Research Guides: Barbie ™: Library research

documentaries

Lagueria Davis Interview for Black Barbie: A Documentary | SXSW 2023 LRM Online 16:41

'Black Barbie' Review: Witty and Weighty Doc Dives Into the History of the 1980s Doll By Lisa Kennedy. Variety Movie Reviews 5/1/2023.

selected books, articles, and database results

Barbie Research Starter An encyclopedia article for basic, background information as a foundation to begin researching Barbie.
Business Source Complete search results for Barbie Searches and displays real time results from a general business library database

Barbie by Frédéric Beigbeder
ISBN: 9782843230837
Publication Date: 1998
The Barbie Chronicles by Yona Zeldis McDonough (Editor) To some she's a collectible, to others she's trash. In The Barbie Chronicles, twenty-three writers join together to scrutinize Barbie's forty years of hateful, lovely disastrous, glorious influence on us all. No other tiny shoulders have ever, had to carry the weight of such affection and derision and no other book has ever paid this notorious little place of plastic her due. Whether you adore her or abhor her, The Barbie Chronicles will have you looking at her in ways you never imagined.
ISBN: 9780684862750
Publication Date: 1999
Barbie Developer by Lee Slater In this engaging biography, readers will learn about the developer of the Barbie doll, Ruth Handler. Follow the story of Handler's early work with her husband Elliott making and selling plastic products, their collaboration with Harold Matson to form Mattel, Handler's inspiration for a new kind of doll, and the company's introduction of Barbie in 1959. Readers will follow Barbie's evolution through the ensuing decades as Handler continuously reinvented Barbie to appeal to new generations. Learn how Barbies are made, who came up with the name, the role of the Mickey Mouse Club in Barbie's success, and about other Mattel products. Handler's family and her retirement as president from Mattel and her subsequent work for cancer survivors with her new company Nearly Me is also covered. Sidebars, historic photos, and a glossary enhance readers' understanding of this topic. Additional features include a table of contents, an index, a timeline and fun facts. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. [Young Adult]
ISBN: 9781624039744
Publication Date: 2015
Forever Barbie by M. G. Lord Since Barbie's introduction in 1959, her impact on baby boomers has been revolutionary. Far from being a toy designed by men to enslave women, she was a toy invented by women to teach women what -- for better or worse -- was expected of them. In telling Barbie's fascinating story, cultural critic and investigative journalist M. G. Lord, herself a first-generation Barbie owner, has written a provocative, zany, occasionally shocking book that will change how you look at the doll and the world.
ISBN: 9780688122966
Publication Date: 1994
Mondo Barbie by Richard Peabody (Editor) Barbie is an American icon. But Barbie becomes a problem when the adult fantasy collides with the child's fantasy. All that misplaced Barbie angst of our youth, all the childhood conditioning, and the adult results are revealed at last in Mondo Barbie. "Barbie is in the air, all right! "Since we began this anthology, we've seen articles on Barbie in magazines as wide-ranging as Parenting, People, and the Utne Reader. . . . We're not the only ones. Friends, acquaintances, and contributors (real and imagined) have flooded our mailboxes with clippings about Barbie look-alike contests, cable TV shows, photography exhibits, sculptures, you name it. "Everyone had an anecdote. . . . "[Barbie] is an American icon. The product of an adult fantasy of a girl-child's toy. Or is Barbie the adult's toy and the child's fantasy? What happens when the adult fantasy collides with the child's fantasy? . . . "In the end the book divided into two definite strategies for dealing with the Barbie phenomenon--poems and stories from Barbie's point of view, or writings about Barbie's impact (as either doll or flesh and blood) on specific characters. These works are just a sampling of the vast array of material inspired by Barbie. Perhaps, as one writer suggested, we should start a Barbie hotline. A way to reach all those warped by Barbie. . . . After all, everyone loves Barbie, don't they?" --From the introduction by Richard Peabody and Lucinda Ebersole
ISBN: 9780312088484
Publication Date: 1993

