Commentary: Yes, Barbie is a feminist — just don’t ask her creators

Almost 30 years ago, when I researched and wrote a history of the people and ideas that led to the creation of Barbie, I had no doubt she would be as talked about in 2023 as she was in 1959, when she first appeared.

But what I never expected was the way that this plastic object, once tarred as anti-feminist, has come to be viewed as feminist, or, in any event, as an important cultural touchstone in understanding feminism.

From the get-go, Barbie and her possessions reflected and shaped the marketplace, experiencing meteoric sales when her consumption patterns and activities were in harmony with the