Midlife could be bumpy for Barbie
Corilyn Shropshire
Houston Chronicle
May 1, 2008
Poor Barbie. Her
next birthday could be a rough one, and not just because
she's turning the big 5-0. At middle age, the iconic
blonde's previously untouchable status is being
challenged by such youthful powerhouses as Bratz and
Hannah Montana.
With Barbie's sales down 12 percent in the U.S. since
January, these decidedly more modern upstarts threaten
to overtake her as America's top doll.
Could Barbie's heyday be coming to an end?
Not soon enough for those who believe Barbie's a poison
pill to the self-esteem of the young girls who play with
her.
"When I heard on the news that Barbie's sales were down
I thought 'Hooray'!" said Heather Arnet, executive
director of the Women and Girls Foundation, a
Pennsylvania-based advocacy group for women. "Those of
us who work with women would've been happy to see Barbie
gone from the shelves years ago."
As much as some of her detractors would like to see her
disappear, Barbie remains the most desired doll among
girls around the globe, according to the National Retail
Federation. The rivals nipping at Barbie's delicate
heels have yet to catch up.
"I don't think Barbie's obsolete," lamented feminist
writer Vanessa Valenti, who blogs on Feministing.com. "I
predict it will be a long time before we see the end of
Barbie."
But the doll may have lost some of its appeal.
Olivia Clore, a 6-year-old in Pearland, barely touched
the Barbie dolls she has received as gifts.
"I think she's bored with them," said her mother, Brooke
Clore.
"There's not much to do with Barbie," said Clore, noting
that Olivia is more of an action-type of girl, who likes
to play the Nintendo Wii and do arts and crafts.
But if Olivia were to all-of-a-sudden pull Barbie and
Bratz out of the closet, her mother wouldn't protest.
Like Barbie, Olivia has long blond hair, blue eyes and a
tiny nose, so the doll isn't likely to hurt her
self-image, said Clore.
"She's a real girly-girl anyway," said Clore. "If she
wants to put on makeup, she didn't get it from Barbie.
She got it from me."
Barbie is no stranger to brouhaha — she's been causing a
fuss since her debut in 1959.
Much has been said about the icon's enduring image as
the demure blonde with disproportionately large breasts,
small waist and tiny, pointed feet (perfect for slipping
into high heels).
For years, Barbie has been a source of ire for those who
believe she promotes unrealistic beauty standards for
women.
But that doesn't seem to be what's hurting her status.
Barbie may have a personality problem — as in, she lacks
one — making it difficult for little girls to connect
with her.
Not much is known about Barbie other than she's had a
dream house, a dream car and, until an amicable breakup
a few years ago, a beau named Ken. Her story line has
offered little more than a series of changing careers,
from cowgirl to astronaut, with outfits to match.
In other words, she's more famous for what she looks
like than what she does.
That's unlike her contemporary peers, who are the stars
of their own stories, according to Arnet.
Bratz characters may be clotheshorses, but they also
tackle the same challenges that real girls face:
high-school politics, snotty-girl cliques and races for
school president.
Like the shy-and-clumsy-by-day Miley Cyrus, who at night
pops on a wig and transforms into Hannah Montana,
super-glam pop star, these dolls are brought to life and
made real for little girls in books, movies and
television shows.
"By blurring the lines between reality and fiction,
Hannah Montana seems like a real person (to kids)," said
Zach Oat, editor of Toyfare, an industry publication.
Grown-up Barbie, by contrast, is more like their
mothers.
It's left Barbie's parent company, Mattel Inc., busy
looking for ways to make her relevant for a new
generation of girls, said Oat.
In recent years, Mattel has tried to bring Barbie off
her pedestal with such direct-to-DVD movies as Barbie of
Swan Lake and Barbie as the Island Princess.
The company launched BarbieGirls.com, a virtual world
for Barbie lovers, in the face of mounting competition
from the Internet.
On Earth Day, Mattel introduced "eco-friendly"
accessories, such as backpacks and hobo bags made of
excess trimmings and fabrics from Barbie clothes.
Mattel plans to revive a line of Barbie dolls based on
DC Comics super heroines, including Wonder Woman, Super
Girl, Bat Girl and Black Canary, women with a back
story, said Oat.
Feministing.com's Valenti said she hopes that Barbie's
sales are down because girls are "rejecting the
everything-pink, plastic-card-wielding, and shopaholic
that Barbie seems to symbolize."
However, she figures Barbie's decline is more likely due
to other toymakers' attempts to woo girls to what she
called their "more contemporary forms of sexist
stereotypes."
She singled out Bratz, the controversial multiethnic
clique of pouty and fashion-addicted adolescents.
They may appear to be better role models because they
are racially diverse and play sports, Valenti said, but
that doesn't negate the damage they do in other areas.
Valenti bristled at what she called Bratz's emphasis on
makeup and "scantily clad" fashion sense that
"sexualizes little girls."
While the Bratz certainly aren't perfect, they do have
some redeeming qualities, according to Arnet of the
Women and Girls Foundation.
Bratz characters encourage girls to think that life
isn't just about snagging a man.
They make it seem cool to have friends, dream big,
become rock stars, even run for class president, Arnet
said, as opposed to dating.
They are "a step up from Barbie," said Arnet.
She's more concerned about the Disney Princess line of
toys and videos. Like Barbie, she said, the Disney
Princess is "still steeped in the age of where all a
girl is supposed to do is grow up and fall in love with
a boy who will rescue her spiritually and financially."
But Brooke Clore doesn't see the harm in the Disney
Princesses for her daughter Olivia, who owns every
costume from the toy line.
"We just watch them because we like the classic story
line," said Brooke Clore. "We're princess-y girls."