A TIMELINEOF BARBIE'S HISTORY
BY BRIAN ZUMHAGEN

 

 

 

 

1959	A star is born. Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler introduces Barbie at New York City's Toy Fair. The doll is 11 and 1/2 inches tall and features a movable head, arms and legs. "Barbie#1" is known for her sly sideways glance and her black-and-white striped swimsuit. Fashions from Barbie's first year include the "Wedding Day Dress" and the Dixie-themed "Plantation Belle." In the first collection, blondes outnumber brunettes by a margin of two to one.
1960	The Notorious K.E.N. Ken makes the scene, sporting a head of fuzzy hair. Two years later, his tresses are replaced with blond or brown paint.
1964	Eyes wide shut. Barbie's little sister Skipper is introduced. She is joined by Miss Barbie, the only doll in the collection whose eyes open and shut.
1965	It ain't rocket science. Barbie gets bendable legs. This is convenient, since this is also the year that Barbie suits up as Miss Astronaut -- years before women are actually accepted into the space program. That's one small step for woman… and a gracious curtsey from Barbie.
1968	Some of her best friends are black. Well, one of them, anyway. Barbie's girlfriend Christie, an African-American doll, is introduced in 1968. Barbie also speaks for the first time this year. At the pull of a string, she utters six phrases, including "I have a date tonight!" and "I love being a fashion model!" "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh!" and "Off the Pigs!" do not make the short list. Ken disappears for the entire year of 1968 (perhaps for a tour of duty in Vietnam?). He returns in 1969 with bigger muscles, bendable knees, and a speaking voice.
1970	Bend me, shape me, any way you want me. With the introduction of Living Barbie, it is now possible to bend the doll's elbows, knees, and ankles. Barbie's head, waist, arms, hands, and legs all swivel. A few short years later, children across America will be able to use the doll to re-enact key scenes from the hit movie The Exorcist.
1971	Groovy, baby! Barbie's trademark sideways glance is replaced by an attentive, straight-ahead look. Barbie becomes a hippie, just as the whole peace-and-love thing is becoming, like, a total bummer.
1976	Work it, girl. Barbie proves that it is possible to have it all. She becomes an Olympic skier, a gymnast, and a skater. She also moonlights as a doctor, a surgical nurse, a ballerina and a flight attendant (or "stewardess," in the parlance of the time). Barbie is selected as the "doll of the century" for the U.S. bicentennial celebration. She is placed in a time capsule, scheduled to be opened in 2076.
1980	Kumbaya, Mattel...kumbaya. Mattel takes steps to desegregate with all deliberate speed, introducing Black Barbie and Hispanic Barbie. "Oriental" Barbie follows the next year. The company also launches its ongoing International Collection, beginning with Italian Barbie, Parisian Barbie, and Royal U.K. Barbie.
1981	Westward ho? Mattel embraces cowboy chic with Western Barbie. Presumably, the company intends no disrespect when it calls the doll's new fashion line "Westward Ho."
1985	Designin' woman. An international Barbie exhibition showcases Barbie in clothes designed by Yves St. Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Christian Dior.
1987	Like a virgin? Barbie's line of Concert Tour fashions, inspired by Madonna, include a Day-Glo bustier and skintight black pants.
1990	MC Funky Babs. Barbie has a short-lived rap music career, dropping dope rhymes with her group Barbie and the Beats.
1989	Drop and give me twenty. Barbie decides to be all that she can be, joining the U.S. Army in 1989. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps fashions follow over the next three years. Her application to the New York Police Department's elite Street Crimes Unit is still under review.
1993	Native Barbie? Mattel deals another blow to white skin privilege with the introduction of Native American Barbie.
1994	2+2=5. Teen Talk Barbie utters the phrase "Math is hard!" The doll becomes the flashpoint in a national discussion on girls and education.
1997	Hell on wheels. Barbie's lookin' for adventure in whatever comes her way. Harley-Davidson Barbie becomes the hottest doll of the year, to the amazement of marketing experts.
1999	Who wants to have a midlife crisis? Barbie celebrates her 40th birthday with her girlish figure intact. Mattel celebrates the event by forming a partnership with the nonprofit Girls Inc. The project, called "Ambassadors of Dreams," uses accomplished women to advance the message that "girls can be anything." Mattel donates $1.5 million dollars to support programs that teach girls about technology, finance, math and science, career planning, and sports. The same year, Mattel releases a new line of Generation Girls, including Butterfly Art Barbie, named for the butterfly tattoo on her stomach. One of Barbie's new grrlfriends even has a nose ring!
2000	President B? Backed by Girls Inc., Barbie runs for President. Her campaign issues include equality, world peace, animal kindness, education, and the environment. Meanwhile, Mattel prepares to introduce Fashion Doll 2000. This Barbie returns to her ultra-glam fashion doll roots with a "millennium makeover," complete with an old-school downward gaze and a heavy coat of runway-friendly face paint.