When we created The Quest Beyond the Pink Collar, one of the first essays written was The Negative Portrayl of Women. Recently, an employee of Mattel, the company who develops and mass produces Barbies, wrote to us in defense of the Barbie doll...

June 8, 1999

"I disagree with the negative things you said about Barbie. I've worked in the Barbie product development department and we work hard to design Barbies that will serve as positive role models to young girls. Barbie has been a career woman, an anthropologist, a dentist, a pet doctor (a #1 selling product), and a candidate for president (just to name a few). Barbie also supports events such as the Walk-of-Dimes, which is a charitable event. For Barbie's 40th anniversary celebration, Mattel implemented a "Be Anything" campiagn which allowed girls to confidently proclaim that they could be "a soccer champion of the universe" if they wanted. I know there will always be people that look at Barbie in a negative way but if you took some time to do some research on Barbie and Mattel, you might be surprised by what you find. Did you know we have a woman CEO? Respond to me if you feel I've made a valid point. Thank You" --Gina

We are indeed interested in what everyone thinks on this issue, and would like to hear what people have to say about Barbie and the message that she sends to young girls and the rest of our population. Please email your opinions and responses to what others have said to thequest@atdp.soe.berkeley.edu, and share this page those who might have an opinion of their own or would be interested in learning more about Barbie and the ways in which she is perceived. We will post your comments on this page and pass them on to Gina. In your response, please leave your name, age, gender, and home city/state. Thank you participating in The Quest Beyond the Pink Collar!

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July 11, 1999.
i believe that yes they do make barbie to be many different things but still the way they have her figured is not good. Many young girls today including myself think they are over weight due to all the so called perfect woman and girls like models. i have always thought that i had to be perfect just like barbie till a few months ago because my friend died thinking that. --Anonymous