Forever Barbie (35 page)
Authors: M. G. Lord
56 "Basically, Tammy was a baby doll . . .": Interviews with Joe Blitman, Los Angeles, July 3 and July 6, 1992. (All Blitman
quotations are from these interviews.)
57 The "togetherness" movement . . . in which a woman "exists only for . . . her husband and children": Friedan, op. cit.,
p. 47.
57 Marx alleged Mattel copied the "form, posture, facial expression . . ." of the
Bild
Lilli doll:
Louis Marx and
Co., Inc., and Greiner & Hausser
G.m.b.H.
v.
Mattel, Incorporated,
Civil Action No. 341-61-WB, filed March 24, 1961, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California Central Division.
(RG 21 Records of the District Court of the U.S. for the Southern District of California, Central Division 1938-1961, Civil
Case Files, Folder 341-61, Box #2276.) Quotation from reply to defendant's counterclaims in second amended answer; and plaintiffs'
counterclaim against defendant, September 15, 1961, p. 10.
59 Mattel counters by alleging Marx has conspired with Germans to compete unfairly by "marketing an inferior doll in the United
States of confusingly similar appearance to" Barbie:
Marx
v.
Mattel,
second amended answer to complaint and counterclaim and jury demand, September 11, 1961, p. 10.
59 Mattel introduced wooden dolls from the "collection of Miss Ruth Ellison . . .":
Marx
v.
Mattel.
Defendant's notice under title 35, section 282, p. 2. (News that the dolls were discovered by Jack Ryan's brother was provided
in the Jack Ryan interview, op. cit.)
59 Judge Leon Yankwich dismissed claims "with prejudice as to all causes of action . . .":
Marx
v.
Mattel,
Decision filed March 4, 1963.
60 "I Am . . . Not a Toy . . .": Robin Morgan at the Miss America Pageant: See Cohen, op. cit., pp. 151-152.
61 "The typical George Wallace voter and the Bob Dylan fan lived in different worlds": Jim Miller, "The Best of the Summer
of '68," 77ie
New York
Times,
July 25. 1993.
63 "a sort of ecstatic vision . . .": Arian and Michael Batterberry,
Mirror,
Mirror
(New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1977), p. 388.
63 "a vision of sexuality freed from the shadow of gender distinctions . . . expand the possibilities.": Ehrenreich et ah,
op. cit., p. 35.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE WHITE GODDESS
66 Statistics on breast cancer: Susan Ferraro, "The Anguished Politics of Breast Cancer,"
The New York Times
Magazine,
August 15, 1993, p. 58.
67 "We were all raised on a . . . idea of what a sexually successful woman was supposed to look like . . . the official breast"
was "Barbie's breast": Katie Davis, Report on Breast Implants, National Public Radio's
Morning Edition,
April 17, 1992. (Quotation checked against official transcript.)
67 "androgynous vacancy . . .": Susan Sontag, "Notes on Camp,"
Against
Interpretation
(New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1966), p. 279.
71 "If psycho-analytic theory . . .": Sigmund Freud, "The Uncanny,"
The
Standard Edition of the Complete
Psychological Works of Sigmund
Freud,
Vol. 17 (London: The Hogarth Press Limited, 1961), pp. 219-256.
71 Transitional objects: See D. W. Winnicott, "The Location of Cultural Experience,"
The International
Journal of Psychoanalysis,
Vol. 48 (1966), pp. 368-372; D. W. Winnicott, "Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena,"
The International
Journal of Psychoanalysis,
Vol. 34 (1953), pp. 89-97.
72 Transitional objects: Interview with Ellen Handler Spitz, New York City, August 7, 1992.
73 The masses' craving "to bring things 'closer' . . .": Walter Benjamin, "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,"
Illuminations
(New York: Schocken Books, 1969), p. 223.
74 Plastic "is the very idea of its infinite transformation . . .": Roland Barthes,
Mythologies
(New York: Hill and Wang, 1982), p. 97.
74 a "magical substance which consents to be prosaic": Ibid., p. 98.
75 Venuses: See Lawrence Langer,
The Importance of Wearing Clothes
(Los Angeles: Elysium Growth Press, 1991), p. 99.
76 "crystalline Aphrodite": Kenneth Clark,
The Nude
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1956), P. 71.
76 Cycladic idols: See H. W. Janson,
History of Art
(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., and New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1964), p. 68.
76 Egyptian
Ushabti,
Native American kachina dolls: See Fraser, op. cit., p. 34.
77 Genesis as "a male declaration of independence from the ancient mother-cults": Camille Paglia,
Sexual
Personae
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990), p. 40.
