by M. G. Lord
39 "I'd call them 'daddy dolls' . . .": Ibid., p. 72.
40 "The face looks snobbish": Ibid., p. 50.
40 "I think they call these Barbies because they are so sharp": Ibid., p. 54.
40 "I would like her better if there was a little less eye makeup . . . But how else could she attract boy dolls?": Ibid., p. 50. (New York: Crown Publishers, 1987), p. 19.
40 The tomboy who held her "at some distance": Ibid., p. 50.
40 Doll's neck "too long . . . legs too thin": Ibid., p. 48.
40 Ginny clothes "cheesily-made": Ibid., p. 59.
40 "I like Revlon dolls the best . . . They are . . . fatter.": Ibid., p. 54.
40 "She's so well groomed, Mommy.": Ibid., p. 70.
40 Convince Mom that Barbie will make a "poised little lady" out of her . . .: Ibid., p. 74.
41 "The type of arguments which can be used successfully to overcome parental objection are in the area of the doll's function in awakening in the child a concern with proper appearance": Ibid., p. 74.
41 "The child exerts a certain amount of pressure . . . The toy advertiser can help . . . by providing [the child] with arguments . . .": Ibid., p. 11.
41 The commercials should depict "a variety of teen-age social activities": Ibid., p. 47.
CHAPTER THREE: SEX AND THE SINGLE DOLL
44 "problem that has no name": Friedan, op. cit., p. 15.
44 "Ruth works a full day . . .": Los Angeles Times, September 29, 1959.
46 "If the growth Mattel has had . . .": Interview with Marvin Barab, Palos Verdes, California, May 1, 1993. (All subsequent Barab quotations are from this interview.)
47 "Ruth and Elliot ate in the cafeteria every day . . .": Interview with Beverly Cannady, Sherman Oaks, California, September 16, 1992. (All Cannady quotations are from this interview.)
47 Steve Lewis's remarks: Telephone interviews with Steve Lewis, April 2, 1993, April 16, 1993, September 1, 1993. (All Lewis's quotations are from these interviews.)
51 The Single Girl "supports herself: Helen Gurley Brown, Sex and the Single Girl (New York: Bernard Geis, 1962), p. 5.
51 "Sturdy, colorful . . .": Mattel 1963 Toy Catalogue (Hawthorne, Calif: Mattel Toys, 1963), p. 34.
51 "If you are to be a glamorous . . .": Brown, Op. Cit., p. 119.
51 "When a man thinks of a single woman . . .": Ibid., p. 6.
51 ' The first spokeswoman for the revolution . . .": Barbara Ehrenreich, Elizabeth Hess, and Gloria Jacobs, Re-Making Ijyve (New York: Anchor Books, 1986), p. 56.
52 "Copycat a mentor . . .": Brown, op. cit., p. 193.
52 "time and often more money . . .": Ibid., p. 6.
52 "Men survey women before treating them . . .": John Berger, Ways of Seeing (New York: Penguin, 1977), p. 46.
52 "an object of vision": Ibid., p. 47.
53 "Nothing is as transient, useless, or completely desirable as a suntan . . .": Gloria Steinem, The Beach Book (New York: The Viking Press, 1963), p. 2.
53 "formative years were spent entirely in bathing suits": Ibid., dust jacket.
53 "I must . . . develop my bust": Ibid., p. 98.
53 "build" a bikini: Ibid., p. 101.
54 Steinem's failure to observe that Bunnies were exploited because of their gender: See Marcia Cohen, The Sisterhood: The True Story of the Women Who Changed the World (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988), p. 114.
54 "It was interesting . . .": Ibid., p. 114.
54 "terrific good looks . . . If Gloria says it's otherwise . . .": Ibid., p. 114.
54 "There are many chic women in New York . . .": Cynthia Lawrence, Barbie's New York Summer (New York: Random House, 1962), p. 49.
54 Steinem's beach looks—"Ivy League," "Muscle Beach," "Pure Science": Steinem, op. cit., p. 111.
55 "One gets the sense talking to Gloria that she was born . . .": Leonard Levitt, "SHE: The Awesome Power of Gloria Steinem," Esquire, October 1971, p. 208.
55 "With every office clerk able to afford a vacation . . .": Steinem, op. cit., p. 83.
55 "Feminism didn't come into my life . . .": Telephone interview with Gloria Steinem, May 20, 1994.
55 Midge "is thrilled with Barbie's career . . .": Carson/Roberts, Midge's debut ad—videotape provided by Mattel.
56 "Basically, Tammy was a baby doll . . .": Interviews with Joe Blitman, Los Angeles, July 3 and July 6, 1992. (All Blitman quotations are from these interviews.)
