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We can get into the feminism of Barbie if you want. But her point has always been that Barbie is meant to suggest that girls can be whoever they want to be. I've got a shaving gear. Wet the play razor, and you can take off Ken's beard and mustache. Then put it on again with this beard marker. Better fix your hair. OK! Nice beard, Ken. It’s Ken and Beauty Secrets Barbie. Sport and Shave Ken Doll with two play razors and a beard marker. Beauty Secrets Barbie Doll is sold separately. New from Mattel.
It's undeniable, though, that Barbie is an international phenomena, with as diverse a line of styles, jobs, accessories, playsets, and spin-offs as the most successful action figure lines for boys like GI Joe or Transformers, but Barbie has done it all within her own brand. Barbie has been a lightning rod for conversation many times since her first arrival in the late fifties, with Mattel often swift to reconfigure some dolls or to simply pull them off shelves completely. The doll has also been an inspiration for real-life fashion designers the world over, and Mattel has been eager to invite big names in fashion to design outfits for the character. And it just seemed like the form of the paper doll was too flat to really carry the hopes and dreams and imaginings of her daughter. Plus, she had seen this novelty doll while traveling in Europe that had a more buxom shape and thought, “What if I put these two ideas together?” Tamkin: No, but University of Michigan's a great school. This was this individual Barbie's first choice. I think I had that Barbie become a teacher. Jarossi’s description seems to capture the essence of Ryan Gosling’s very Method press tour for Barbie, during which he has been exceedingly deferential to Barbie and offered himboism after himboism. “Very little is known about Kenergy,” he told ET. “And we don’t have the funding for the research. We know that it’s real. In my case it came on as a rash, and then it turned into a tan. And then suddenly you’re shaving your legs, and you’re bleaching your hair, and you’re wearing bespoke rollerblades.” He admitted to BuzzFeed that letting go of the Ken role was “a bit like that Pillsbury dough—go with me on this—Cinnabon mix? Like once you open that canister you’re making Cinnabons. And you’re loving it. You’re loving making Cinnabons.” Tamkin: Mhm. I mean, we talk about like Barbies of different skin color, but hair is also racialized. And so I think it speaks well of Mattel that they put that attention to detail …And basically Ruth Handler, she looked at her daughter playing with paper dolls and imagining these wonderful stories for what these paper dolls might be. Mattel's official line was that this was an attempt to modernize Ken based on the results of a survey that was conducted among their customers.
Klimek: Let's hear another piece of archival audio that gets into the increasing sophistication of the hair on these dolls. Only 100 of these dolls were ever made. They are from the "World of Barbie" National Convention and were table host gifts.
Whatever you imagine, whatever outfit you can dream up putting on Barbie, you can be it. So in the piece, I mentioned that before an American woman ever went to space, there was an astronaut Barbie. As you say, Barbie's been a doctor. Barbie's run for president. There's also been a Barbie doll who has said that math is hard. From the original Ken doll to the latest special edition, these valuable dolls offer a glimpse into the evolution of fashion, culture and design over the years. We can't list them all here, but this is what you'll get for some of your favorite childhood toys (depending on their condition, of course).
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