Buying Barbie

I REMEMBER BARBIE from early in life, which makes sense, since she came out in 1959, and I came out in 1955. I was born to be the perfect age to date Babie. I can't remember whether my big sis, two and a half years my senior, had Barbie; I didn't keep track of my sister's toys - I had enough trouble keeping track of my own. I tend to think that either she had barbie,or something pretty darn close, another version of a female doll, etc. I'm still trying to figure out, as I was then, exactly what people did with dolls, but, that's another matter... I can vaguely recall not having much of a reaction to or opinion about Barbie as a kid, ony that I saw her advertised on television a lot, and, if memory serves, it wasn't all that long thereafter, maybe the late sixties, that Ken entered the magic kingdom. It seems to me, if I recall, that Barbie easn't alone long..I didn't really care about them one way or anther. I recall easily understanding that Barbie was good looking, with a pretty face, hair, and nice figure, a good looking blonde. Blondes were therefore generally good looking. I had a big crush on Nancy Sinatra when I was eleven. Both Barbie and Nancy blended in well with my nascent heterosexuality which I can still vaguely recall by the time I was in first grade. By third grade, for damend sure, I liked girls, majorly. A regular eight year old Cassanova. Like all big corporations and businesses, Mattel, in producing and distributing Barbie, had one thing and one thing alone in mind: of course, profit. The best way was of course to make something that litle girls would want badly, and that the parents would either like or not object to, and let nature take its course, as it were. Mommy mmmy gimme, etc. The American way! It worked like a charm, obviously, and still does. Better than ever so it seems.The whole coutry, groveling at the feet of Barbie, after all these years. Barbie had to be beautuiful, and sweet, inviting, alluring, so everyone would love her. It was a given that litle girls, at least early in their tenure with Barbie, would want to grow up to be like her, or to be like her even before growing up. Then came all the fuss about gender role stereotyping, the inulcationg of false, superficial values, blah bah. When momma walked out of Sears or wherever with Barbie in hand, and perhaps with daughter by her side, nobody was thinking about these abstruse, head scratching, irrelevant matters. Taday we seem to be doing a bit of all of the above: people are loving Barbie, people are hating on barbie and proteting all the bad messages and stereotypes, and Matell and other big companies are raking in the dough. A cultural historian pointed out that from the beginning, Barbie was outfittd with a wardrobe designed for profesional employment and independence, and that she wasn't married; a self made strong successful female role model. So what's all the fuss been about? What's not to like about Barbie?