57 The "togetherness" movement . . . in which a woman "exists only for . . . her husband and children": Friedan, op. cit., p. 47.
57 Marx alleged Mattel copied the "form, posture, facial expression . . ." of the Bild Lilli doll: Louis Marx and Co., Inc., and Greiner & Hausser G.m.b.H. v. Mattel, Incorporated, Civil Action No. 341-61-WB, filed March 24, 1961, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California Central Division. (RG 21 Records of the District Court of the U.S. for the Southern District of California, Central Division 1938-1961, Civil Case Files, Folder 341-61, Box #2276.) Quotation from reply to defendant's counterclaims in second amended answer; and plaintiffs' counterclaim against defendant, September 15, 1961, p. 10.
59 Mattel counters by alleging Marx has conspired with Germans to compete unfairly by "marketing an inferior doll in the United States of confusingly similar appearance to" Barbie: Marx v. Mattel, second amended answer to complaint and counterclaim and jury demand, September 11, 1961, p. 10.
59 Mattel introduced wooden dolls from the "collection of Miss Ruth Ellison . . .": Marx v. Mattel. Defendant's notice under title 35, section 282, p. 2. (News that the dolls were discovered by Jack Ryan's brother was provided in the Jack Ryan interview, op. cit.)
59 Judge Leon Yankwich dismissed claims "with prejudice as to all causes of action . . .": Marx v. Mattel, Decision filed March 4, 1963.
60 "I Am . . . Not a Toy . . .": Robin Morgan at the Miss America Pageant: See Cohen, op. cit., pp. 151-152.
61 "The typical George Wallace voter and the Bob Dylan fan lived in different worlds": Jim Miller, "The Best of the Summer of '68," 77ie New York Times, July 25. 1993.
63 "a sort of ecstatic vision . . .": Arian and Michael Batterberry, Mirror, Mirror (New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1977), p. 388.
63 "a vision of sexuality freed from the shadow of gender distinctions . . . expand the possibilities.": Ehrenreich et ah, op. cit., p. 35.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE WHITE GODDESS
66 Statistics on breast cancer: Susan Ferraro, "The Anguished Politics of Breast Cancer," The New York Times Magazine, August 15, 1993, p. 58.
67 "We were all raised on a . . . idea of what a sexually successful woman was supposed to look like . . . the official breast" was "Barbie's breast": Katie Davis, Report on Breast Implants, National Public Radio's Morning Edition, April 17, 1992. (Quotation checked against official transcript.)
67 "androgynous vacancy . . .": Susan Sontag, "Notes on Camp," Against Interpretation (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1966), p. 279.
71 "If psycho-analytic theory . . .": Sigmund Freud, "The Uncanny," The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Vol. 17 (London: The Hogarth Press Limited, 1961), pp. 219-256.
71 Transitional objects: See D. W. Winnicott, "The Location of Cultural Experience," The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 48 (1966), pp. 368-372; D. W. Winnicott, "Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena," The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 34 (1953), pp. 89-97.
72 Transitional objects: Interview with Ellen Handler Spitz, New York City, August 7, 1992.
73 The masses' craving "to bring things 'closer' . . .": Walter Benjamin, "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Illuminations (New York: Schocken Books, 1969), p. 223.
74 Plastic "is the very idea of its infinite transformation . . .": Roland Barthes, Mythologies (New York: Hill and Wang, 1982), p. 97.
74 a "magical substance which consents to be prosaic": Ibid., p. 98.
75 Venuses: See Lawrence Langer, The Importance of Wearing Clothes
(Los Angeles: Elysium Growth Press, 1991), p. 99.
76 "crystalline Aphrodite": Kenneth Clark, The Nude (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1956), P. 71.
76 Cycladic idols: See H. W. Janson, History of Art (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., and New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1964), p. 68.
76 Egyptian Ushabti, Native American kachina dolls: See Fraser, op. cit., p. 34.
77 Genesis as "a male declaration of independence from the ancient mother-cults": Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990), p. 40.
77 Witches "raised storms . . . by unbinding their hair": Barbara Walker, The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets (San Francisco: Harper &Row, 1983), pp. 367-368.
78 Saint Paul on women's hair: See 1 Corinthians 11:10.
78 American Association of University Women's survey on girls and self-esteem: See Suzanne Daley, "Little Girls Lose Their Self-Esteem on Way to Adolescence, Study Finds," The New York Times, September 1, 1991.
