"Unlike play with a baby doll—in which a little girl is pretty much limited to assuming the role of Mommy—Barbie has always represented the fact that a woman has choices."

Almost from the time Barbie was first introduced, many parents + feminist leaders have raised concerns about how the popular toy is damaging to girl's self-esteem, limiting children's imaginations of what women can do + how they should look. Ruth had the opposite idea in mind when she developed Barbie. Since no 3-D adult dolls were available for girls, she thought Barbie would help girls see they had other options besides motherhood.

Barbie | © all rights reserved