Barbie, Barbie!

When I was a little girl, the Barbie pictured above, circa 1963 or thereabouts, was the dream doll of most of us baby-boomers.  Girls, that is, although my brother would also participate in Barbie-play, via his G.I. Joe, who we deemed to be a much better boyfriend than that vanilla-flavored Ken.  For the times, she was quite daring.  She wore make-up, was anatomically quite developed, had cool clothes, including those sexy pumps, and was - in short - everything we thought we one day wanted to be.  I spent hours with my girlfriends in imaginative Barbie play.  My mother and grandmother were not quite approving, finding Barbie a bit too adult-like for their little girl, but there was little they could do about it.  My aunt gave me the Barbie one day after I had been sick, and my mother had to give in.

I was about eight at the time.  Although I was one of the last to get the doll, that was about the right age.  Much has been written about the evolution of Barbie, the way she reflects the changing role of women in the country and indeed the world, but this is the way Barbie looks nowadays, to the three-year-olds who receive her as "just another toy":



Quite a change.  Of course, she looks like she blends with the times, and she still has the traditional Barbie characteristics -- lots of make-up, cool clothes, simpering look.  But the age at which she is deemed acceptable for little-girl play -- three or thereabouts -- and the sexiness of her clothing, all make the concept of "age compression" a very real concern.  Most mothers I know blow off concerns about their daughters being corrupted by Barbie.  But as a baby-boomer who grew up with the doll, I can see that her evolution is very much in keeping with the times.  My question is, what will Barbie be next?