77 Witches "raised storms . . . by unbinding their hair": Barbara Walker,
The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths
and Secrets
(San Francisco: Harper &Row, 1983), pp. 367-368.
78 Saint Paul on women's hair: See 1 Corinthians 11:10.
78 American Association of University Women's survey on girls and self-esteem: See Suzanne Daley, "Little Girls Lose Their
Self-Esteem on Way to Adolescence, Study Finds,"
The
New York Times,
September 1, 1991.
78 The White Goddess Maia, "ever-young Virgin . . .": Barbara Walker,
Women's Dictionary of Symbols and
Sacred Objects
(San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), p. 465.
78 'The white goddess is anti-domestic . . .": Robert Graves,
The White
Goddess
(New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1966), p. 449.
79 SunSpell, "fiery guardian of good," MoonMystic, "who wears the symbols of night": SunSpell, MoonMystic boxes, promotional
flyer issued by Mattel in 1979.
79 Great Mother as "sexual dictator . . ." Paglia, op. cit., p. 43.
80 "Barbie is bigger than all those executives . . .": Interview with Robin Swicord, Santa Monica, California, September 18,
1992.
81 Piaget on play: See Jerome S. Singer,
The Child's World of Make-
Believe
(New York: Academic Press, 1973), p. xi.
82 "When kids maneuver to form . . .": Barrie Thome,
Gender Play
(New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. 1993), p. 4.
82 "I married a Ken . . .": Sarah Gilbert,
Summer Gloves
(New York: Warner Books, 1993), p. 9.
82 "A lot of them act out . . .": Telephone interview with Dorothy-Singer, June 15, 1993. (All Singer quotations are from
this interview.)
83 "The Geometry of Soap Bubbles": Rebecca Goldstein,
Strange Attractors
(New York: The Viking Press, 1993), pp. 163-178.
83 "Where's Barbie going?": Interview with Ann Lewis, Washington, D.C., January 31, 1992.
83 "There are a lot of mothers . . .": Singer interview, op. cit.
84 Mattel market research session: Interview with Alan Fine, El Segundo, California, October 29, 1992.
CHAPTER FIVE: THE BOOK OF RUTH
86 "man's relationships with
things .
. .": Alvin Toffler,
Future
Shock
(New York: Bantam Books, 1988), p. 51.
89 Hobbling of women: See Langer, op. cit., p. 55.
89 Steinem as "a life-size counterculture Barbie doll": Cohen, op. cit., p. 323.
90 Barbie encouraged girls "to see themselves only as mannequins . . .": "Feminists Protest 'Sexist' Toys in Fair,"
The New York Times,
February 29, 1972.
90 Dawn as precursor of "disco consciousness . . ." Beauregard Houston-Montgomery, 'The Delirium That Was Dawn" in
Dolls,
Vol. 12, No. 3, May 1993.
90 "If you asked me to give you fifty words . . .": Interview with Rita Rao, El Segundo. California, September 14, 1992. (All
Rao quotations are from this interview.)
91 "exploitative, parasitic, and . . . disgraceful . . .": U.S. District Court Judge Robert Takasugi quoted by Claudia Luther,
"Mrs. Handler Gets Probation, Must Pay 'Reparations,' "
Los Angeles Times,
December 9, 1978.
91 Mattel's financial mess: See Stern and Schoenhaus, op. cit., pp. 64—76.
93 "There's a group of people . . .": Interview with Tom Kalinske, New York City, February 12, 1993.
95 Details of grand jury indictment: See Alexander Auerbach, "Indictment Names 4 Ex-Officials of Mattel,"
Los
Angeles Times,
February 17, 1978.
95 "I . . . will exert every ounce of strength . . .": Ibid.
95 Ruth Handler's sentence: See Luther, op. cit.
98 Ruth promotes Nearly Me: See "Barbie Doll Developer Ruth Handler Offers a New Look to Mastectomy Victims,"
People,
April 11, 1977; Robert Lindsey, "A Million-Dollar Business from a Mastectomy,"
The
New York Times,
June 19, 1977.
100 "that dark involvement with birth and blood and death": Joan Didion,
The White Album
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979), p. 117.
100 "That thing was grotesque.": Interview with Aldo Favilli, El Segundo, Calif, July 13, 1992.
102 Barbie's SuperStar face:
Mattel
1977 Toy Catalogue
(Hawthorne, Calif: Mattel Toys, 1977), pp. 2-3.