All about Barbie: Distortions of a Transitional Object Psychoanalysts have usually equated gender differences with genital differences. They have been slow to examine the developmental and object-relational aspects of gender; they have not paid sufficient attention to the cultural structures of female and male, femininity and masculinity. Gender relations, being dimorphic, have proceeded along lines that have been prescribed and enforced by the culture. Society both influences and reflects our attitudes and norms. So what do nursery rhymes, fairy tales, folk songs, toys, and the media have to say about growing up female in America? They are important determinants to the little girl of what her adult attitude toward her self should be. Turkel, Ann Ruth. "All about Barbie: Distortions of a Transitional Object." Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis 26.1 (1998): 165.
All Dolled Up: Fashioning Cultural Expectations Dress. Halliday, Rebecca Vol. 48 Issue 1, pp. 97–100, 2022.Use this link to go to a pre-populated form, login, and submit to receive the article in 24-48 hours.
Barbie's 'pornographic' origin story, as told by historians. Javaid, M. (2023). Barbie’s ‘pornographic’ origin story, as told by historians. Washington Post. May 25, 2023.
Barbie's Problem Is Far Beyond Skin-Deep. The author argues that the changes that toy manufacturer Mattel Inc. is making to its Barbie doll product are superficial and driven by the corporation's desire to increase its profits through the sales of dolls and related accessories. According to the article, Mattel Inc. now offers consumers a diverse array of Barbie dolls which feature different skin tones and body shapes. A feminist culture shift is examined, along with the efforts to produce dolls that more closely resemble American women. Filipovic, J. (2016). Barbie’s Problem Is Far Beyond Skin-Deep. TIME Magazine, 187(4), 51.
A Barbie for Every Body. (cover story) Dockterman, E. (2016). A Barbie for Every Body. (cover story). TIME Magazine, 187(4), 44–51. discusses changes involving American beauty ideals and the Barbie dolls manufactured by toy company Mattel Inc., and it mentions how a small group of toy designers have been working on creating three additional versions of the Barbie doll which feature petite, tall, and curvy body types. According to the article, Mattel Inc. will begin selling the various Barbie doll models, including the original doll, on January 28, 2016 on the company's www.Barbie.com website.
Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls There has been a great deal of debate over the influence of Barbie dolls on girls' developing self-concept and body image. Two qualitative studies were conducted to gather information about early adolescents' experiences with, and perspectives on, the controversial toy. In Study 1, focus groups with twenty 6th-grade girls suggested that they have ambiguous feelings toward the doll and the feminine sexualized image it represents. Study 2 gathered essay responses from fifty 7th- and 8th-grade boys and girls regarding their experiences with, and opinions on, Barbie dolls. Participants reported both positive and negative feelings toward the doll and its influence on girls' development. Kuther, T. L., & McDonald, E. (2004). Early Adolescents' Experiences with, and Views of, Barbie. Adolescence San Diego, 39(153), 13-39.
Domesticating Barbie: An Archaeology of Barbie Material Culture and Domestic Ideology ystematic examination of Barbie fashions, accessories, and playsets produced since 1959 reveals several distinct phases in the domestic symbolism associated with Barbie. Today, Barbie grocery shops, cleans house, cares for her young siblings, and assumes careers which fill nurturing and protective roles like those championed in traditional domestic ideology. Yet in the late 1950s, Barbie was conceived and marketed as a single career girl who did not do "rough housework." This paper examines the range of clothing and accessories marketed alongside Barbie as a mechanism to trace the changes in Barbie's domestic image over nearly 40 years.
Dream doll: From feminist bugbear to forbidden cultural artefact, this contentious toy was, in fact, designed by a working mother for her daughter. Gaby Wood reveals the brain behind Barbie. Wood, G. (2002). Dream doll: from feminist bugbear to forbidden cultural artefact, this contentious toy was, in fact, designed by a working mother for her daughter. gaby wood reveals the brain behind barbie. (the back half goes backwards). New Statesman, 131(4583), 38.
Early Adolescents' Experiences with, and Views of, Barbie There has been a great deal of debate over the influence of Barbie dolls on girls' developing self-concept and body image. Two qualitative studies were conducted to gather information about early adolescents' experiences with, and perspectives on, the controversial toy. In Study 1, focus groups with twenty 6th-grade girls suggested that they have ambiguous feelings toward the doll and the feminine sexualized image it represents. Study 2 gathered essay responses from fifty 7th- and 8th-grade boys and girls regarding their experiences with, and opinions on, Barbie dolls. Participants reported both positive and negative feelings toward the doll and its influence on girls' development. Kuther, T. L., & McDonald, E. (2004). Early Adolescents' Experiences with, and Views of, Barbie. Adolescence San Diego, 39(153), 13-39.
