Ruth Handler (November 4, 1916 – April 27, 2002) was an
American businesswoman, born to Jewish-Polish immigrants
Jacob and Ida Moskowicz, the president of the toy
manufacturer Mattel Inc., and is remembered primarily for
her role in marketing the Barbie doll.
Ruth Handler had noted that her daughter Barbara, who was
becoming a pre-teen, preferred playing with her infant paper
dolls and giving them adult roles. She wanted to produce a
plastic doll with an adult body but her husband and Mr.
Matson thought it wouldn't sell.
But when the Handlers were on a European trip, Ruth
Handler saw the German Bild Lilli doll (which was not meant
for children at all; rather a gag gift for adults) in a Swiss shop
and brought it home.
Once home, she reworked the design of the doll and renamed her Barbie after her daughter. Barbie debuted at the
New York toy fair on March 9, 1959. Barbie became an
instant success, rocketing the Handlers and their toy
company toward fame and fortune.
Barbie
Normal heights
Height:
31cm
Waist:
8.9cm
Hips:
12.7cm
Upper leg:
8cm
Inner thigh: 4cm
Arm length: 10cm
Leg length: 16.5cm
Average woman Barbie
157cm
45.1cm
64.3cm
40.5cm
20.3
50.6
83.5cm
Barbie/Ken’s actual measurements
Doll Height
Barbie
Projected
Height
Barbie
Ken
Measurements
of an “average woman”
Measurements of an
“average man”
Ken
Height
31cm
31cm
157cm
157cm
Height
157cm
Height
168cm
Waist
8.9cm
9.8cm
45.1 cm
49.6cm
Waist
85 cm
Waist
105 cm
Hips
12.7
13.1cm
64.3cm
66.3cm
Hips
109cm
Hips
107 cm
Upper Leg
8cm
8.4cm
40.5cm
42.5cm
Upper Leg
32cm
Upper Leg
36 cm
Inner thigh
4cm
4.9cm
20.3cm
78.4cm
Inner thigh
64cm
Inner thigh
61 cm
Arm Length
10cm
12.2cm
50.6cm
61.7
Arm
Length
46cm
Arm Length
66 cm
Leg Length
16.5cm
17cm
83.5cm
87cm
Leg
Length
71cm
Leg Length
97 cm
Questions
1.
Answers
Barbara Millicent Roberts
What is Barbie’s full name?
2.
March 9 1959
What year was Barbie born?
3.
Who manufactures Barbie?
Mattel, Inc.
4.
Who is Ruth Handler?
Ruth Handler is the woman who invented Barbie
5.
What city and state is Barbie from?
Los Angeles, California
6.
Barbie was first introduced at an
annual Toy Fair. In which
American city is the Toy fair held?
New York City annual toy fair
7.
Which British rock band encouraged Mattel to bring the hemline of
Barbie’s dress up and her hair way down?
8.
Who is Barbie’s boyfriend? In which year was Barbie’s boyfriend
Barbie’s boy-friend is Ken, who was introduced in 1961
introduced?
9.
Describe the first Barbie doll to be manufactured.
She had a very narrow waist, an ugly face, high heels and a zebra
print swimsuit
10.
Who were Barbie and Ken dolls named after?
Barbara Handler and Ken Carson
11.
Barbie has become a role model to girls all over the world. Name
She has 9 Education jobs, 5 medicine jobs, 6 military
jobs, 4 political jobs, 4 science and engineering jobs,
transportation and 33 other jobs
five (5) occupations Barbie has had since her creation in 1959.
12.
61
How many careers has Barbie had since her creation in 1959?
13.
Skipper, Stacie and Tutti
Name three (3) members of Barbie’s family.
14.
What famous fashion magazine did Barbie make an appearance in
Vogue
1997?
15.
Barbie has friends from a variety of backgrounds and from all over
Christie, Teresa and Whitney
the world. Name four (4) of her friends.
16.
What is the name of the limited edition Barbie doll inspired by the art
Starry Night Barbie
of Vincent
Van Gough?
