Simpson Vs Ruth Handler

I always thought Barbie was so cool; [as] I got older, I learned that it's impossible to be Barbie. She's been everywhere, [even] in outer space. She's the perfect blonde. She has the perfect blue eyes. She's like everything! If she was a real person she wouldn't be able to walk.” (Tara Kuther)

The question “Why have there been no great women artists?” has been debated since the 1970’s, when historian Linda Nochlin released her book of a similar name. In the decades that have followed, the number of women pursuing education and

Despite oppression, African-American women of the past were able to overcome obstacles by taking on the role of artists. They relied on their creative spirits to carry them through their wretched existence. In Alice Walker’s essay “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,” she explains how the mothers and grandmothers of her generation held on to their dignity and strength through their expression of creativity. The boldness represented by this creativity shows the dynamic depth of their souls and the courage they found within it. Walker gives examples of some of these women in her essay and uses this method to effectively express her point. Women such as Mahalia Jackson, Elizabeth Catlett, and Frances Harper were able to rise above negative circumstances from their

As a child, every girl dreamed of having a Barbie, but as an adult, I don’t think that was the maker’s objective to become an actual Barbie. “These skeptics in the Barbie debate view Barbie as a toy, stating that she does not have power or influence over little girls or grown women” (Virasin).

     It is my opinion that Prager has failed in her attempts to persuade the reader that Barbie is a tool created from male fantasy or a poster child for modern feminism. If anything this essay has helped me to realize that Barbie is a combination of both worlds. She is both sexually appealing to men and someone that women can admire and even a toy that little girls can play with and hope to be like when they are older. I still remain adamantly devoted to my Barbie dolls, seeing her as neither temptress or sexually frustrated object.

Picture yourself as the ‘perfect’ woman. Embodying every woman’s dream. You are undeniably gorgeous, weighing in at 100 pounds, standing 6 feet tall and holding nearly 150 careers (barbiemedia.com). Yes, this is the beloved, ever so ‘inspirational’ childhood toy, the perfectly perfect Barbie Doll. Barbie is America’s most beloved toy, considering young girls between the ages of three and eleven own at least 10 Barbie’s throughout their childhood (‘Life in Plastic’). As creator of the Barbie Doll once said, “My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented that a woman has choices,” (Handler). However, Barbie has proved to serve the opposite effect and

The Barbie doll was invented by Ruth Handler, of Mattel in 1959. She was inspired to make a doll after watching her daughter Barbara playing with her paper dolls. The fashion doll was named after Ruth’s daughter and the Ken doll was named after her son two years later. Today the Barbie doll has become one of the best- selling, cultural icon symbols in any young girls’ and women’s’ lives. Barbie can represent a multitude of things depending on who you ask. She can be defined as a positive thing like a brand or a tradition but also thought of negatively as a promotion of the beauty ideal.

All this attention that is drawn to her made me wonder about the beginning of the Barbie doll in the first place. Who created this iconic toy? What were the motives behind the creation? And are these the first changes ever that Barbie goes through? Having existed for as much as fifty eight years, makes me speculate on all the periods of time that she has marked.

The message the ever so popular Barbie doll has been trying to push to children all over the world has varied in a way over the years. In 1959, when Barbie was first released, it was all about the ‘girly’ barbie and how women should look like and what they have to do, kids were playing with a doll that had an ideal body and expectations barbie put in their minds were intangible. Barbie’s image has changed overs the years in effort to keep up with the change in pop culture. In the 1960’s, Barbie wore designer clothes and took most of her inspiration from the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, as well as wearing mini skirts and white go-go boots. During the 1970’s Barbies attire was very much fitting for the glitz and glamour of the decade.

A lot has changed since 1959! Barbie was created in March of 1959, by an American businesswoman named Ruth Handler. Ruth use to watch her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she loved using her paper dolls as adults instead of infants which all of the dolls were back in 1959. Barbie was based off of a German doll called Bild Lilli. Every girl wanted her own Barbie and they still do! Every time a new Barbie comes out it’s to represent the era’s new fashion statements, new makeup trends and the bodies of how woman should look but a lot has changed since the first ever Barbie’s to now day Barbie’s. Barbie has become a lot more controversial and more accurate to how women’s bodies really are.

In Believing is Seeing Mary Anne Staniszewski argues, “If genius is a natural attribute, why have there been no women geniuses? … All of the geniuses in Western culture were men (Staniszewski 125).”As a female practicing artist I am going to discuss the hierarchy of white male privilege within art and the challenges and barriers that face women. As I study art history time and time again I review the works created by white males and I question where the women artists are. Women are the subjects of the art and never the creators. The major barriers to women artists stemmed from a complex set of socially constructed gender roles and traits, which aligned women with nature and men with culture. Women are associated with fertility and seen as objects

Barbie’s influence is controversial whether it is negative or not. Because of Barbie’s unrealistic appearance and narrow minded implications, it is questionable as to whether it helps or hinders the cultural development of modern day children. Introduced by Ruth and Elliot Handler, Barbie was originally founded

During the 70s groundbreaking movements were created and creativity filled the air. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop women from receiving the short end of the stick. Although there were plenty of female artists at this time, they were treated as second class citizens, unequal to men. Some art shows would only allow so many female artists display their works at one time. As a result, all the female artist took their crafts to vent their frustration and hardships. At first the public’s reaction was unfavorable they considered this topic too personal. Minimal artist emphasized the importance of having an objective point of view. However, this didn’t faze the artists. Their response was to start an academic program only for women

Ruth Handler created Barbie, after noticing her daughter playing with paper dolls and she was playing the role of a mother, as most women were expected to be. The basic standard for women were to be a housewife, and most young girl’s toys were children or infants. Ms. Handler wanted to influence young girls to be anything they wanted. Barbie’s purpose was to be an adult to further portray the young girl’s dreams, which is why she specifically sought out an adult woman to depict her doll, this way when young girls play pretend they would seek a better future outside of motherhood.

Ruth Handler started the idea of Barbie when she saw her daughter, Barbara, play with teenage paper dolls. Her daughter had a interest in teenage life and fashion dolls. Barbara and her friends imagined the teenage dolls growing up and finding careers. Now, this was not what the majority of kids did, as all the other kids played with toddler dolls. However, Handler found out that imagining the future was an important part of growing up. She promised that she would make a 3D version of the dolls Barbara played with. Of course, when the dolls started