ripped T-shirt for a three-piece suit and briefcase.
She was, as the original commercial portrayed her, every little girl's dream of what they wanted to be.
She's been criticized over the years, and not all of the criticism was unwarranted. If Barbie were a real girl, she would have needed back surgery years ago. Her body isn't exactly a model of proportion. And now she's getting tattoos, which some moms -- and dads -- may find doesn't set the example they want their little girls to follow.
A few years ago, there was even an anti-Barbie movement that suggested the model teen-ager would be more realistic as "Trailer-Trash Barbie" and "Pregnant and Unmarried Barbie."
A West Virginia state lawmaker proposed that the sale of Barbie be illegal in his state, as she "encourages young girls to focus on looks instead of intellect." What? He doesn't consider all those jobs she had requiring intellect? She was even smart enough to dump her boyfriend Ken, in 2004, maybe because he kept sitting around the dream house wearing those same old chinos and ratty terrycloth robe while she was bringing home the imaginary bacon. (In Barbie's perfect world, however, true love always prevails. According to National Public Radio, Barbie recently "twittered" that she was "back with my boyfriend.")
She's a survivor, this one. Little girls, even those with grandmothers who supported the failed Equal Rights Amendment, still ask for her -- and get her -- from those same grandmothers. Mattel officials did a remarkable job promoting her -- and her subsequent boyfriend, friends and family -- and also had the incredible idea to make the doll cheap and her outfits where parents get socked in the wallet.
You can't say Barbie hasn't kept up with the times. Even at 50, she's techno-savvy and the reigning fantasy fashionista. And we like the quote from one Atlanta woman that makes much of the criticism seem petty. "I really love that Barbie can do anything," Elizabeth Wright told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Our mothers grew up thinking they could be stewardesses. Barbie came along and said 'You can be the pilot.' " That's a darned sight better than the dreary repetitiveness of motherhood, as opposed to its true joys, that little girls of the 1950s learned from Betsy Wetsy.
(Bonnie Williams is the editorial page editor of the Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail. E-mail williamsbc(at)independentmail.com)
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