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Ruth Handler's The Barbie Doll

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Ruth Handler created one of the most controversial dolls to exist. Her inspiration came from her daughter who enjoyed playing with paper dolls. She saw that her daughter enjoyed giving her dolls adult rolls, however they were dolls that represented children. Then came along The Bild Lilli Doll which inspired The Barbie Doll, which represented an adult body. The Barbie Doll was launched in March 1959 and was manufactured by the American toy company, Mattel. The Barbie Doll line includes four body types, seven skin tones, twenty-four hairstyles and twenty-two eye colours, including numerous fashions and accessories. The Barbie Doll has changed over the years due to the changing fashions, interests and beliefs over the decades.
The Barbie Doll …show more content…

She has been an inspiration to all with her many different jobs and clothing choices. However this may be, Barbie has been a controversial matter for many, many years. With her body image, size and weight The Barbie Doll has been the topic of great debate on whether she is great to allow young children, in particular girls, to play with. Many believe the doll shapes young girl’s perceptions on how to look, what to wear and how to live life. Barbie holds an unrealistic body shape, in which young children seek to obtain, it inspires them to have expectations that they will never meet. Not all people consider this- in fact some people believe that Barbie allows creative play for their children, and inspires the correct ideas such as; a woman can access jobs and aspire to be whatever they want, as in the 50’s and 60’s women couldn’t access many jobs. Also, a black Barbie was released showing that the doll is no longer just a white, skinny blonde with blue eyes. She has changed to suit various users, now in modern times Barbie has four body types, seven skin tones and numerous amounts of jobs to inspire young women.
Overall, The Barbie Doll strikes great controversy dealing with body image issues and unrealistic ideas. Some people believe it is great for young children, in particular, girls however some believe it isn’t. Barbie has changed drastically over many decades due to the fashions of the particular period or year, interests of society and the beliefs of society and parental

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