Forever Barbie:The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll

by: M.G. Lord (Author)

Publisher: Liveright

Publication Date: March 5, 2024

Language: English

Print Length: 336 pages

ISBN-10: 1324095075

ISBN-13: 9781324095071

Book Description

Barbie is a strong, independent doll. But is she a feminist icon? It’s complicated. Since her introduction in 1959, Barbie’s impact has been revolutionary. Far from being a toy designed by men to oppress women, she was a toy invented by women to teach women what was expected of them, for better or for worse. Whether tarred-and-glittered as antifeminist puffery or celebrated as a feminist icon (or, at any rate, an important cultural touchstone in understanding feminism) Barbie has undeniably influenced generations of girls. In Forever Barbie, cultural critic, investigative joualist, and first-generation Barbie owner M. G. Lord uncovers the surprising story behind Barbie’s smash success. Revealing her low origins as “Bild Lilli,” a risqué doll for adults sold as a gag gift in postwar Germany, Forever Barbie traces Barbie’s development and transformation, through countless makeovers and career changes, into an inteational pop culture icon and now “traditional toy.” Though not every doll in the line has been a hit―with pregnant Midge and Growing up Skipper among the more intriguing disasters―Barbie’s endurance, Lord writes, speaks as much to Mattel’s successful marketing as it does to our society’s overall ambivalence toward femininity.With new accessories, including a preface on the latest developments in the Barbieverse, Forever Barbie “will make you think of America’s most celebrated plastic doll in ways you never have before” (Susan Faludi).
Barbie is a strong, independent doll. But is she a feminist icon? It’s complicated. Since her introduction in 1959, Barbie’s impact has been revolutionary. Far from being a toy designed by men to oppress women, she was a toy invented by women to teach women what was expected of them, for better or for worse. Whether tarred-and-glittered as antifeminist puffery or celebrated as a feminist icon (or, at any rate, an important cultural touchstone in understanding feminism) Barbie has undeniably influenced generations of girls. In Forever Barbie, cultural critic, investigative joualist, and first-generation Barbie owner M. G. Lord uncovers the surprising story behind Barbie’s smash success. Revealing her low origins as “Bild Lilli,” a risqué doll for adults sold as a gag gift in postwar Germany, Forever Barbie traces Barbie’s development and transformation, through countless makeovers and career changes, into an inteational pop culture icon and now “traditional toy.” Though not every doll in the line has been a hit―with pregnant Midge and Growing up Skipper among the more intriguing disasters―Barbie’s endurance, Lord writes, speaks as much to Mattel’s successful marketing as it does to our society’s overall ambivalence toward femininity.With new accessories, including a preface on the latest developments in the Barbieverse, Forever Barbie “will make you think of America’s most celebrated plastic doll in ways you never have before” (Susan Faludi).