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Barbie Turns 50: A Birthday Roundup
50 may be the new 40, but this fashion plate never seems to move beyond her 20s. Barbie celebrates her 50th birthday today, and whether you love her or hate her, you can't deny her impact on pop culture. Moms on our Ten- to Fourteen-Year-Olds and Minnesota message boards shared their Barbie memories:
"Barbie, her siblings and Ken played a huge part in my growing up years. I think I played with Barbies until the 6th grade. My girlfriends and I loved creating fantasy stories. My grandmother had the original Barbie created 50 years ago -- still in the original box. She created and made us incredible Barbie outfits." -- okiee
"Love, LOVE, Loved my Barbies. Had a bunch of them and a ton of clothes. Sadly, I never got the Barbie dream house:( But my friend had it, so it was all good ;) " -- crit99
"I know as a kid that my Barbie dolls were fun to play with because of the adventures my friends and I made up for them, and I liked the clothes. I liked making my own outfits for my Barbies. [My daughter] played with Barbies and I haven't seen any damage to her self image, nor have I noticed that she's more self-confident due to having played with them." -- ikirbysmom
iVillager nancymc offers her perspective, which I suspect may be familiar to a lot of moms:
"Well, this topic is one that makes me chuckle a bit, because it is an area in which *I* have evolved as a parent! I was one of those NO BARBIE parents, I resisted, hated, avoided, and otherwise thought they were evil and horrible (well, not evil, but creepy definitely!). But of course my [daughter] got Barbies. Many, many of them over time. She never played with them in any major way, and she's given them all away long ago. I'm still not in love with them but I don't see them as harmful either."
Of course, like many famous female icons, Barbie's life has not been without controversy. Even at 50, she's still making headlines: this time reincarnating as a trendy tattoo gal, "Totally Stylin' Tattoo Barbie". While some may think a tattooed Babs is sending the wrong message to kids, others point out that a tattoo isn't such a taboo as it might have been in years past. The ladies on the Parenting Issues Debate message board weigh in on this tat-tastic doll:
"Wow! they finally came out with a Barbie that my [daughter] (who is now 27) would actually like!" -- foxymom2
"If she were currently in the Barbie stage, if she wanted one, I'd likely get it for her - so many of our friends and acquaintances, both male and female have tattoos, it's not as unacceptable as it used to be." -- bunnierose
"Barbie has always been an edgy role model and this seems appropriate for this generation. If the body mass index of, say, 12, doesn't tick off the parents, then let's try a big ol' butterfly tattoo right on her hiney!" -- ashmama
Finally, you're no one until someone tries to outlaw you... Lawmakers in West Virginia proposed a bill that would outlaw sales of Mattel's darling diva. iVillagers on In the News take a vote on this measure:
How our legislators love to waste their time and our money! Eyeroll. There's a lot more wrong in our society that still brainwashes children with old patriarchal sexist roles, from when our children are born. Color of clothes, blankets, paint and cartoons on nursery walls. It only gets worse as kids grow, with the toys they are bought, the clothes we dress them in, yada yada, yada. The movies and cartoons and even magazines, and books that drive the message home: girls do these things, boys do these. Legislating banning Barbie will hardly correct the skewed mess." -- gypsywolfwoman
"I think we have a LOT more in society influencing our daughter's about their looks than Barbie. We don't even watch TV, and I am far from a fashion plate, and yet my daughter is very fashion consious. She picks it up simply by observing the people around us when we are out in public. This politician should put his energy towards getting mandatory parenting or self esteem classes going instead of worrying about Barbie." -- hottlipps
So what are your thoughts on Barbie's birthday? Are you a Barbie fan or do you think she needs to retire? Share your thoughts on this week's Barbie news and your memories with us.
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I love Barbie - my sisters and I would play Barbies together on weekends, holidays, or summer vacation for HOURS! There were times we'd start playing when we woke up at like 7am and would still be playing at 3am the next morning, only breaking for meals and potty breaks, lol.
Now I'm a mom and my girls love them, too, so I get to play Barbies with them sometimes and remind them that I can be cool, too. ;)
I don't think lawmakers should restrict sales of Barbies, however, both because there are a great many more important things out there to legislate and because there are a great many more serious factors that negatively affect the body image of children today.
I loved Barbies as a little girl, and as I grew up, Barbie usually ended up with her head shaved or mohawked. As a parent with two daughters, they had their share of Barbies, and what parent didn't dread the dang Barbie shoes that hurt as bad as a Lego if left on the floor?
But, to outlaw Barbie? Lawmakers are having problems catching criminals, so now they have to make a doll illegal? What did they do? Watch "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" just a little too often, and liked the character of Burgermeister Meisterburger?
Happy birthday, Barbie. May you entertain children for years to come.
Indeed, she's just a toy. I'm not a mom, but if I were, I'd be much more concerned about her comparing herself to *real people* with equally unrealistic proportions, like [insert name of interchangeable twentysomething Hollywood starlet here].
Barbie continues to be a genius toy, especially since girls like to imagine themselves grown up and Barbie helps them do that
I'm 51 and used to play with Barbies as a kid. In those days they never used to say how unrealistic her body measurements were. I wonder if they've changed through times. Were Barbies fatter in the 1970's?