Barbie’s Queer Accessories
Erica Rand
Rand begins by focusing on the production and marketing of Barbie, starting in 1959, including Mattel’s numerous tie-ins and spin-offs. These variations, which include the much-promoted multiethnic Barbies and the controversial Earring Magic Ken, helped make the doll one of the most profitable toys on the market. In lively chapters based on extensive interviews, the author discusses adult testimony from both Barbie ‘survivors’ and enthusiasts and explores how memories of the doll fit into women’s lives. Finally, Rand looks at cultural reappropriations of Barbie by artists, collectors, and especially lesbians and gay men, and considers resistance to Barbie as a form of social and political activism.
Illustrated with photographs of various interpretations and alterations of Barbie, this book encompasses both Barbie glorification and abjection as it testifies to the irrefutably compelling qualities of this bestselling toy. Anyone who has played with Barbie–or, more importantly, thought or worried about playing with Barbie–will find this book fascinating.
(Series Q)
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Details
ISBN | 9780822316206 |
Genre | Popular Culture |
Publication Date | May-95 |
Publisher | Duke University Press |
Format | Trade Paperback |
No. of Pages | 224 |
Language | English |
Rating | NotRated |
Subject | Barbie Dolls – Marketing; Barbie Dolls – Social Aspects; Homosexuality – Miscellanea. – United States; Popular Culture – Miscellanea. – United States; Sexual Orientation – Miscellanea. – United States |
BookID | 837 |