Want to guess who turns 55 today? America's most famous doll, Barbie, that's who! And I have to admit she's looking pretty fab for her age. The impressive plastic figure has had quite the busy year. She modeled for the Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Swimsuit issue just last month and now she's paying homage to some of our famous celebs and designers with the new "Barbie 2014 Hollywood & Pop Culture Collection." What hasn't this mid-50s doll done?
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Barbie has always been the subject of controversy among parents and writers (including myself) who believe that her unrealistic proportions send a bad message to young girl's about beauty and body image. But as bad as Barbie is when it comes to damaging girl's body image, I will say one thing–she's has quite the resume!
The 55-year-old doll has done it all from being president, working as a female astronaut and has even worn red carpet inspired designer dresses like the Zuhair Murad number worn by Blake Lively (pictured above). And as impossibly perfect as she may be, you have to admit she certainly does a great job at promoting girl power. It's important for our daughters to know that if they put their minds to it, they can be anything they want from an astronaut, to a doctor, a Hollywood star and even president.
In regards to the Sports Illustrated controversy here's what Barbie herself had to say about it:
The statement, hashtagged #unapologetic, was posted to the Barbiescollector.com site. Hate her or love her, Barbie has definitely made an impact on the world. Fifty Five years later she's still one of the most popular toys around. According to the Huffington Post, a Barbie doll is purchased every three seconds somewhere in the 150 countries where she is sold. Wow. That's a lot of dolls!
I think it's great that Barbie represents to young girls the countless opportunities and possibilities they have in life. The only thing I ask is that she come in a more realistic-looking size moving forward–that's all!
Image via Barbiescollector.com