103 "In a world ordered by sexual imbalance . . .": Laura Mulvey, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,"
Screen,
Vol. 16, No. 3 (1975), pp. 6-18.
105 "Under Mr. Spear . . .": Pamela G. Hollie, "Mattel's Diversified Comeback,"
The New York Times,
June 21, 1979.
105 "His austere, no-nonsense style of management . . .": John Quirt, "Putting Barbie Back Together Again,"
Fortune,
September 8, 1980.
105 "years of murky legal and financial battles . . .": "Mattel's Successful Retreat,"
Business Week,
May 16, 1977.
CHAPTER SIX: SOME LIKE IT BARBIE
106 "She's got the billion-dollar look":
Mattel 1981 Toy Catalogue
(Hawthorne, Calif: Mattel Toys, 1981) p. 2.
108 Hispanic Barbie:
Mattel 1980 Toy
Catalogue
(Hawthorne, Calif, Mattel Toys, 1980), p. 6.
108 "Little Hispanic girls . . .": Ibid.
110 'The only way to keep ahead . . .": Barbara Ehrenreich,
Fear of Falling:
The Inner Life of the Middle Class
(New York: Pantheon Books, 1989), p. 235.
110 'To achieve definition . . .": Ibid., p. 236.
111 Descriptions of Great Shape Barbies: See
Mattel 1984 Toy
Catalogue
(Hawthorne, Calif: Mattel Toys, 1984), p. 5.
112 Girls "didn't care if Barbie winked or not": Interview with Judy Shackelford, Bel-Air, California, April 28, 1993. (All
Shackelford quotations are from this interview.)
113 Jill Barad biographical information: See Kim Masters, "It's How You Play the Game,"
Working Woman,
May 1990, pp. 88-91.
115 "We Girls Can Do Anything": Launch commercial (Los Angeles: Ogilvy & Mather, 1984), tape provided by Mattel.
116 Tracy Ullman, the "ugly kid with the brown hair . . .": Ileane Rudolph, "The Many Faces of Tracy,"
TV Guide,
October 9, 1993, p. 31.
116 "express where women were . . .': Interview with Barbara Lui, Santa Monica, California, April 28. 1993. (All Lui quotations
are from this interview.)
117 "Womanliness therefore could be assumed and worn . . .": Joan Riviere, "Womanliness as a Masquerade," op. cit., p. 38.
117 "homeovestism": See Louise J. Kaplan, op. cit., pp. 250-262.
119 Homeovestism as a "perverse strategy": Ibid., p. 251.
119 "I thought Barbie would
dress . . .":
Interview with Carol Spencer, El Segundo, California, July 13, 1992.
119 "The fate of the world is in the hands of one beautiful girl"— She-Ra:
Mattel 1985 Toy Catalogue
(Hawthorne. Calif: Mattel Toys, 1985), pp. 46-52.
120 She-Ra's sales estimated by Shackelford: Shackelford interview, op. cit.
120 "They looked like lady wrestlers": Interview with Beauregard Houston-Montgomery. February 18, 1993. (Unless indicated
otherwise in the text, all Houston-Mongomery quotations are from this interview.)
120 "It seemed time to offer little girls a role model . . .": Jill Barad quoted in Masters, op. cit., p. 90.
121 Atari's sales figures: See Stern and Shoenhaus, op. cit., p. 102.
121 Restructuring of Mattel's 1984 debt: See Scot J. Paltrow, "Mattel Plans to Give 45% Voting Stake to Group That Will Invest
$231 Million,"
The Wall Street Journal,
May 4, 1984: John D. Williams, "Mattel Investor Group Gets 45% Stake in Exchange for Rescue Financing Pact,"
The Wall
Street Journal,
July 16, 1984; Stephen J. Sansweet, "Mattel Quarterly Operating Profit Jumped by 81%."
The Wall
Street Journal,
December 7, 1984.
123 Barad's ascendancy during Mattel's upheavals: See Masters, op. cit., pp. 89-90.
123 "The company was going to hell . . .": Ibid., p. 90.
123 Mattel's business misfortunes, 1984-1988: See Stern and Schoenhaus, op. cit.. p. 300.
124 "The bee is an oddity of Nature": Barad's official Mattel biography, issued by Mattel public relations, 1992.
127 "The fact is, I really don't know what that means": Interview with Jill Barad, El Segundo, California, September 17, 1992.
(Unless otherwise indicated in the text, all Barad quotations are from this interview.)
128 "Barbie truly is one of the dominant sexual personae of our time": Telephone interview with Camille Paglia, September
10, 1992.
128 "I've seen some very handsome men in business": Brooks, op. cit.