Doll Wars: Barbie and Her
Competitors in the Twenty-First Century
Dolls, in their many varieties, represent some of children’s earliest and most
loved toys. Defined as replicas of the human form used as playthings, dolls
function as children’s companions and objects of affection, but they also serve
as important cultural reflectors. Trends in popular dolls over time shed light on
changing play patterns, products, and technologies, and, perhaps more
importantly, societal values and children’s hopes for the future. Perhaps no doll
better exemplifies this dynamic today than Barbie, introduced in 1959 by Ruth
Handler of Mattel Toys in California.
Known in the toy industry as “the Queen,” Barbie is the best-selling doll in
history, and her story has been well documented. Inspired by Ruth Handler’s
daughter Barbara’s love of fashion paper dolls and an erotic, sultry-faced,
shapely German doll named Lilli that Handler discovered on a trip to
Switzerland, Barbie was the first popular American doll with a made-up face
and sexy, well-developed woman’s body, accentuated by large breasts, a tiny
waist, and long, slender legs. She and her vast array of fashions and accessories
were first advertised directly to children through the new medium of television.
Although many mothers disapproved of the doll for being too sexualized and
sophisticated, little girls loved her. Since the late 1950s, Barbie sparked
controversy, especially regarding attitudes toward body type, gender roles, and
consumerism, and many times her primacy was challenged by other dolls, such
as Tammy, Crissy, or Jem—^but to no avail. Despite attempts otherwise. Barbie
continued to sell well worldwide for decades, as Mattel kept her basic image
constant, while prettifying and updating her over the years to reflect changing
fashions, lifestyles, toy technologies, and marketing strategies.
Seemingly defying the toy industry’s axiom that “no toy lasts forever,”
Barbie appeared invincible, but a new millennium brought a new threat. “Barbie
is in trouble,” wrote Eric Clark in The Real Toy Story, “[djeep trouble. And
when Barbie is in trouble everyone at Mattel, the world’s biggest toy company,
has problems, because Barbie, the world’s most famous toy, a genuine American
icon, is their meal ticket” (76). This sentiment was echoed in newspapers and
magazines across the globe after MGA Entertainment, headed by Isaac Larian,
introduced in a new line of tween fashion dolls called Bratz in 2001. “A gang of
doe-eyed dolls is crashing Barbie’s party,” proclaimed Business Week in 2002,
when Bratz racked up $150 million in sales, $130 million more than the year
before (Palmeri). Newsweek in 2006 characterized the 47-year old Barbie as
“preparing for the battle of her life” (Setoodeh 46). “Let the catfight begin,”
reported Knight Bidder Tribune Business News in a 2007 article titled “Barbie
and Bratz Dolls Slug It Out Over Popularity Claims,” noting, “[i]f the toy
industry is one big popularity contest. Barbie and Bratz are wrestling over the