Monday was actually International Women's Day, although many events were held on Sunday because, of course, nothing else happens on Sunday mornings.
The same day there were birthday parties for a 50-year-old female without a wrinkle in sight and still sporting a beguiling figure. What an irony that IWD and Barbie's 50th anniversary would coincide. Barbie has changed through the decades, including a thicker waistline, but she has staying power. She generates about 3.6 billion dollars in annual sales, which means that every three seconds a Barbie is sold somewhere in the world.
This isn't bad for something (someone?) lots of people love to hate. She has long been the target of feminists who point to her impossible figure as a source of a lousy body image for many girls. Both our daughters had a closet full of Barbies and I think their feminist mother did a good job of reminding them that this was fantasy, not the female role model.
Barbie has been a secret vice for girls in some cultures. There is an article in the Sunday New York Times by a woman who grew up in Iran, where Barbie was officially banned, but sought by many. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/opinion/09khakpour-barbie.html?scp=2&sq=Barbie&st=cse An artist's version of the Islamic Revolution Barbie is pictured above.
There has been an Astronaut Barbie, Biker Barbie, Mountie Barbie, even a military Barbie. (click on second image for a timeline.) Maybe we need a Clergy Barbie, complete with clerical collar to open up a whole new world of possibilities. I'm sure this suggestion will be welcomed warmly by the women in ministry who read this blog and those of you with female clergy!
4 comments:
I still have my Barbie, but she has lost a leg. I played with Barbie a lot when I was younger, however don't feel as if I have been affected by the stereotypes that go along with her. I have however noticed that although our daughter has Barbies she prefers to play with stuffed animals, which maybe are a little more gender neutral.
What I do remember is receiving a black Barbie, a novelty for a kid growing up in a very white community in northern Ontario! My sisters each had one as well, and those Barbies went everywhere with us. Somehow over the years they are the ones we have lost and it is the stereo typical Barbie that I still have. Don't think my sister have any. Hmmm, makes you wonder....
A clergy Barbie may already exist in the form of Ken - I had him as well, again, tanned, macho and the "perfect" man.....???:)
HmmmMaybe I shouldn't indulge my Barbie memories. I never cared much for Barbie, but there could be a reason. Pull out the psychaitrist couch. My mom worked in the Toy Dept. at Woolco and one day when I was maybe six, she brought home a bag full of Barbie parts. I don't know what she was thinking. I spent many afternoons constructing amusing yet grisly variatons of Barbie. A leg in the head hole, an arm in the leg hole. I just couldn't bring myself to construct an anatomically correct Barbie. My dog eventually chewed most of the pieces up. She brought each piece to me like a cat brings in mice.
I figured there would be a lot of Barbie stories out there. What do I know!
Thanks Nancy and Pupil for adding Person of Colour Barbie and Texas Chainsaw Massacre Barbie to the list.
Clergy Ken. Hmmm. Nope, I can't think of a single male minister I know who fits the bill.
Barbie stories...hmmm...Well, I did own Barbie's growing up, but my most vivid memory is that of the four of us, my sister and two brothers, bringing together our stuffed animals, He-Man and She-Ra characters, Transformers, etc. and creating some high drama. Action too, of course.
As for clergy Barbie, it might be interesting to add that profession to the list so it's not excluded, but just like clergy Ken, I doubt if anyone alive would "fit the bill."
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