The “Mother” of Barbie Doll

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The “Mother” of Barbie Doll Author: Zubakova Alyona form 7 A school 88 Teacher: Kuznetsova Galina Genrikhovna

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Different Worlds Every seven seconds a new child is born on our planet. It is either a boy or a girl. When they grow up a little their worlds become different. Boys tend to play with cars and girls tend to play with dolls. My story is about a person, who changed the world of girls.

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The Mother of Barbie Doll It is Ruth Handler, the “mother” of Barbie doll. I’m sure that she really changed the world of girls for the better. Her creation made her one of the most famous and richest women in the world. Barbie doll has already been around for 50 years.

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Barbie’s Prototype Barbie is a plastic fashion doll produced by Mattel, Inc. It first appeared in March 1959.  American businesswoman Ruth Handler (1916-2002) created this doll. In the middle of 1950’s when Ruth was visiting Switzerland she bought a Lilli doll but that doll was not for children.

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Barbie and Barbara Ruth Handler saw her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls. She thought that girls would enjoy a woman-like 3-D doll with clothes they could change. Ruth Handler used a German doll as a model and named the new doll Barbie after her daughter Barbara.

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Barbie’s Birthday The doll first appeared at the Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. This date is Barbie's official birthday. Adults were not quite impressed with this doll but girls were. In 1959 Mattel sold 351,000 dolls. The first Barbie dolls cost $3.00.

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Barbie’s Siblings and Friends Ruth Handler and Mattel understood the power of marketing and soon Barbie became a dream doll for millions of girls of America. Later the Handlers manufactured Barbie’s boyfriend Ken named after their second child, Kenneth. Then Barbie’s little sister, Skipper, came. Now Barbie has some siblings and many friends.

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So Many Different Barbie Dolls Today Barbie doll has many careers. There are also a lot of Barbie celebrities and Barbie collectibles. Some of them are really very expensive. Barbie doll was 50 years old in March, 2009. In honour of her birthday Mattel remanufactured some old models.

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Barbie All Over the World There are many prototypes of Barbie dolls in the world — "pirated" and officially manufactured. The Muslim prototype is called Fulla. The Iranian government has banned Barbie doll, because they think it is destructive for their culture.

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A Barbie Syndrome Some people don’t like Barbie doll, they say that manufacturers make a standard of beauty. And many girls and young women try to be like the doll. It is a Barbie syndrome. An American Cindy Jackson made 29 plastic operations to look like her favorite idol.

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American Cultural Icon Thanks to Ruth Handler Barbie has become a cultural icon. In 1976 Americans placed Barbie to the Time Capsule which will be opened in 2076. Millions of girls all over the world play with Barbie dolls nowadays. These dolls are sold in 150 countries of the world. And it is all thanks to Barbie’s “mother” Ruth Handler.

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A Wonderful Toy I have questioned some girls from my school about Barbie dolls. Most of them enjoyed playing with Barbie dolls and spent wonderful time sewing clothes for her or just arranging her house. I greatly enjoyed playing with Barbie as well.

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My Favourite Doll

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Bibliography 1. Журнал «Биография» № 6, 2005, с. 112-119 2. Журнал Cosmopolitan № 3, 2004, c. 365-367 3. Пионерская правда № 17, 1988 4. Кузовлев В.П. Учебник английского языка для 7класса средней школы М: Просвещение, 2002, с. 130 5. Encyclopedia Britannica for Children, 2007 ЗАО «Новый Диск» 6. http://wikipedia.ru Барби 7. http://wikipedia.en. Barbie 8. http://www.billbam.com/barbiehistory.html 9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Handler