From a doll wanted by the FBI to a Sugar Daddy Ken, these are the discontinued Mattel toys that appear in ‘Barbie’ Everyone knows Barbie’s pink tale of success, but not everything is rosy in the story of the iconic doll. The story of Mattel’s failures, however, is not as well known. Throughout the 64 years of the doll’s life, not every model that has come out of the pink factory has been as welcome as the original Barbie, and many of them have been outright flops. Some were deemed dangerous for children, as they were choking hazards. Others were so strange that the market did not know what to make of them. They all ended up being discontinued. In Barbie, the movie, Mattel has taken these embarrassing episodes out of the drawer and turned them into a group of characters that has not gone unnoticed among fans of the blondest toy of all. EL PAÍS: Culture. By BEATRIZ SERRANO Madrid - JUL 29, 2023
Prickly in pink (Celebrity interview with Barbie)) Hampson, Sarah. The Globe and Mail; Toronto, Ont. 09 Mar 2009: L.1. Newspaper interview with Barbie upon her 50th birthday.
Social identities in consumer‐brand relationship: The case of the Hijab‐wearing Barbie doll in the United States: Ethnic identities in the multicultural marketplace. explores the role of social identities in consumer‐brand relationship through the case study of the first hijab‐wearing Barbie doll in the United States. Through a qualitative analysis of people's response to the announcement of the new Barbie doll on Twitter, the study reveals how ethnic‐identity based products influence consumers relationship with an iconic brand. Ethnic‐based products help in social identification and facilitate some consumers desire to buy the product however, they also elicit negative emotions, racism, and animosity in other group of consumers resulting in weakening of their ties with a once favored brand. Theoretical and managerial implications for multicultural marketing are discussed. Mishra, S., & Bakry, A. (2021). Social identities in consumer‐brand relationship: The case of the Hijab‐wearing Barbie doll in the United States: Ethnic identities in the multicultural marketplace. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 20(6), 1534–1546. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1965
Some Assembly Required: Black Barbie and the Fabrication of Nicki Minaj explores the public persona of hip hop artist Nicki Minaj, and her appropriation of the iconic Barbie doll. Minaj's image has drawn criticism from pundits and peers alike, but, nonetheless, it has inspired a creative fan following. With reference to feminist theory and recent trends in poststructuralist thought, this article suggests the ways in which Minaj and her fans pluralize how we think about Barbie, race and idealized femininity in the West. Use this link to request the article and receive it in 24-48 hours via ILL.
We're Not Barbie Girls: Tweens Transform a Feminine Icon "Reinventing Barbie" was a workshop for middle-school girls to discuss, critique, and reflect on the construction of female bodies and feminine identities in popular culture by remaking Barbie dolls. The workshop was designed to foster conversations with and among girls about what it means to be embodied as female in American culture. The girls reconstructed Barbies based on their reflections, and then they came together to discuss their dolls as expressions of their visions for transforming the feminine. The article analyzes the collaborative process of the workshop, which was grounded in women's studies scholarship and developed by an interdisciplinary group of feminist academics.

databases for Barbie research

Begin your Barbie research

results link to WVU Libraries holdings
try a variety of disciplines (business, gender studies, child development, fashion)
frequent subject terms include
- Barbie
- Mattel
- Ken doll
- Barbie dolls
- Barbie dolls History

gender studies practices

Research practices in a Women's and Gender Studies

Recommended actions

consider the lack of women’s voices in scholarly and other sources, such as primary sources, literary works, datasets, and the role of intersectionality in these gaps
identify alternate sources or ways of reading sources against the grain
consider relevant information may exist, but be hard to find because of subject heading and keyword search limitations, such as dated or biased terminology in library systems or changing terminology within WGS
review information sources thoughtfully to identify potential biases, gaps, silences, and underlying assumptions about intersectional gender roles
feel empowered to investigate difficult critical questions about intersectional structural inequities often obscured in information
incorporate diverse information sources with individual experiences to create personalized knowledge
delve into a question knowing each answer raises more questions, and follow leads via feminist thinking to deeper discovery

from Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Women’s and Gender Studies

Barbie ™

documentaries

selected books, articles, and database results

databases for Barbie research

Begin your Barbie research

Search Gender Studies Database

Search Business Source Elite

gender studies practices

Research practices in a Women's and Gender Studies

Recommended actions