Oliver: Barbie’s influence on generations of young girls seen in Malibu dreams

Like a lot of girls, I have happy memories of playing with Barbie dolls. After all, Barbie is an icon in the toy world, and her grip was strong on those of us who grew up in the 1970s.

Of course, for a girl like me, who grew up in a household that didn’t have a lot of money, Barbie also was a source of great angst.

As the years have passed, I’ve come to realize that getting to play with vintage Barbies instead of the brand-new ones that all my friends had was a privilege. At the time, though, it was a source of horror and humiliation.

You see, I inherited my older sister’s Barbie collection. She’s 16 years older than I, so I had some of the earlier Barbies to play with. We had an old-school Ken, a brunette doll that I think was called Francie and a version of the Skipper doll.

However, the cool kids in my school had Malibu Barbies, and my mother for the longest time was not going to get me one. I would have to be content with my sister’s Barbie, which to me looked old and tired.

My mother and grandmother also liked to crochet, so they insisted on making me handmade Barbie clothes. Again, now I think that’s great, but at the time it was less than ideal.

Little did I realize that this “alternative” Barbie wardrobe was a harbinger of things to come. It would mean that in my preteen years, I’d be sporting knockoff Jordache and Gloria Vanderbilt jeans instead of the real deals that the cool kids got to wear.

And forget about all the cool accessories or the Dream House for my Barbie. I was lucky if occasionally I’d get to pick out an outfit or two.

Then again, not having all the usual accoutrements that went with the Barbie of the time meant that it was a real treat to be able to visit my friends who were better stocked in the Barbie department.

I must have worked on my mother long and hard because eventually she did succumb and get me my very own Malibu Barbie. No doubt, though, it was past the point when it was new and cool.

In hindsight, all of this taught me lessons that have come in handy in adulthood. Too bad the child me didn’t figure it out sooner.

Somehow, I did get my mother to budge on action figures, though. I’m still not sure why.

I was a huge fan of “The Bionic Woman,” which aired from 1976 to 1978 and starred Lindsay Wagner. Kenner put out a doll in 1976. I was thrilled to be able to get one. My brother, who is a year younger than I, had the “Six Million Dollar Man” action figure.

The next year came the “Charlie’s Angels” dolls from Hasbro. My favorite Angel was Jaclyn Smith, who portrayed Kelly. Her doll was dressed in a yellow jumpsuit with a red scarf. I never did get any of the other dolls in that set, but I was happy that I got my favorite.

As a little girl, I didn’t give too much thought to the cultural implications of the dolls I played with. I think the only thing I thought about Barbie was that no one had that small of a waist and it must have been really painful to have feet that were perpetually set for high heels. I mean, I was a bit of a tomboy, and the thought of not being able to wear sneakers was a bit disturbing.

I did wonder why there weren’t more brunettes in the Barbie world. Barbie didn’t look like me, but she didn’t look like too many other people, either. However, my great desire for that Jaclyn Smith doll, who was decidedly brunette, seems to have spoken volumes about my desire to have a doll that looked more like me. Maybe it really did mean more to me than I let on.

As I got older, I became more aware of the commercial aspect of the Barbie franchise. There always seemed to be something new and cool that every girl “had” to have.

The new Barbie movie addresses some of the concerns the franchise has always raised. That just makes the marketing frenzy that surrounds the film all that much more ironic. Some things never change.

Still, the new film’s release has sparked an interesting stroll down memory lane for me. No doubt I’m not the only one.

• Joan Oliver is the former Northwest Herald assistant news editor. She has been associated with the Northwest Herald since 1990. She can be reached at jolivercolumn@gmail.com.