Getting to Know Barbie

Let me first start off by saying that based on the title of this post, if you are not interested in learning more about the story of Barbie, feel free to skip this post and come back next week.

And secondly, just so you know I did not play with Barbies growing up although I will admit that on a visit to my cousin’s house in Texas one time, we did play with GI Joes (the original 12 inch tall ones) but we mostly dug fox holes for them and then from a distance, tossed in fire crackers to see the soldiers being blasted up into the air.

But for those who are interested in Barbie, read on…

My earliest exposure to Barbie dolls was when my sister had some when we were growing up.  Not that I was interested in playing with dolls as I said.  No, I was fascinated by all the tiny accessories that went with her as early on, I recognized my love for small miniature models.  I can recall intensely scrutinizing the miniature paper towels that went in her kitchen.

My next exposure to Barbie was when our daughter had some.  While I had no trouble playing cars with my two sons as I loved cars, I had difficulty playing Barbie dolls with my daughter.  I must have just lacked the creativity to come up with a storyline to play.  Although, when I asked her about this, she thought she probably had me play Ken.

Fast forward a number of years to my next exposure when our in-town granddaughter had some Barbie dolls.  I recalled the challenges I faced playing with our daughter, but I still took on the task whenever asked.  It was still hard for me to do.

I know I am mainly speaking to my female readers out there but maybe you too played with Barbies growing up and had fond memories.  Possibly you played with a parent, a sibling, or an equally interested friend.  I know my wife had Barbie dolls that she played with growing up.

Other than me just being aware of the release of the 2023 movie, it was a Barbie Expo exhibit that I saw in Montreal in October of 2023 that brought this famous doll to the forefront of my consciousness.

On display were over 1,000 dolls dressed in a multitude of costumes, some of which were created by famous designers such as Yves Saint Laurent.

I know my wife was ready to leave the exhibit long before I was, but I just really enjoyed staring at all the miniature dolls and lingered in front of almost all of them.

This year, when a historical novel by Renee Rosen was published about Barbie, I thought what a fun way to learn about Barbie’s creation and development.  But Barbie’s story cannot be told without also focusing on the woman, Ruth Handler, who conceived of Barbie and the toy company she helped co-found with her husband and a friend—Mattel.  Interestingly, the name Mattel came from a combination of the first names of the two male co-founders, Matt and Ruth’s husband, Elliot.

While it took that Barbie Expo to spark my interest in learning more about Barbie, it was Mattel’s other hugely successful toy that I played with growing up (and did with my two sons and continue to do so with my grandchildren)—Hot Wheels.

Prior to the introduction of Barbie in 1959, the only types of dolls available to play with just allowed little girls to pretend being mothers taking care of babies or small children.  Or in my daughter’s case in the photo above, pretending to work at a Mother’s Day Out at naptime.  Ruth’s genius was to envision an adult female doll that would allow those same little girls to play and dream of what they might become one day.  And an even greater genius for Ruth was to produce (and of course sell) the multitude of clothing and accessory items that Barbie could wear and use making that play even more enjoyable.  The inspiration for both of these came to Ruth on a family vacation to Europe in 1956 in the most interesting  way.

Bringing Barbie to market obviously required a number of creative and talented people, most notably the primary engineer, Jack Ryan (sounds like a Tom Clancey character).  In fact, in almost Clancey like fashion, prior to joining Mattel, the real Jack Ryan started out his engineering career designing military missiles for the Raytheon company.  But Jack had a dark, controversial side as well and until his death, claimed he had invented Barbie.

The development and success of Barbie (and of course Ken) is an amazing story to read.  As always whenever I read an historical fiction, I always want to read a non-fiction book to separate the facts from the make-believe.  In this case, I actually found two.

The first non-fiction book by Jerry Oppenheimer, tells the broader and more controversial story of Mattel and how it strove to dominate the toy market.  While it covered more than just the development of Barbie (and Hot Wheels), it confirmed many of the amazing details from the historical fiction I read (and yes, I will refrain from exposing any spoilers, even the genesis of the dolls names).

The second non-fiction book by Robin Gerber offered a more personal story of Ruth and reconfirmed many of the facts from Oppenheimer’s book.  And as with Rosen’s historical fiction, it covered the serious health issues that Ruth suffered later in life that prompted her to create yet another company that well served many of those same women who had once played with Barbie.

Having been a boy (and now a senior citizen) who was and is more interested in cars, I never had a fascination with Barbie.  But having seen the world of Barbie in that exhibit in 2023, I am thoroughly glad I read these three books.  They made me aware of a truly interesting story.

Barbie celebrated her 50^th anniversary in 2009 (the year Gerber’s non-fiction book was published) and her 65^th anniversary just last year.  As claimed, she really is the most famous doll in the world.  And now I know her interesting and unique story.