The Barbie Chronicles: A Living Doll Turns Forty

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 240 pages
• Published by: Touchstone October 8, 1999
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0684862751
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0684862750
• Book Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 8.3 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Since her birth at the hands of Ruth and Elliot Handler in 1959, Barbie has been decried for her terrible influence on girls' self-esteem and become the object of praise for her ability to elevate girls' play beyond baby dolls and kitchen sets. Though she's only a molded hunk of plastic, Barbie has wielded a curious amount of power over the last forty years. McDonough (Tying the Knot) attempts to present differing points of view about Barbie, but the overall tone is one of admiration, even from the doll's critics. Anna Quindlen wistfully imagines driving a silver lam? stake between Barbie's perfect breasts, while Ann duCille discusses issues of race and conformity, positioning Barbie at the center of what's wrong with the doll section of toy stores. Other essayists strike a gentler tone: Jane Smiley, Erica Jong, Carol Shields and Steve Dubin see the dark side of what the doll could represent to young girls, but recapture the original, guilty delight they felt when posing, defacing and, predominantly, undressing her. This well-chosen group of writers artfully explores the world that created Barbie, the childhood selves the authors remember and the meaning behind one of our era's most controversial pieces of plastic. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
No longer just a child's plaything, "Barbie has become an icon and a fetishAto some angelic, to others depraved." In honor of Barbie's 40th birthday, McDonough (Tying the Knot) has collected twenty stories and five poems in one volume: Steven Dubins's essay on Barbie's origins as a German pornographic doll; Jane Smiley on Barbie's "genius," which took girls from big hairdos and pink jeans to women's self-knowledge and rights; Anna Quindlen on her desire to "drive a stake through Barbie's plastic heart"; and a lots of essays with priceless titles ("Barbie Does Yom Kippor" and "Sex and the Single Doll"). Speaking largely to today's 30- to 45-year-olds, the varying intellectual and emotional perspectives here make for an engaging blend of idiosyncratic remarks and in-depth social commentary. Comparable in its irreverent style to Adios, Barbie: Young Women Write About Body Images and Identity (Seal Pr.-Feminist,1998); recommended for public and academic libraries.AKay Meredith Dusheck, Univ. of Iowa, Anamosa
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Reader Reviews
The concept of this anthology is simple: collect high-quality commentary pieces on Barbie, that lightning rod of controversy, and put them in a book. This book comprises both anti- and pro-Barbie writings, and the authors find original issues to analyze (e.g., the lack of adults or old people in Barbie-land, the race issue, baby dolls vs Barbie dolls, etc.). The essays included are well-reasoned and entertaining. However, there are some problems. First, most of the included works are either opinion pieces or introspective pieces. It seems ludicrous that the forms used to analyze a world based on fantasy and imagination are limited to these two tried-and-true alternatives. Only Denise Duhamel's wildly imaginative poetry gives us a glimpse as to the untouched analytical forms that are thought-provoking and incisive (Only 3 of her poems were included; you can read her entire Barbie work in the book Kinky--an incredible piece of work). Also, the op ed pieces suffer because of the lack of hard data. No real studies exist on the effect of Barbie on kids. Admittedly, such study would be difficult to execute, but interpreting the Arizona study to be such study is a stretch. Accordingly, we end up with op ed pieces either demonizing or adoring Barbie that rely mostly on opinion rather than fact. Furthermore, the authors end up making the same points over and over: the comma-shaped feet, the torpedo breasts, the unnatural waist, etc. Good or bad? Each author has an opinion. But is this all we can criticize of Barbie? The introspective pieces are nice (and some of them very funny), but you can only read about somebody's experiences growing up (or old) with Barbie so many times. Because of this limited palette of format and content, this collection runs out of steam too early. I would have included more works talking about the effect of Barbie on Mattel, the toy industry, etc. How about excerpts of the court decision of the case Mattel brought against Aqua for their "Barbie World" song? The court discusses Mattel's portrayal of Barbie and what Mattel hopes Barbie represents. How about including that song's lyrics? Not only were the lyrics funny, they also provided enough fodder for Mattel to file a multi-million dollar lawsuit. In the end, while the quality of each included piece is high, they only discuss a small portion of that cultural icon named Barbie.