‘Barbie Girl’

The theme of International Women’s Day this year ‘Choose to Challenge’ is about empowerment and options. This reminded me of the way Mattel co-founder, Ruth Handler, imagined the potential of her creation – the Barbie Doll – in the late 1950s.  Handler said: “My whole philosophy of Barbie was through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be … Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices”.

Barbie (named after Handler’s daughter, Barbara) was launched  at the American International Toy Fair in New York, this month 62 years ago.  She continues to be part of a more than a one billion dollar enterprise – the sale of dolls and accessories has grown substantially in the past two decades.

However, Barbie’s history may come as a surprise to many. The idea for Barbie emerged when Handler was visiting Europe in 1956. While in Switzerland, she encountered a doll known as ‘Bild Lilli’ which was marketed as a sexy trinket for grown men. Lilli was a blonde bombshell who possessed a curvy posable body, wore heavy makeup and had many outfits and accessories. Handler was so impressed with the possibilities of the doll, she purchased three in Hamburg – giving one to her daughter and two to Mattel fabricators.

The Lilli doll was based on a popular character in a German comic strip for the newspaper Bild-Zeitung. Lilli first appeared in 1952 and made her way in the post-war world through a combination of office work (‘the saucy secretary’) and dating wealthy men.  Famously quick-witted, discreet, but not afraid to challenge male authority, she was described as both: ‘the star of every bar’ and  ‘a gold-digging buxom broad who got by in life seducing wealthy male suitors’.

Lilli’s comic strip conversations were filled with clever comebacks. An example: while walking down the street in a bikini, she is stopped by a police officer who informs her it is illegal to wear a two-piece swimsuit. Her response: “Oh, and in your opinion, which part should I take off?”

The cartoon was so popular that the German newspaper created a three dimensional version in 1955 which was sold as an adult novelty toy from bars, tobacco kiosks and adult toy shops. The dolls were often given out at bachelor parties and could be seen dangling from car rearview mirrors. (Lilli dolls were available in two sizes: 12 inch and 7.5inch)

While marketed to adults, young girls wanted to play with her as well – particularly due to the diversity of Lilli’s outfits. Watching her daughter’s fascination with Lilli, Handler had the idea that girls would enjoy and benefit from a three-dimensional figure with which they could act out scenarios and picture their own futures.

Barbie was a significant departure from the normal toys for girls. Lilli and the original Barbie are very similar in appearance. Initially, they both had blonde hair, small waists, large breasts and eyes that glance to the side (Barbie’s eyes would face to the front a few years later). Barbie wears significantly less makeup than Lilli, and does not quite have Lilli’s suggestively arched eyebrows or ‘stiletto’ feet.  Handler was clear that Barbie should have the physical attributes of a young woman so that girls could project their dreams and futures onto her. As Handler said: “If  [a girl] was going to do role playing of what she would be like when she was 16 or 17, it was a little stupid to play with a doll that had a flat chest. So, I gave it beautiful breasts”.

Not surprisingly, Bild Lilli’s manufacturers, Greiner & Hauser, sued Mattel after Barbie was released claiming the American company had copied Lilli. Eventually, the case was settled out of court and in 1964, Mattel bought the rights to Bild Lilli and production of the German dolls ceased. A total of 130,000 Lilli dolls were manufactured and they are now very much collectors’ items fetching thousands of Euros at auction.

Over the decades Barbie’s image has morphed with changing social attitudes and she has become a cultural icon. From her early days as a teenage fashion model, Barbie has appeared as an astronaut, doctor , dentist, vet, rock star, Olympic athlete, TV news reporter, pilot, diplomat, firefighter, engineer  and even presidential candidate.  

The National Gallery of Victoria has five Barbie dolls (dating from 1966 to 1984) in the collection along with seven outfits. There are also Barbie’s ‘Home and office equipment’ and ‘Workout centre’.

For International Women’s Day in 2018, Mattel unveiled the ‘Barbie Celebrates Role Models’ campaign with a line of 17 dolls. Informally known as ‘sheroes’ from diverse backgrounds, and showcasing examples of extraordinary women, the line-up included Frida Kahlo, Amelia Earhart, Patti Jenkins, Ibithaj Muhammad, Guan Xiaotong, Iris Apfel, Leyla Piedayesh, Martyna Wojciechowska, and Bindi Irwin. As Handler had hoped, Barbie continues to have a significant impact on social values through her independence and idealised life-style.