In 1959, a doll named “Barbie” launched sporting a black-and-white striped bathing suit, pouty red lips, and a sassy blonde ponytail. Created by Mattel, she went on to be a toy and fashion icon for decades to come.
Over the years, her looks have changed drastically, and that is all because of cultural evolution. She has always been just following the trends. When she was first released, she was modeled after 50s icons like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Over time, she has gained quite the resume. Over her time in the toy industry, she has had over 250 careers, spanning from doctor and astronaut to rockstar and ballerina.
Two years after Barbie came to be, she was followed by her boyfriend Ken. In 1963, Mattel gave her a friend to stop people from assuming she was a sex symbol. The first black Barbie was introduced in the 1980s, which was the first sign of the diversity to come. After over 30 years, Mattel introduced the Barbie Fashionista line in 2016 to help create a more diverse line to match the diversity of modern women.
To create even more diversity in 2026 and recognize people with both visible and invisible disabilities, they released dolls featuring those disabilities, such as the deaf Barbie or autistic Barbie. However, the autistic Barbie did lead to controversy within the autistic community over whether it was an accurate or appropriate representation.
Most recently, Barbie starred in her own movie. The movie was meant to be a commercial but also explore some deeper topics, such as feminism, the patriarchy, and capitalism. The main thing people noticed was how accurately it represented the societal pressures and expectations put on women. As someone who grew up playing with Barbie and never knew what she stood for, knowing that she is there to show little girls what they are capable of and that diversity matters has huge implications for our world and me.
She has grown quite a ways from where she began, but she will forever be an icon.