17.
Mattel Inc decided in 2000 to change to the look to a more modern
What change occurred to Barbie doll’s body in 1965?
look. They expanded the hips and lessened the bust
18.
How has Barbie embraced new technology?
She has a cell phone and a computer, so yes I think so.
19.
What is the name of the Barbie doll dressed as a man?
Ken
20.
What was the all-time-best selling Barbie doll?
Totally hair Barbie
1.
2.
QUESTIONS :
Many young women believe that they are overweight. Do you consider that
Barbie is overweight?
In my eyes Barbie is not at all overweight. It is an unfortunate case how insecure
may women are today & I think that Barbie promotes the wrong idea to bigger
children.
3.
How would you describe Barbie’s body?
Barbie’s body is very slender; Barbie is tall !
4.
What eating habits do you consider that Barbie has established, remembering
that she is a forty old woman.
Barbie eats chocolate crackles and sugary cakes
5.
Barbie believes that the secret to her controlling her weight is that she
makes the best banana smoothies in town. She uses banana, milk and
low-fat vanilla ice cream in the ratio of 2: 4: 1. What mass of each
ingredient will be needed to make a 630 g smoothie?
Ans: banana { 2} , milk { 4} ice-cream {1}
Formula :
Add all up = 7 divide by 630 + 90
Time 2 times 90 = 180g . 4 times 90 = 360g . 1 times 90 = 90
{all of the answers = 630g}
6.
Using Barbie’s measurements, scale up to real size (as above) then make a lifesize cut out of what you think she’d be. (Do this one with a partner!)
On paper!
7.
Barbie also loves chocolate crackles. The recipe calls for:
 2 cups of rice bubbles
 2 Tablespoons of cocoa
1

cup of coconut
2
3

cup of icing sugar
4
 100 g of copha
(a)
State the ingredients required to make 72 chocolate crackles





(b)
144 cups of rice bubbles
144 Tablespoons of cocoa
50 cup of coconut
75 cups of icing sugar
7200 g of copha
How much of each ingredient is needed to make 12?
 24 cups of rice bubbles
 24 Tablespoons of cocoa
 6 cups of coconut
 9 cup of icing sugar
 1200g of copha
QUESTIONS PART 2 :
(A)
List the occupations Barbie has had. What do these jobs tell you
about her?
Barbie’s jobs were:
-Spanish teacher
-lifeguard
-worked in smoothie store
-marine biologist
(B)
How is Barbie different from traditional dolls? Why do you think so?
-Honestly , I think there is a general message or look that most doll
manufacturing companies have in common. I think that “Barbie’s” look is different
physically, but on the other hand I think that her message about being ”beautiful”
& “perfect”.
( C ) Why do you think she is designed as she is?
- I think that her physical features and evident persona would definitely reach out
to a younger demographic . I think they made her the way she is because most
Wealthier families in general seem to be warming up to the idea of moving past a
two kids . A survey from 2002 found that 12 percent of higher-income women
had three or more children recently that fact has stayed steady. The reason I
mention this because another survey said that at least one child is a girl and I
think that that is the Mattel company’s best interest and
they designed Barbie for the girls in the family.
(C)
Why do you think Barbie introduced a
Hispanic doll called Christie?
-I think they did this to reach out to another group of
ethnicities along with introducing a African American
Barbie and a Argentinian Barbie.
(D)
What sort of image does Barbie project?
-I think Barbie promotes a perfect ,flawless, smart persona which…to many is
very un-realistic .
(E)
What does Barbie seem to value most in life?
-well , it seems obvious that LOOKS are everything in Barbie’s world.
(F) Why might Mattel have given her these values?
-it think they gave this image for children to get them to Want to be like that.
Analysis:
Barbie is young, single, successful, thin, white, Anglo-Saxon Celtic do you
think Barbie is representative of women in general? If no why not?
I do not because not everybody is rich ,blonde and successful .
1.