78 The White Goddess Maia, "ever-young Virgin . . .": Barbara Walker, Women's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), p. 465.
78 'The white goddess is anti-domestic . . .": Robert Graves, The White Goddess (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1966), p. 449.
79 SunSpell, "fiery guardian of good," MoonMystic, "who wears the symbols of night": SunSpell, MoonMystic boxes, promotional flyer issued by Mattel in 1979.
79 Great Mother as "sexual dictator . . ." Paglia, op. cit., p. 43.
80 "Barbie is bigger than all those executives . . .": Interview with Robin Swicord, Santa Monica, California, September 18, 1992.
81 Piaget on play: See Jerome S. Singer, The Child's World of Make-Believe (New York: Academic Press, 1973), p. xi.
82 "When kids maneuver to form . . .": Barrie Thome, Gender Play (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. 1993), p. 4.
82 "I married a Ken . . .": Sarah Gilbert, Summer Gloves (New York: Warner Books, 1993), p. 9.
82 "A lot of them act out . . .": Telephone interview with Dorothy-Singer, June 15, 1993. (All Singer quotations are from this interview.)
83 "The Geometry of Soap Bubbles": Rebecca Goldstein, Strange Attractors (New York: The Viking Press, 1993), pp. 163-178.
83 "Where's Barbie going?": Interview with Ann Lewis, Washington, D.C., January 31, 1992.
83 "There are a lot of mothers . . .": Singer interview, op. cit.
84 Mattel market research session: Interview with Alan Fine, El Segundo, California, October 29, 1992.
CHAPTER FIVE: THE BOOK OF RUTH
86 "man's relationships with things . . .": Alvin Toffler, Future Shock (New York: Bantam Books, 1988), p. 51.
89 Hobbling of women: See Langer, op. cit., p. 55.
89 Steinem as "a life-size counterculture Barbie doll": Cohen, op. cit., p. 323.
90 Barbie encouraged girls "to see themselves only as mannequins . . .": "Feminists Protest 'Sexist' Toys in Fair," The New York Times, February 29, 1972.
90 Dawn as precursor of "disco consciousness . . ." Beauregard Houston-Montgomery, 'The Delirium That Was Dawn" in Dolls, Vol. 12, No. 3, May 1993.
90 "If you asked me to give you fifty words . . .": Interview with Rita Rao, El Segundo. California, September 14, 1992. (All Rao quotations are from this interview.)
91 "exploitative, parasitic, and . . . disgraceful . . .": U.S. District Court Judge Robert Takasugi quoted by Claudia Luther, "Mrs. Handler Gets Probation, Must Pay 'Reparations,' " Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1978.
91 Mattel's financial mess: See Stern and Schoenhaus, op. cit., pp. 64—76.
93 "There's a group of people . . .": Interview with Tom Kalinske, New York City, February 12, 1993.
95 Details of grand jury indictment: See Alexander Auerbach, "Indictment Names 4 Ex-Officials of Mattel," Los Angeles Times, February 17, 1978.
95 "I . . . will exert every ounce of strength . . .": Ibid.
95 Ruth Handler's sentence: See Luther, op. cit.
98 Ruth promotes Nearly Me: See "Barbie Doll Developer Ruth Handler Offers a New Look to Mastectomy Victims," People, April 11, 1977; Robert Lindsey, "A Million-Dollar Business from a Mastectomy," The New York Times, June 19, 1977.
100 "that dark involvement with birth and blood and death": Joan Didion, The White Album (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979), p. 117.
100 "That thing was grotesque.": Interview with Aldo Favilli, El Segundo, Calif, July 13, 1992.
102 Barbie's SuperStar face: Mattel 1977 Toy Catalogue (Hawthorne, Calif: Mattel Toys, 1977), pp. 2-3.
103 "In a world ordered by sexual imbalance . . .": Laura Mulvey, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," Screen, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1975), pp. 6-18.
105 "Under Mr. Spear . . .": Pamela G. Hollie, "Mattel's Diversified Comeback," The New York Times, June 21, 1979.
105 "His austere, no-nonsense style of management . . .": John Quirt, "Putting Barbie Back Together Again," Fortune, September 8, 1980.
105 "years of murky legal and financial battles . . .": "Mattel's Successful Retreat," Business Week, May 16, 1977.
CHAPTER SIX: SOME LIKE IT BARBIE
106 "She's got the billion-dollar look": Mattel 1981 Toy Catalogue (Hawthorne, Calif: Mattel Toys, 1981) p. 2.
