Career growth: Barbie's top profession over 55 years

Barbie dolls - the subject of desire of millions of girls all over the world for decades, which formed the ideas of several generations about what an ideal woman is, what she looks like and what she does. All this time, Barbie has been changing with society, but this has not always been successful - for example, last week the puppet manufacturer, Mattel, had to apologize for the fact that their Barbie programmer could not get used to her field without the help of men. We decided to recall what other professions Barbie had during her lifetime and how they corresponded to the spirit of the times.

1960s

The first Barbie outwardly differed from the present, and their proportions, if at all possible, were even more bizarre. One of the creators of Barbie realized, watching his daughter, that the girls lacked a doll that looked like a woman so that the children could play "in adults" with her help. So, his daughter not only inspired the creation of a cult toy, but also gave her a name - abbreviated from "Barbara". The first "adult" role was the "young model" - somewhere in the middle between the ages, so as not to miss. Contrary to the prevailing view, the first Barbie was not exclusively blonde, there was also a version with a brunette girl. During the first decade of her existence, Barbie mastered several professions as much as she could, including teachers, nurses, and even an astronaut, which is not surprising given that Tereshkova traveled to space in 1963. Another notable Barbie is a "careerist." In the 60s, obviously, to make a career and reach the abstract management position, it was enough to put a floor lamp on his head.

1970s

One of the most important decades in the history of emancipation and the American struggle for equality could not but affect the main girl role model. First, by the early 1970s, Barbie had formed a whole squad of dark-skinned girlfriends: Francie, Christie, Julia, and ballet dancer Cara - but, as a rule, they were all "repainted" white dolls with straight dark hair. Barbie herself achieved the right to become an African American only in 1980. In the professional field, changes were not made immediately either. If in the first years of existence, Barbie was mainly interested in fashion, a little sport, and Barbie-astronaut stood alone among the owners of typically female professions like “singer”, “nurse” and “ballerina”, then in the 70s the emphasis shifted, but not too much. noticeably. Now Barbie was not just involved in sports, but could become an Olympic champion in athletics, as well as a surgeon (after all, these were not the times of "Nicerkoker Hospital"). However, she was still interested in the career of a ballerina, actress and stewardess, and Barbie became “Miss America” twice in a decade.

1980s

Those of us who were born in the 80s, though dimly, but remember that in the mornings (and in the daytime too) they only watched on television that aerobics lessons. Sports girls in bright bathing suits on top of shiny leggings, high sports golf and wristbands vigorously waved their legs and did abdominal exercises. At the same time, along with the dream of tightened hips, the girls were sold to Barbie in the form of an aerobics instructor. By the end of the decade, the classic role models - the vet and the rock star (willing to argue that you dreamed to become either one or the other) as a child - were replaced by a much bolder and more ambitious, as we have Barbie - Goodwill Ambassador and Barbie Officer . Before the release of the film "Soldier Jane" was a little less than eight years.

1990s

Judging by the evolution of Barbie, the nineties for women have become an era of great opportunities and breakthroughs in various areas of work. Every year Barbie took possession of several professions at once - even such exotic ones as a paleontologist (we argue that the film "Jurassic Park" influenced this), freely joined the ranks of firefighters and rescuers, fully mastered the army in positions from military physician to the squadron commander of the American Air Force The Petrels, and also twice became a top manager (the first time, however, in a pink business suit) and ran for the presidency as many times. Well and, of course, it is impossible not to note the rap diva with a gold chain around his neck, sold in a set with a pink boombox - the real Iggy Azalia of his time.

2000s

In the Zero, Barbie desperately tried to fit the era - and not always successfully. There was a growing awareness that the doll was promoting an unrealistic idea of ​​its own body among girls, and therefore even published scientific work in support of such a theory. In addition, marketers made some not so good moves, inventing new variations. For example, one of Barbie could have applied temporary tattoos, including one that is now called the “tramp stamp”, while the other had a tiny camera built into it. Barbie's career directions summed up the most familiar images: ballerinas, teachers, not forgetting about the "presidential candidate." At the same time, baby-boom also went: dolls “photographer of newborns”, “doctor of newborns”, “pediatrician” appeared; The line of affection was supplemented by a number of professions related to animals - the “zoologist”, “veterinarian” and even the trainer in the now scandalous “Sea World”. All professions Barbie Zero invariably greets with a smile, as well as a perfect make-up and hairstyle, even if she coaches a football team.

2010s

By the way the set of occupations of Barbie has changed over half a century, one can easily judge how the role of women in society has evolved. In the 60s, the doll makers suggested that the most courageous girls dream of an astronaut's career or, on a more down-to-earth basis, a businesswoman, while others were content with the typical female professions of a teacher, model and stewardess. Today, Barbie is much freer in choice and in some areas can compete with Ken for a place in the sun. So, back in the 90s it became clear that a woman could become president, but, as American practice shows, for the time being purely theoretically. This is probably why we still do not have a Barbie President, but there is only a candidate for the post of head of the country. The development of technology inevitably led to the emergence of Barbie, versed in computer networks, so that an IT specialist stood up in a row with an IT gerl. But the most pleasant thing is that now there is a racer in the Barbie-professions gallery: we dare to hope that together with the generation that grew up on dolls of the 2010s, we will have female pilots in Formula 1.