Essays in Philosophy Volume 4 Issue 1 Feminine Politics in Popular Culture: The Article 3 Construction of Gender 1-2003 The ondeW r of Barbie: Popular Culture and the Making of Female Identity Lenore Wright Baylor University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.pacificu.edu/eip Recommended Citation Wright, Lenore (2003) "The ondeW r of Barbie: Popular Culture and the Making of Female Identity," Essays in Philosophy: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 3. Essays in Philosophy is a biannual journal published by Pacific nivU ersity Library | ISSN 1526-0569 | http://commons.pacificu.edu/eip/ Essays in Philosophy Essays in Philosophy A Biannual Journal Vol. 4 No. 1, January 2003 The Wonder of Barbie: Popular Culture and the Making of Female Identity The popular doll, Barbie, has evoked a steady stream of critical attention since her debut in 1959. Though Barbie serves primarily and properly as a toy for children, much of this attention has been generated by the secondary role she plays in popular culture—artifact of female representation. Barbie is no ordinary toy. She mimics the female form. She stands for woman within the games of make-believe in which children involve her. She functions as a tool for self-imagining. It is Barbie’s secondary nature as a representation of woman that creates special quandaries for feminist aestheticians, quandaries that are both cultural and philosophical.1 Included among the former are America’s attraction to public personas, the influence of the acting industry on female representation, and the tacit roles iconic figures play in shaping the attributes of female beauty.