108 Hispanic Barbie: Mattel 1980 Toy Catalogue (Hawthorne, Calif, Mattel Toys, 1980), p. 6.
108 "Little Hispanic girls . . .": Ibid.
110 'The only way to keep ahead . . .": Barbara Ehrenreich, Fear of Falling:The Inner Life of the Middle Class (New York: Pantheon Books, 1989), p. 235.
110 'To achieve definition . . .": Ibid., p. 236.
111 Descriptions of Great Shape Barbies: See Mattel 1984 Toy Catalogue (Hawthorne, Calif: Mattel Toys, 1984), p. 5.
112 Girls "didn't care if Barbie winked or not": Interview with Judy Shackelford, Bel-Air, California, April 28, 1993. (All Shackelford quotations are from this interview.)
113 Jill Barad biographical information: See Kim Masters, "It's How You Play the Game," Working Woman, May 1990, pp. 88-91.
115 "We Girls Can Do Anything": Launch commercial (Los Angeles: Ogilvy & Mather, 1984), tape provided by Mattel.
116 Tracy Ullman, the "ugly kid with the brown hair . . .": Ileane Rudolph, "The Many Faces of Tracy," TV Guide, October 9, 1993, p. 31.
116 "express where women were . . .': Interview with Barbara Lui, Santa Monica, California, April 28. 1993. (All Lui quotations are from this interview.)
117 "Womanliness therefore could be assumed and worn . . .": Joan Riviere, "Womanliness as a Masquerade," op. cit., p. 38.
117 "homeovestism": See Louise J. Kaplan, op. cit., pp. 250-262.
119 Homeovestism as a "perverse strategy": Ibid., p. 251.
119 "I thought Barbie would dress . . .": Interview with Carol Spencer, El Segundo, California, July 13, 1992.
119 "The fate of the world is in the hands of one beautiful girl"— She-Ra: Mattel 1985 Toy Catalogue (Hawthorne. Calif: Mattel Toys, 1985), pp. 46-52.
120 She-Ra's sales estimated by Shackelford: Shackelford interview, op. cit.
120 "They looked like lady wrestlers": Interview with Beauregard Houston-Montgomery. February 18, 1993. (Unless indicated otherwise in the text, all Houston-Mongomery quotations are from this interview.)
120 "It seemed time to offer little girls a role model . . .": Jill Barad quoted in Masters, op. cit., p. 90.
121 Atari's sales figures: See Stern and Shoenhaus, op. cit., p. 102.
121 Restructuring of Mattel's 1984 debt: See Scot J. Paltrow, "Mattel Plans to Give 45% Voting Stake to Group That Will Invest $231 Million," The Wall Street Journal, May 4, 1984: John D. Williams, "Mattel Investor Group Gets 45% Stake in Exchange for Rescue Financing Pact," The Wall Street Journal, July 16, 1984; Stephen J. Sansweet, "Mattel Quarterly Operating Profit Jumped by 81%." The Wall Street Journal, December 7, 1984.
123 Barad's ascendancy during Mattel's upheavals: See Masters, op. cit., pp. 89-90.
123
"The company was going to hell . . .": Ibid., p. 90.
123 Mattel's business misfortunes, 1984-1988: See Stern and Schoenhaus, op. cit.. p. 300.
124 "The bee is an oddity of Nature": Barad's official Mattel biography, issued by Mattel public relations, 1992.
127 "The fact is, I really don't know what that means": Interview with Jill Barad, El Segundo, California, September 17, 1992. (Unless otherwise indicated in the text, all Barad quotations are from this interview.)
128 "Barbie truly is one of the dominant sexual personae of our time": Telephone interview with Camille Paglia, September 10, 1992.
128 "I've seen some very handsome men in business": Brooks, op. cit.
129 Newsweek's 1988 report on the demise of the supermom. Good Housekeeping's "New Traditionalist" ad campaign: See Faludi, op. cit., p. 90.
129 Lacroix quoted on bubble skirts ("for women who like to "dress up like little girls' "): Ibid., p. 169.
130 "Bye-bye . . . little bow tie": Mademoiselle, quoted bv Faludi, ibid., p. 177.
131 "When I as a futurist share our assumptions . . .": Telephone interview with Laurel Cutler, September 11, 1993.
CHAPTER SEVEN: PAPER DOLL
134 Circulation figures for Barbie novels: See Random House internal memos, 1962. (Random House archive, Columbia University Library.)
136 'The eommodifieation of one's look became the basis of success": Winni Breines. Young, White and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), p. 105.