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I hate pink because of barbie.
The doll and all her accessories made me feel left out as a little girl. There was no place for me at the Pretty in Pink Club because my friends’ parents could afford to buy several Barbies. (You couldn’t just have one.)
There was always criticism of how Barbie portrayed the perfect woman and set a standard that we couldn’t reproduce in our imperfect world. We can’t all be blonde and have exaggerated body measurements.
But Barbie symbolizes even more: conspicuous consumption.
Brilliant marketing contributed to the transformation Barbie becomes an icon of consumption. She fascinated young girls and taught them something to become voracious buyers long before celebrity influencers on Instagram and TikTok were touting their glamorous lives.
With the release of the Mattel and Warner Bros. ‘Barbie’ film hitting theaters this week, I’m reminded of the financial pressures of my youth.
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It wasn’t enough to have the blue-eyed doll. You had to have the multi-story Dreamhouse, the Corvette, and all those cute dresses and shoes. According to Mattel, more than 100 dolls are sold every minute.
And of course there was the tote bag for storing your Barbie stuff.
I grew up with my grandmother, Big Mama, who didn’t earn enough as a nurse to make the dream of a Barbie universe come true. My sisters and I got the Kmart knockoffs. We made clothes from scraps of fabric from my grandmother’s sewing box. Our male dolls were wannabe plastic dolls, not nearly as fancy as Malibu Ken. Our accessories were stored in a shoe box.
How many people grew up? become shopaholics as they desperately try to fill the void left by their childhoods without Barbie? Or live beyond their means and create a lifestyle where they are never denied?
Do you disguise yourself now, throw yourself into debt and don’t you equate the compulsion to buy with the stylish barbie of your youth?
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The amount of merchandising surrounding the film is already exaggerated. Will another generation feel the pressure to keep up with Barbie?
For $25, Barbie in the pink gingham dress is a popular item. There is the Movie Fashion Pack with movie outfits and accessories priced at $50 (dolls not included).
In a 1959 commercial featuring the curvaceous plastic toy, a woman sings, “Barbie is small and so petite, her clothes and figure look so neat… Someday I’ll be just like you, by then I know.” I know exactly what I will do.” Barbie, beautiful Barbie, I will believe that I am you.”
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The doll was sold for $3. But it was the fashion – which was between $1 and $5 at the time – the kids Also wanted to complete the fantasy.
The branding of Barbie and all of her accessories implicitly communicated the need to have everything – the clothes, the house, the car – to be cool.
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As a mother of two daughters, I had planned to reject Mattel’s materialistic values. I vowed to only give my girls books and toys that stimulate their minds. I swore to myself that I would not trick her into believing that her hair, her body and her clothes determine her worth.
You probably guessed how that worked. The peer pressure my children felt bothered me.
So they got their barbies. But I got the black versions, which didn’t exist when I was in elementary school. There were black dolls in the Barbie world, but they were friends. Barbie’s first black girlfriend, Christie, was introduced in 1968. Later, in 1980, the first black and Hispanic dolls called “Barbie” were added.
I stopped before buying the playhouse. It was just too much money. Incidentally, according to Mattel, a 1962 Barbie Dreamhouse is sold every two minutes.
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One Christmas when my oldest daughter was about 6 years old, I panicked when I couldn’t find the pink Barbie cash register she had on her list for Santa. For weeks I was looking for this toy that was one of the hottest items of the Christmas season. It had a calculator, a microphone and, thank goodness, a replica credit card reader.
My search ended a day before Christmas while snagging the last copy on a store shelf. Even the cashier congratulated me.
My daughter played with this cash register for a hot second. Years later I now use it as a prop when teaching kids and conducting money workshops.
For more personal and timeless financial advice, order your copy of Michelle Singletary’s Money Milestones.
Barbie’s many makeovers – who now come with more careers, skin tones and, thankfully, curves – still don’t negate the materialistic aspect of her microcosm.
The release of the live-action film is an opportunity to talk about what Barbie means and how we can keep our kids from focusing on acquiring things.
The playtime lends itself perfectly to dialogues about dream houses, cute convertible cars and fabulous fashion. But it’s also an opportunity to teach children what else Barbie could do with her money.
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If you have a personal finance question for Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary, please call 1-855-ASK-POST (1-855-275-7678).
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