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Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll

Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll
Author: M. G. Lord
Publisher: Walker & Company
Category: Book

List Price: $13.00
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Seller: AmOK Books
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 5 reviews
Sales Rank: 842488

Media: Paperback
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1

ISBN: 0802776949
Dewey Decimal Number: 688.7221
EAN: 9780802776945
ASIN: 0802776949

Publication Date: March 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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  • Hardcover - Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll
  • Paperback - Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll
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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description

Since Barbie's introduction in 1959, her impact on baby boomers has been revolutionary. Far from being a toy designed by men to enslave women, she was a toy invented by women to teach women what-- for better or worse-- was expected of them. In telling Barbie's fascinating story, cultural critic and investigative journalist M. G. Lord, herself a first-generation Barbie owner, has written a provocative, zany, occasionally shocking book that will change how you look at the doll and the world.

M. G. Lord is an author and critic. Since 1995 she has been a regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review and the New York Times Arts & Leisure section. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, Vogue, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and ARTnews. She lives in Los Angeles.
Since Barbie's introduction in 1959, her impact on baby boomers has been revolutionary. Far from being a toy designed by men to enslave women, she was a toy invented by women to teach women what—for better or worse—was expected of them. In telling Barbie's fascinating story, cultural critic and investigative journalist M. G. Lord, herself a first-generation Barbie owner, has written a provocative, zany, occasionally shocking book that will change how you look at the doll and the world.
"Lord shrewdly uses the evolution of Barbie as a touchstone to chart the evolution of our modern culture."—People
 
"Fascinating . . . compelling . . . A seriously wry, thoroughly researched and totally enlightened look at the doll that most of us either love or love to hate."—Newsday

"Scathing, hilarious . . . consistently informative and amusing."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Its mix of social history, psychoanalytical insights, and the Mattel marketing schemes that evoke them is told with wit, curiosity, and wry photos."—Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Terrific . . . A book that was dying to be written . . . A crisp, often witty love story of American pop culture."—The Boston Globe

"The author's enthusiasm is infectious and she writes with considerable wit . . . Her subject inspires passion."—The New York Times



Customer Reviews:
5 out of 5 stars Some are writers, and some are *good* writers   February 20, 2009
Billie Rae Bates (Washington, D.C.)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Though I read the book because I was interested in the subject matter and was doing research for a writing project of my own, what really struck me here was the talent of the writer. M.G. Lord is a rare combination for a writer. She has both the mechanics and the heart down-pat: She can construct a sentence or turn a phrase like nobody's business, AND she digs into and presents the most relevant content with good judgment. The broad array of cultural references at the tip of her consciousness alone is quite impressive. I enjoyed the book, and even laughed often at the edgy humor.


5 out of 5 stars This Book Changed My Attitude About Barbies   December 31, 2007
An Unfashionable Woman (San Diego, California)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I grew up thinking that Barbies were evil dolls that were part of the Establishment's plan to keep women in their place. I never had a Barbie and I only gave one to a child who specifically requested it. After reading this book I realized that I had been too hard on Barbies. They were part and parcel of our culture, not part of a plot. Just recently I read a "Best Toys for Children" review that still recommended dolls for girls and toy trucks for boys.

The author covers a tremendous range of Barbie-related material, and the book seems to have been well-researched, with many good references.

I began to wonder what it would have been like to have had a Barbie (instead of a working toy cannon), so after finishing the book I went to Toys R Us to see the current Barbies. Then I went to a thrift store.

There were dozens of Barbies at the thrift store, most of them hanging feet-up, naked in plastic sacks. I bought one of the few of them that was dressed and took it(her?) home. She (I haven't named her) has been sitting on the edge of the sofa all week. I am trying to get a feeling of what it is to own a Barbie doll. I look at her, but she just stares into the distance. I could not tell you if she is dreamy or disdainful. I get absolutely no "velveteen rabbit" emanations.

All I can think of is a poem I read long ago - Keat's "Ode On a Grecian Urn"*.
"She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
Forever will thou love, and she be fair!"

She is, I guess, what you make of her, and still reflects our culture.

*I looked it up.



