Nathan Baynard, director of global brand marketing for Barbie, has said,”The doll was supposed to teach girls that they had choices, that they could be anything. In 1959, it was a radical idea.”
Barbie has had many criticisms over the years including aspects such as her race, body proportion, being materialistic among many others. These criticisms are 100 percent justified and Mattel has worked to correct them society has evolved their concept of what is considered, “beauty.” Mattel may have been late to the party; but at least they finally showed up.
The one forward thinking feature was Barbie’s career life. With over 200 careers on her resume- she has broke one plastic glass ceiling after another. While many aspects of Barbie are controversial she is definitely #careergoals showing us that girls can be ANYTHING they want to be. Some of her plastic glass ceiling roles on her huge resume are:
- Barbie became an astronaut in 1965- FOUR YEARS BEFORE NEIL ARMSTRONG WALKED THE MOON. What shows girl power more than that?
2. Barbie soon moved on to be a surgeon in 1973 at a time when there were very few females in the field. Way to show we can save lives as well as any man Barbie!
3. In her later years, she became a Marine Corps Sergeant in 1992. Who says women can’t fight side by side by men? Not Barbie!
4. She continued her service to others by becoming a Firefighter in 1995. There are still very few women in this field today. Do you think some of the females in this exclusive club had a Firefighter barbie? I think so 🙂
5. She then turn towards the world of sports and pursued her dreams of being on ESPN by joining Major League Baseball in 1998. When will we have a female baseball league that can hold it’s own w/ the men’s? It’s 2020 and it’s only been Barbie unfortunately that could break this barrier.
6. In 1992, Barbie ran for president for the first time and has run in every election year since. In 2016, she ran with the first all-female ticket. Even in the Mattel world we still cannot have a female president. It is time in the Mattel-Universe and the real world.
A. Barbie for President- 2000:
B. Barbie for President- 2004:
C. First All Female Presidential Ticket- 2016. Why can the Mattel-Universe do it and we can’t?
Barbie has shown young girls world wide that you can have any career you want and look like a fashionista while doing it. Here are some Barbie outfits I wanted (and still want) in my size:
- I want these sunglasses- I’m sure Barbie’s were much cheaper than mine will be.
2. This whole outfit- I actually own a bag exactly like this. Hoping Barbie bought it so she can be the CEO badass she taught us we can be.
3. I want this whole outfit- This is Chanel chic at it finest.
4. Barbie’s crew athleisure is #goals.
5. DVF makes some of my favorite dresses I have ever owned- and Barbie wears DVF too??? Looks like we can all dress like Barbie.
We all should have Barbie Goals. Barbie was not afraid to go after the career she wanted even if society told her she couldn’t. She broke every plastic glass ceiling there was while dressed like the fierce fashionista she is. Mattel needs to keep up their movement towards including every size, race, and gender so all girls can have #BarbieGoals.
Fashion HerStory 