Chrysti The Wordsmith: Barbie Doll

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith in the late 1940s Los Angeles toymakers Ruth and Elliot handler. We're enjoying brisk sales of their handmade toys. The handlers manufactured and sold wooden doll house furniture children's ukuleles cap guns and hand crank music boxes. The handlers were inspired in part by the toys their own children enjoyed observing her young daughter Barbara at play. Ruth Handler noticed that she consistently preferred her adult looking paper dolls over the baby dolls. Following a hunch Mrs. handler designed for her daughter a three dimensional teenage doll complete with adult curves and trendy wardrobe. Mrs. handler introduced the splashy doll at the 1959 American Toy Fair in New York City. She christened it Barbie named upon a sleigh for the pet name of her own daughter Barbara. The Ken doll Barbies so-called boyfriend was named for the handler's son Barbie and Ken are among the most famous eponym in the American English language. Barbie has attracted feminist

criticism from those who contend that this doll represents an unattainable ideal of beauty impossibly proportioned a life size Barbie would measure thirty nine twenty one thirty three. The moniker Barbie is often applied to a trendy blonde with more style than substance. Barbie and Ken is sometimes the pejorative nickname for a young couple whose combined appearance seems to be their finest asset. I'm Christie the wordsmith. Good day for bores. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.