Manufactured and priced at $3 by American toy company Mattel, Barbie was launched in March 1959 by mother and visionary Ruth Handler. Handler's inspiration behind the three-dimensional fashion doll originated from watching her daughter play with paper dolls.With over 200 careers, multiple makeovers
She arrived at the 1959 New York Toy Fair in a striped bathing suit donning red lipstick and her trademark blonde pony tail. And after 60 years, it is Barbie who continues to touch the lives of young girls as the doll befriends children in households across the country.
In 1963, Barbie graduated college -- but not before becoming a ballerina, singer and a fashion designer. Besides the dolls you may remember from TV commercials, characters in Hollywood have also been re-imagined as Barbies including Grace Kelly, Lucille Ball and figures from movies like"Grease" and"The Wizard of Oz."
"We spend a lot of time listening to consumers and taking feedback seriously within the brand," Culmone said."In 2014 we were at a point looking at everything that was going on and part of our DNA is to remain reflective within culture and the world around us. We asked ourselves if we were doing a good job of that.
— Barbie January 28, 2016 Mattel also announced it's adding dolls with braided hair texture, a new body type and Barbies who reflect permanent physical disabilities. Hains went on,"It's the step in the right direction, though. It's better than the previous body scale which was 5'9” and a size 2.""There are many studies that have been conducted about the consequences of children of color mainly having white dolls to play with," she said."Children absolutely deserve to see people that look like them...to see that their identity is culturally valued.
Other role models include tennis player Naomi Osaka of Japan, German cyclist Kristina Vogel, Canadian ice dancer Tessa Virtue, British model Adwoa Aboah, Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Chinese artist Chen Man and Ita Buttrose, a journalist and chairwoman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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