1. WILL THE REAL BARBIE PLEASE
STAND UP?

2. Some questions to think about as you view these images:
 Why are some of these dolls controversial?
What cultures and values do each of these dolls represent?
Which of these Barbie dolls would you feel comfortable allowing your
children to play with?
Which would you not allow your children to play with?
Why don’t some of these dolls appear in stores?
Did you feel angry or offended when viewing any of these dolls?
Why are there fewer Ken dolls than Barbie dolls?

3. This is the original 1959 Barbie.

4. If Barbie were real, she would be 6 feet tall with a 39" bust, 18" waist, and 33" hips.
Her feet would be too small to support her.
Galia Slayen created this version of a life-size Barbie as a part of the first
National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW) at her high school.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/galia-slayen/the-scary-reality-of-a-re_b_845239.html)

5. This is Christie, the first
Black Barbie, circa 1968.
She is a simply a tinted
version of the original
White Barbie.

6. I’m not sure what year Oreo Barbie came
out. She lacks cultural features also, and
some folks were offended by the implied
message (i.e., this Barbie is really white on
the inside, just like an Oreo).

7. Mattel has since tried
to create dolls which
reflect more cultural
diversity.

8. I don’t know if these are
official or not.

9. Some official collections have been more successful than others. What do
you think about the Black Label Collection below?

10. Fulla is not a Mattel Barbie, but she is
a “real” doll, in the sense that she is
mass produced and sold in stores.
On the right we see Fulla posing next
to Barbie. What similarities and
differences do you notice?
Do you assume that Barbie is
Christian?

11. What are your thoughts on a clergy Barbie?
Mattel did not make clergy Barbies.
Above is someone’s version of an
Episcopalian minister Barbie.
On the right is someone’s version of a
Unitarian minister Barbie.

12. How about an atheist Barbie?
I don’t expect Mattel to release this doll in the near future.

13. Or this one.
This is a deaf Jewish lesbian Barbie.

14. Butch Barbie
probably won’t
be out soon,
either.

15. Apparently NASCAR Barbie
made the cut, though.

16. And it’s OK for Barbie to be a Marine!

17. Here Barbie has her own pink rifle! Why didn’t Mattel think of that?

18. Or this?

19. Or this?

20. Or this?
Apparently Barbie can
only be like a man in
certain ways.

21. For example, Mattel seems to
believe that women can be CEOs,
just like men.
In the real world, however, while
women are often CEOs of not-for-
profit companies, there are few
CEOs of a Fortune 500 companies
who are women.
And perhaps even fewer who wear
such short skirts to work.

22. Mattel is also apparently
hopeful that some day
we will have a female
President.

23. Here we see that Barbie can be a doctor!
Notice that she is a pediatrician, not a
neurologist or heart surgeon.

24. Though Barbie can deliver Babies, she is apparently unable to have them.
This is Midge. Mattel sold her a part of the Happy Family collection and made it clear
she was married. I don’t know if the braids are original.

25. The cigarettes, beer, and
mac and cheese I believe
are not original.
Do you think Mattel
would release these dolls
as part of their Happy
Family collection?

26. These jobs are more like jobs for women, plus
they keep Barbie in shape.

27. I think there might actually be a tattoo
Barbie. These aren’t official, however.

28. Apparently, tattoos are
not the only thing
Barbie has been
hiding…

29. Barbie likes to stay in shape so
she can wear outfits like this.
Mattel did release this one:
Black Canary Barbie.
Some dubbed it the S&M Barbie.

30. Goth Barbie doesn’t
seem to have made
the cut, however.

31. Despite the fact that the
average American woman is a
size 14 , I doubt we will see
Barbies that look like this on
shelves any time soon.

32. Or like this.

33. Or like this. Barbie has been around for over 50 years, but she never ages.

34. Though Barbie can’t grow
old, she can still use a
wheelchair.
Oh wait, it’s not really
Barbie: it’s a “friend of
Barbie.”

35. This one is Barbie. It is unclear, though, if this
is a deaf Barbie or just a sign language Barbie.

36. A group of health care professionals sent the idea for the Barbie
pictured above to Mattel; Mattel responded by saying that they
do not accept outside ideas for dolls.

37. Mattel probably won’t like this idea then, either.

38. Or this one.

39. Here we have
Barbie… …and Ken!
The Dynamic Duo!

40. This is the original Ken.
I don’t recognize him. Where are his
washboard abs and muscular legs?

41. Ken has gone through many changes over the years, too.

42. Ken shows us that it’s OK to be metrosexual.

43. I wonder how many still
expect Ken to be
heterosexual, though?

44. Insert your own Barbie or Ken doll here.

45. Assembled by Janice Carello
All images retrieved from images.google.com