Barbie
"My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be,'' Handler wrote in a 1994 autobiography. ``Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.''
Ruth Handler, the inventor of the Barbie doll in 1959, quoted in NY Times, Sunday April 28, 2002.
Another example of how "spin" works. You define a nuclear missile as a "peace-keeper", and a bill that increases pollution as "the Clear Skies Act". And you define a toy that glorifies unrealistic body shapes and conspicuous consumption as something that is all about giving women "choices".
The idea was not well-received by Mattel's male executives, but it became a hit and made a fortune for Mattel, especially once it got the idea of selling outfits and accessories to go with the doll. In other words, it became a training tool for little girls: acquire and acquire and acquire.
How ironic is it that, later in life, after suffering from breast cancer, Handler created a new, more satisfactory prosthetic breast, which she called "Nearly Me" and later sold the company for $1 million.
Copyright © 2002 Bill Van Dyk All rights reserved.
