11 Comments

For a while, our daughter had so many Barbies it was insane. When she was a little older, she graduated to American Girl. I consider myself to be maybe one of the few dads who totally experienced everything you’ve written here. Witnessed a lot. Learned even more.

Expand full comment
author

I love hearing that Ernie! I was one of the moms who was uncomfortable with the Barbie gifts until I realized I was helpless to stop them. It all worked out!

Expand full comment

Bravo!!!

Expand full comment

I still consider never having a Barbie Dream House to be a memorable childhood disappointment. Although we did have the Barbie hair salon and the Barbie dune buggy. And I also remember getting older and playing different games with Barbie and Ken 😹 Mattel understood the assignment of what to do when you have a ubiquitous brand. Max and X should take note.

Expand full comment
founding

We 70s feminists (no one actually burned anyone's bra) produced women who could write like this. What could be bad?

Expand full comment
Jul 26, 2023Liked by Liz Gumbinner

I long coveted the luxury Barbie accessories but when I didn’t get them, I got creative - bookshelves as levels of a house, big mixing bowl was a swimming pool, upside down Tupperware containers for all kinds of furniture, thimbles were vases for tiny weed-flowers...When I started getting Rolling Stone magazine and my sister inherited my dolls, I made tiny records for her from the album review pics. ☺️ Barbie was always inspirational for us, in a variety of ways. 💕

Expand full comment

I love this! 'Playing Barbies' did have us use a lot of imagination!

Expand full comment
Jul 26, 2023Liked by Liz Gumbinner

Love love love this ❤️

Expand full comment
Jul 27, 2023Liked by Liz Gumbinner

I was not a Barbie girl. I only had a Fluff because she came with a skateboard. My older sister had Barbies and her two girls loved them too. When I had my oldest my husband was like "no Barbies for our girls" but I couldn't help it. My daughters loved them and Barbie is an icon. We just recently got rid of the last of the Barbies in our recent move.

Expand full comment
author

I was not what you would call a Barbie girl either, which is why I’m so fascinated by this idea that we all have a relationship with Barbie that we can describe. Even if that relationship comes down to I don’t want my kids to own one.

Expand full comment

My mom issued a Barbie Ban until a family member gave my older sister a Barbie, and the floodgates opened (swoosh!!). I had Malibu Barbie and Ken and Skipper... and all of this Barbie talk nudged my memory that the doll I really wanted was Francie. Why? Why this Francie derivative of Barbie?~ so I looked her up. While Barbie actually resembles a Playboy Bunny, Francie was much more normal-looking. Her curves weren't as extreme, her eyelashes not as intense; she was a regular, young woman. Ultimately, Barbie or Ken or Francie was an extension of our imaginations and my Barbies were usually outside, placed in my bike's basket or in their Country Camper. I do think that looking at that shape of a woman, whose physique was so exaggerated was not such a great thing for all of us.

Expand full comment