The photo above is entitled Barbie Evolves. At first Barbie was just a fashion doll.

Yes, I had one as a child. I thought it was sort of creepy. I knew I would never look like THAT! Listening to a radio program recently that reviewed the new movie with the writer and producer they mentioned that before Barbie there were basically only baby dolls for girls to pretend with. Suddenly there was a teenage doll girls could aspire to be like.

Her clothes were extremely difficult to put on and take off. Her bust-line combined with that waistline was going to be unattainable for most girls. I eventually figured some man must have created her.

When my granddaughters were growing up I was given a pattern to crochet for Barbie clothes. I kept a damaged doll for fitting in case I had to make some. Then I hid the pattern hoping they would never find it. Literally, did not want to make those things, but did not want to have to buy the pattern either if they requested some clothes.

The radio program told about how the designer at first sent the doll back to Japan again and again because they kept making her with nipples and the toy designer did not want nipples. After many attempts the Japanese designers got the idea. The commentator also made the remark that Barbie was made of plastic and therefore will be around for centuries in landfills!-

So all this time I am listening and walking the beagle. At times we take a short cut from the retention pond along the edge of the neighborhood back to the street. There is a man who lives there who had a lovely pine tree. For some reason he wanted it cut down. When Ryan builders would not do it, and the HOA board would not do it (the tree was clearly on his property) he decided to do it himself. We all scratched our heads over the why? since it appeared to be in good health. So I am walking Lucky, listening to the radio interview and I pass his wood pile. I stopped abruptly and took the photo below.

Launched in 1959 by the Mattel toy company right here in Cincinnati my life has been surrounded by Barbie and her fellow character dolls. If you raised boys you likely were shielded from her unless they had girls to play with. In that case, they likely wanted a Ken doll or G I Joe? That leads to an entire other conversation about dolls who are not anatomically correct!