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Why Are We So Obsessed With Barbie? 💖

ChantelleSays

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Barbie is more than a doll. She's a pop culture icon. Sine her debut in 1959, she became an astronaut, presidential candidate, cultural lightning rod, and the subject of countless debates about beauty, consumerism, and feminism. We're diving into everything. From Ruth Handler's original idea and the surprising origins of the German Bild Lilli doll, to Barbie's rise of cultural dominance, how she became the queen of the fashion dolls, her dreamhouse, launch as a summer blockbuster, and iconic fashion. Let's dive into the wild, chaotic, pink world of Barbie.

Music: flower cup by Lukrembo lukrembo - flower cup

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tea cozy by Lukrembo lukrembo - tea cozy

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Written and edited by Me

This video features materials protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.

20 Comments

@missmelissa1989 3 months ago

As a kid of the 90s I always thought Barbie was the coolest because she could do anything! I never saw her as a bad role model because I knew she wasn’t real lol. She wasn’t an actual celebrity/singer/actor etc, she was a toy. But I loved that any career she wanted, she would have it and I thought that was cool.

@valenclarealfabeto6134 3 months ago (edited)

Fashion dolls then:
• Criticized by parents
• Body image and standard issues
• Too skinny and inappropriate
• The rise of "living doll" trend (the Russian human Barbie)
• Compete with other doll franchises, which includes the obscure ones (Novi Stars, Shopkins: Shoppies, Lalaloopsy, Pinkie Cooper And The Jet Set Pets, Struts Fashion Horse, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls...etc.)

Fashion dolls now:
• The glitter and whimsy got stripped away
• Color reveal and plastic tops
• Leading to discontinued/cancelled dolls
• Normal, basic and minimalism
• They learned everything from the parents who complained the problems towards the toys or any safety hazards. Also the low sales of discontinued toys

@christopheralex6471 3 months ago (edited)

3:03 it’s not an urban legend, Ruth Handler did in fact purchase 3 Bild Lilli dolls on her trip to Switcherland, 1 for her daughter and 2 to give to Mattel. Jack Ryan was a designer at Mattel and he is the one who took the Bild Lilli doll as the blueprint. He redesigned and developed the mechanics of what would become the first Barbie doll. It is well documented.

16:44 Mattel beat Jem to market. Once Judy Shackleford at Mattel got Intel from Hasbro that they were working on Jem, Mattel developed Barbie and the rockers in just 16 hours and beat Jem to market from design to market in just four months.

@miguelstarboy5572 2 months ago

first time I see someone clarifying the context of the "don't eat" book and exactly it was a joke calling out that crazy culture! Anyways great video

@erronsdollhouse95 3 months ago

Truly an amazing video. So much amazing history that Barbie has brought to the world. Growing up my biological father wouldn't let me play with her but I remember still being obsessed with her nonetheless. Now I'm a huge collector of Barbie dolls and my love for her continues. 🥰

@jericholewis-q9j 3 months ago

watching this has been illuminating. i’ve loved barbie since i was little but being a boy i wasn’t allowed. this helped me understand why barbie looks the way she does now. i don’t think they’re applying pressure on the fashion like they once did.

@eineperson666 3 weeks ago (edited)

Thank you for tackling the late 2000s/ early 2010s as well, very underrated era

@TheMostBrokeRothschild 3 months ago

I hate that nearly all the Disney princess barbies have painted on corsets now.

@Luxebarbie 5 days ago

I’ve always been a Barbie girl. I was spoiled with so much barbie things as a child

@nerissacrawford8017 1 month ago

I had all of the Fashion Fever ones. Even the Kens. I think that it was very memorable to me.

@Wisteriiea 3 months ago

The constant criticisms of Barbie shows that society always undermines and devalues traditional femininity or anything associated with it. Barbie was everything and could achieve everything in an aspirational way but because she was hyper feminine and unapologetic, her existence was always questioned and over-sexualised. It’s very tiring, especially when you’re a person, girl, boy, gay or non-binary, who likes those types of aesthetics. Imagine being called a bimbo just because you have a big chest, which is a NATURAL thing many women have🤦🏽‍♀️ this also proves that people think women exist in relation to men or that everything a woman does or takes interest in is shallow. The critics themselves are misogynistic too.

@houseofvanity8 3 months ago

I love love love love love Barbie she’s an icon ❤

@lorettamiranda4050 2 months ago

I loved this informative video, I'm 61 years old and I'm still a Barbie girl!❤❤❤❤❤

@cocowavs 3 months ago

7:53 LOL I have that slumber party book with "don't eat!" on the back. I found it in a bag of thrifted finds. XD

@hoc7262 2 months ago (edited)

I genuinely HATE how much Mattel just doesn't care about Barbie's fashion nowadays! The way they started consistently dressing Barbie like a boring clown who shops at Shein and Temu right after introducing the new diverse bodies too! 💔

Just WHY do they act like diversity and the unique fashionable pink asthethic are mutually exclusive!?

@bohogirl 3 months ago

Fun video. However, what Chantelle Didn't Say at 23:16 is that Ken didn't garner gay interest because of his earrings or outfit, but because of a certain ring he was wearing around his neck... If you know, you know 😜

@soscarlet 3 months ago

Im obsessed with barbie movies & there were barely any video essays other than doll reviews before the greta gerwig movie was announced so im really grateful theres a huge influx of barbie videos since then, reactions, thinkpieces histories the difference in amount of content before & after is insane

@lunayen 3 months ago

Barbie missed out on the opportunity to bring back their iconic fashions after the release of the barbie movie. Sure, they had the collectible fashion pack, but never introduced anything for playline dolls. No fashion packs, no recreation of the merch, nothing. Barbie Extra was the last time they truly tried to experiment with fashion, which is a shame. They can mix and match casual with more glam and edgy clother for all all ofbthe body types but prefer to play it safe.

@janmil5630 2 months ago

basically. we can all just blame the parents as to why Barbie is as bland as she is now... She is devoid of any sort of character or personality because the moment she sways even a little bit, she gets criticized 🤣🤣