Do all women aspire to create the lifestyle and status that Barbie strives
for?
Honestly, I think that is what most women want to be , but sometimes they’re
poor and cannot afford it.
2.
Redraw the quality of life matrix. In the left-hand column of your table you
will see eight points of contrast we could make between the life of Barbie
and the lives of “average women”
Place a red dot or
Barbie’s quality of
blue dot or tick
average
tick where you think
life is and place a
where you think the
women’s is.
Quality of Life Matrix
Average : A
Barbie: B
Points of
contrast
Scale of quality
Very Poor
1
2
Job opportunities
Wealth
Housing
Health
Housework
Having a
family
Education
Food
A
B
B
3
A
A
A
A
4
Excellent
5
B
B
B
B
B
A
A
A
B
B
How is Barbie’s life different from that of an “average woman”?
3.
-
well, not everybody has perfect skin like Barbie , not everybody is thin &
and not everybody is successful.
4.
Which “woman” has the most power over her life? (Barbie or the average
woman)
-I think Barbie because she has been in almost every job position.
5.
Do all women in Australia share the same lifestyle and status? Explore in
your group the differences in conditions for different groups of woman in
Australia, such as for example Aboriginal women, migrant woman,
Samoan Women, rural woman
-I think that no woman is the same . i think that everyone is unique in their own
ways.
6.
From your current studies, describe a habitat of Barbie. Describe this
habitat in a paragraph. How has Barbie adapted to the habitat you have
described:
well , think that in the recent research I have done that Barbie’s habitat is
“the beach” , “chillin” by the pool. The reason for me saying this is
because when you purchase a Barbie doll she is either wearing a
swim-suit or something beach related.
7.
List at least 10 factors that determine what Barbie’s
environment is like
-job -education -people she lives with -hobbies .health relationship(s) –family members - A new change of scenery
8. Mattel has formed a community for Barbie to exist, describe how Barbie
interacts within her community. Think about the different relationships that Mattel
has developed for Barbie:- e.g. Ken, Christie, Stacey. Think about the different
environments that Barbie is exposed to house, ranch etc…
well ,think that the community born for Barbie is that she us almost always with
friends, weather it be the family or ken. The different environments that Barbie’s
exposed to is : house , ranch , mall etc…
9. Decide whether Barbie is a producer, consumer or decomposer.
Justify your answer.
I honestly think she is a decomposer because she has changed the way many
young children perceive beauty.
Describe what you think would happen if:(i)
(iii)
other types of dolls ceased to exist
(ii)
Barbie Dolls increased
The demand for Barbie dolls suddenly decreased
Well if other types of dolls did not exist then that would be a great business
opportunity and would diffeniely get A LOT of Barbie’s sold. If Barbie dolls had
suddenly decreased than that would not be good on the Mattel company & they
would eventually loose the money to create the Barbie dolls
8.
If Barbie was to die out, explain what would have happened. Justify your
response with knowledge gained from your current studies
If Barbie was to die out then that would not only be bad for the manufacturers but
it would be bad for the consumers. Research has shown me that Barbie has’nt
always had the best selling seasons . Barbie has sold more than 2.5 Billion and
is still reaching high numbers.
9. What are the good and bad things about Barbie? Draw a table to summarise
these points.
Good
Barbie provides a source of revenue
Barbie has sold over 2.5 billion dolls
Bad
Barbie can sometimes give off
the wrong image
Barbie can damage young
children’s self esteem
Activity – P.M.I. – Plus Minus and
Interesting
MINUS PLUS INTERESTING
I don’t like I learnt
Barbie
new
thing
about
her
I learnt that Barbie
dolls are a continuous
revenue and they
provide money , also
that Barbie was
introduced
Generate a list of
dolls that have invaded Barbie’s environment. Think
about Cabbage Patch Dolls, generic fashion dolls, Baby Born
9.
-
Bratz dolls
My scene dolls
American girl dolls
Baby dolls
Tinker bell dolls
Polly pocket dolls
10.
