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thedrifter
03-08-09, 06:11 AM
Barbie Turns 50
The Ultimate Career Woman
Abigail Jones 03.05.09, 6:00 PM ET

Her career has taken her from the classroom to the boardroom to outer space. She's run for president and competed in NASCAR races, and she's done it with grace--and an impeccable wardrobe.

She, of course, is Barbie.

Whether you loved her or decapitated her, Barbie has morphed from a tanned piece of plastic into an entire industry, boasting several best friends, a boyfriend or two and countless assets, including a three-story dream house, glamour jet, cruise ship and fleet of convertibles. You should be jealous--she purchased them all herself, because she's been a career girl since the beginning.

Barbie was always more than a blond beauty. In 50 years, she's switched jobs 108 times and mirrored women's changing roles. Her forays into medicine, business, entertainment and sports reveal how far women have advanced in a half-century and reflect the aspirations and possibilities for each succeeding generation of young girls.

Barbie turns 50 March 9, but how did she get to where she is today (a presidential candidate and TV chef)? It's time to examine Barbie's résumé. Yes, it's pink. We know, it smells like roses. Let's start at the top.
In Pictures: The Many Careers Of Barbie

It all began in 1959, when Barbie debuted at the New York Toy Fair as a teenage fashion model. This was an era of glamour--of Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner and Some Like It Hot--and so, of course, Barbie made her entrance in a black-and-white-striped bathing suit, open-toed black heels, gold hoop earrings, white sunglasses and blond hair. (And for those who refused to admit that blondes had more fun, she also came as a brunette.)

Barbie was a marked departure from the popular flat-chested dolls of the time; she had style, careers, and breasts--and girls loved her. That first year, 300,000 Barbie dolls were sold for $3 each; today, one of those dolls in mint condition is worth $27,450.

In her first four years, Barbie dabbled in female-centric careers à la the ladies of Mad Men. But in 1963, she read Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique and vowed that she would never become an unhappy housewife. Helping to shatter the silence on women's unhappiness in the home, Barbie donned a chic gray tweed suit and hit the boardroom, probably as a buyer for a department store. Only later would she truly break into the male-dominated business world as an executive, first in 1985, and then again in 1992 and 1999.

Barbie was too busy in 1963 pursuing her business career to worry that Russian Valentina Tereshkova had become the first woman in space. But two years later, she blasted off from Cape Canaveral in a silver space suit, proving to girls around the world that brains and beauty can come in one package. That same year, Slumber Party Barbie included a book called How to Lose Weight. Barbie's controversial advice? "Don't eat."

The next 10 years marked the height of the women's liberation movement. Feminists continued to break down barriers, and, in 1968, they famously protested the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City. Barbie took a professional hiatus during that time (she won the Miss America contest in 1974 and 1979), but by 1973, she was back.

Looking further down her résumé, you'll note that she next conquered medicine. Yet Barbie didn't become a pediatrician or family doctor like most women; she pushed her way into the male-dominated field of surgery.

Then, after perfecting other people's bodies, she decided to work on her own--at the Olympics. Proving the value of the Title IX decision of 1972, which guaranteed girls equal access with boys to athletic facilities in schools, she brought home gold medals in 1975 for gymnastics, figure skating and downhill skiing. The next year, she watched her friends Nadia Comaneci and Dorothy Hamill also bring home Olympic gold.

Despite a backlash against feminist ideas in the 1980s, Barbie kept busy reminding girls that being a woman was about more than having a pretty face. She busied herself as a TV news reporter, UNICEF ambassador and veterinarian.

If you turn to the back of her résumé (it's double-sided), you'll find snapshots of Barbie in her many armed service uniforms. Between 1989 and 1994, she enrolled in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines, making a place for herself in one of the last male-dominated terrains. She also found time to run for president. With her own ticket in the 1992 election, Barbie was as accomplished as any opposition--and certainly prettier.

Barbie entered the 21st century with a wider waist, smaller bust and softer features, quieting critiques that she perpetuated unhealthy habits in girls. (As a real woman, her previous measurements would have meant she was too thin to menstruate.) With a new body, Barbie's pursuits began to reflect pop culture. She broke up with Ken in 2004 (think: Bennifer; Britney and Justin), won American Idol in 2005 (move over, Carrie Underwood), and ran for president three more times.

On the eve of her 50th birthday, Barbie still isn't slowing down. Amid the economic crisis, she's spent two months working at SeaWorld, in hospitals and schools, and as a gymnastics coach. She even landed an internship at a fashion magazine.

What's next? First lady, Oscar winner, maybe even marriage? With 108 careers behind her, anything is possible.

In Pictures: The Many Careers Of Barbie
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/05/barbie-careers-jobs-business_resume_slide_5.html?thisSpeed=15000

Ellie