Forever Barbie_ The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll - Lord [0]
—BLANCHE WIESEN COOK, author of Eleanor Roosevelt
"With verve and wit, M. G. Lord rehabilitates Barbie and returns her to us as rebel, role model, and goddess."
—BARBARA EHRENREICH, author of Nickel and Dimed
"Beautifully written . . . Lord examines Barbies ideological pros and cons, tracking her commercial and sociological evolution and interviewing numerous Barbie collectors, impersonators, and even mutilators."
—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"Ms. Lords exhaustive reporting leaves little doubt that Barbie is a powerful cultural icon, historically reflective of societal views of women."
—THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"An elegant meditation on the meaning of Barbie. . . . Will shake up your rusty preconceptions and make you think of Americas most celebrated plastic doll in ways you never have before."
—SUSAN FALUDI, author of Backlash
"This book is not just about a doll, but about the lives of women over four decades. It is a brilliant and entertaining analysis of the vestigial remains of the Feminine Mystique that are still infecting our daughters."
—BETTY FRIEDAN
"M. G. Lord has transcended her ostensible subject to produce a work of shrewd, illuminating, and witty social history."
—J. ANTHONY LUKAS, author of Common Ground
The
Unauthorized
Biography
of a
Real Doll
FOREVER
BARBIE
M. G. LORD
In memory of
Ella King Torrey
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This book was prepared
in cooperation with Ella King Torrey,
who began researching Barbie
in 1979 as part of a Yale University
Scholar of the House project.
Copyright © 1994. 1995, 2004 by M. G. Lord
Preface copyright 2004 by M. G. Lord
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.
First published in the United States of America in 1994 by William Morrow and Company Inc. First paperback edition published in the United States of America in 1995 by Avon Books. This paperback edition published in 2004 by Walker Publishing Company, Inc.; published simultaneously in Canada by Goose Lane Editions.
For information about permission to reproduce selections from
this book, write to Permissions. Walker & Company,
104 Fifth Avenue. New York. New York 10011.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
available upon request
eISBN: 978-0-802-71923-2
Original book design by Alexander Knowlton
Fashion Queen Doll Heads (frontispiece): Barry Sturgill
Visit Walker & Company's Web site at www.walkerbooks.com
Printed in the United States of America
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
CONTENTS
PREFACE TO THE 2004
PAPERBACK EDITION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER ONE
WHO IS BARBIE,
ANYWAY?
CHAPTER TWO
A TOY IS BORN
CHAPTER THREE
SEX AND THE SINGLE DOLL
CHAPTER FOUR
THE WHITE GODDESS
CHAPTER FIVE
THE BOOK OF RUTH
CHAPTER SIX
SOME LIKE IT BARBIE
CHAPTER SEVEN
PAPER DOLL
CHAPTER EIGHT
BARBIE LIKE ME
CHAPTER NINE
MY FAIR BARBIE
CHAPTER TEN
GUYS AND DOLLS
CHAPTER ELEVEN
OUR BARBIES, OUR SELVES
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BE BARBIE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
BARBIE OUT OF CONTROL
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SLAVES OF BARBIE
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
BARBIE FACES THE FUTURE
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PREFACE TO THE 2004
PAPERBACK EDITION
Much has happened in the ten years since Forever Barbie teetered into the marketplace on its steep stiletto mules. After September 11, 2001, Barbie became a symbol of something larger than her shapely self. She is everything that Islamic extremists hate: an unapologetically sexual, financially independent, unmarried Western woman. And with all the cars she's amassed, there's no getting around the fact that she drives, an activity forbidden to women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—where, incidentally, she has been banned since 1995. In an annual campaign timed to coincide