Barbie belongs to a species, that is the Doll species. List some of the common
characteristics that Barbie has?
Some characteristics are:
-smart
successful
flirtatious
humorous etc.
13 Mattel decided in 1959 that sales within the Doll specie was slowing, describe some of
the adaptations that Mattel made to the sub-specie Barbie so that she would be
competitive in the doll market.
Well some strategic moves that Mattel made were to add more accessories’ and sets to the
Barbie “ensombe” . For instance they added the pool set and beach etc.
14 What would happen to the Doll specie if Barbie became the only doll .
Well not only would it not provide a revenue for companies , but it would demolish any
means of money for other people/companies .
1. Barbie was born in 1959 March 9th. Barbie was invented by Ruth
handler who wanted a doll for her daughter that did not rip. Barbie is a
pretty Blonde with short outfits. She has a small waist and long legs. I will
be discussing Facts, interesting things and how I used math to figure out
Barbie.
2. Barbie was named after Ruth Handlers Daughter Barbara. She took
her idea to Mattel Inc. but they could not see it happening. So when Ruth
was in Germany she saw a doll that was exactly what she had pictured.
Though out the years Barbie has had 20 movies and hundreds of dolls +
accessories. The best-selling Barbie doll was “totally hair Barbie” which to
me was Ugly.
3. Barbie, although she looks innocent she has created a whole new
image which has lead to many complaints and law suites . As
controversial as she may be ; she still puts a smile on most kids faces
when they get to play with her.
Activity 17 “Building a Big Mac”- Writing a Report
1.Topic Sentence
 Who is Barbie?
 Write a short description of Barbie and her lifestyle?
 What will you be discussing in your report today?
Who is Barbie?
Barbie is a doll that was created by Ruth Handler in 1959 whilst she was watching
her daughter Barbara playing with a cut out doll.
Barbie is semi tall , blonde and a fashionista! Barbie has promoted many jobs and is
often chilling by the pool with her friends.
In this report there is some guideline questions and how science and math’s can
solve the controversies with her general characteristics.
Body




of Report
What are the facts I will be explaining about Barbie?
What are the interesting things about Barbie?
How did I use mathematics to find out things about Barbie?
What did I learn about Barbie’s social life compared with the average
woman?
 How did I use science to find out things about Barbie?
I will be showing basic facts about Barbie and who created her and why.
Some interesting things about Barbie are that she was influenced by a every day girl
and has sold over 2 billion dolls. I used basic mathematics like ration and division
etc.
I learned that Barbie was a socialite and not many people are interested in fashion
etc….
I used science to calculate her basic measurements.
3.Conclusion
 what did you learn today?
 what opinion have you formed about Barbie’s influence
on society
 Justify your response with facts
I learnt that Barbie is a very successful revenue and is in the hands of many young
girls today.
I also learnt that Barbie has negatively impacted the way people see images and
has positively effected children.
My opinion :
Honestly for me I think that Barbie has negatively influenced society because she
has molded her image to be perfect and with not a single flaw. All in all I think
Barbie has negatively affected society.
FACTS
Did you know :
Barbiedoll has had more than 80 careers -- everything from a rock star to a paleontologist to a
presidential candidate.
Barbiedoll's first career was a teenage fashion model.
BarbieGoes to College was introduced in 1964.
The first Olympic athlete Barbiewas introduced in 1975; she is
competing again as an Olympic swimmer in 2000.
Summit Barbiedolls were introduced in the 1980s to commemorate the end of the
cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=facst+about+barbie&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=barbie&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
http://www.google.com/search?pq=barbie&hl=en&sugexp=pfwl&ds=i&cp=8&gs_id=1q&xh
r=t&q=ruth%20handler&um=1&client=safari&rls=en&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r
_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1024&bih=596&ie=UTF8&sa=N&tab=iw&ei=F2MpT67tLuXl0QGS1qTmAg
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=barbies+charateristics&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8
http://www.go
ogle.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=list+of+dolls&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8