4 out of 5 stars Impressively skewed.   September 29, 2005
Bart King (Portland, Oregon)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

On the one hand, this is an impressively researched book written with humor and intelligence. I'd love to see a new edition tracking some of the more recent developments in Barbie's empire. But some of Ms. Lord's arguments drift unpersuasively far into psycho-sexual realms. When she used an obscure 43 minute 1987 documentary as her three-page focus for the conflicting causes of eating disorders, she completely lost me.


4 out of 5 stars Great book!   May 20, 2004
Sorren Thujle (Cackalacka del Norte)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful

This book isn't the next _war and peace_ nor was meant to be. Just like that dude J. Alfred Prufrock, it's good for swelling a crowd, and giving you something less-embarassing than watch television to do when you want to just relax. Analyzing pop culture, learning obscure facts about something I am vaguely ashamed of myself for being interested in in the first place . . . mmmmmmmm, pass the oreo ice cream, please. The author definitely shares my sheepish fascination with Barbie. His/her(?) text explores many aspects of our relationship with Barbie - as children, parents, adult women, queers, artists, etc., as well as a lot of very interesting background info on how she was created, the company who has promoted her over the years, and the toy industry in general. Holding my interest *without* getting so serious that I wished the book had come with a discussion section that met once a week, _Forever Barbie_ was like a long, interesting cultural-analysis chat with an amusing girlfriend. I would read it again in a few years or recommend it to friends . . .


4 out of 5 stars I love it! Too bad itýs out of print   December 24, 2001
21 out of 24 found this review helpful

This is not a "pro-Barbie" book, or an "anti-Barbie" book. It is an exploration of all aspects of Barbie the author finds significant. Topics include:

The history of Barbie's creation, her marketing and engineering by Mattel.

The differences between male and female executives in handling of the Barbie line.

Ruth Handler, Barbie's creator, and other prominent women in Barbie's life such as Charlotte Johnson, who designed her clothes in the early years, Judy Shackelford, Mattel's first female vice president, and Jill Barad, the marketing director & later Mattel COO, who pioneered the "We Girls Can Do Anything" advertising campaign in 1984.

A history of Barbie and ethnic identity (unfortunately someone had clipped pages out of this chapter in the library copy I read, so I can't say too much about it.)

Explorations of symbolic, sexual, & psychological meanings of the doll.

I found this book fascinating. A very enjoyable read. While it explores both the positive and negative views women have had of Barbie, I especially enjoyed the positive, including Barbie's history as a single independent career woman, the powerful career women involved in her creation, manufacture, & marketing over the years, and the somewhat fanciful but enjoyable discussion of her as a mythical archetype of the feminine.

I like when this book ventures into realms of the bizarre, like the exploration of Barbie's image in the context of fetishism and pornography. I suppose some people might be disturbed or offended by this, however.

I was frustrated by the lack of a list of illustrations, since photographs appear throughout the text, & are often mentioned later in the book. It's hard to go back and find the picture she's talking about.

I was confused by the author `s seeming lack of awareness that people might read the book 6 or more years after its publication. For instance, she refers to women of the Barbie generation as "women under 40." I had to think to realize this included me, since I'm not under 40 now, but I was when the book was published in 1994. The confusion will increase as years go by.

This is too bad, since the book is a unique treatment of Barbie in cultural context, and should be read well into the future by students of popular culture as well as individuals who like to ponder such things. Unfortunately, it's out of print. This makes it unlikely that a 2nd edition will ever appear, which is also too bad, since I would love to know what the author has to say about innovations subsequent to its publication, such as Barbie's new more lifelike proportions, and the introduction of her belly-button.

Some people might find this book too intellectual, or possibly over their heads. Probably many people who like to ponder the meanings of popular culture are anti-Barbie, and might be turned off by the book's positive spin on the doll. Barbie enthusiasts might be put off by the negative spin, as well as the stranger explorations. I love the book, but I have to admit it's not for everybody. Maybe that's why it's out of print. But if you are open to both sides of the Barbie controversy, and like to wax philosophical and think about things, this book is definitely for you.

barbie  barbie doll  barbie doll history  mattel  popular culture  
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