Comments on: Driving “Miss Barbie?”

By: exileinacademia

exileinacademia — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:13:27 +0000

I don’t know about the wigs, but the planter is what does it for me. They thought of everything!

By: Historiann

Historiann — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:58:46 +0000

Sis (and you too, Notorious)–the wigs are in the mail to you! (As soon as I can figure out how to get a sawbuck and myself back in time to 1964 to order 2 “Miss Barbie” sets from Sears, that is.)

By: Sisyphus

Sisyphus — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:24:49 +0000

Ahhh, I love the snark — and the idea of wigs for either my doll or for myself. Or, of course, both!

By: Historiann

Historiann — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:28:01 +0000

GayProf–I think the crypto-Jewish barbie could be the plastic slipcover Barbie, just throw in a Mah Jong set and take away Bingo. (Bingo is super-Catholic, at least in the Northeast.)

Something else I’ve thought of is that maybe “Miss Barbie” is in fact a WASP Miss Ann–just put a G & T in her hand, accessorize with Goldfish Crackers, and throw in your Episcopalian minister costume for Ken, and she can entertain the Bishop on the Lawn Swing.

Bing–the lawn swing is yours, but only after I’m done playing. OK?

By: Bing McGhandi

Bing McGhandi — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:51:04 +0000

Ok, I’m totally butch, but I loooooove that lawn furniture. There is a scene in the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers where the town MD is making a house call (those were the days…I hear) and they are camped out on just that piece of equipment! Don’t fall asleep, Barbie! The Bratz will take your soul!

My favorite line from that movie? “I didn’t know
the real meaning of fear… until I had kissed Becky.”

Beautiful.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:38:46 +0000

Thanks, Brassai–how many more Pulitzers like this year will it take until women writers achieve parity of representation in writing prizes? I’m guessing about 50, but I’m not holding my breath: patriarchal equilibrium and all that, you know.

By: Brassai

Brassai — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:08:10 +0000

Historiann–

This is OT, but I was in moderation the last few times I commented, so I figure you can just zap it instead of having it go live.

As you probably know, the Pulitzers were announced yeaterday. Women writers took home the awards for fiction, drama, and history. And in my area of knowledge–fiction–the two also-rans for the prize were books by women as well. In drama, the also-rans were by a woman and a man-woman playwriting team. Books by men were the also-rans for the history prize. Women writers were also the victors in the categories of public-service journalism, explanatory reporting, and feature writing.

The full list of this year’s awards is here.

By: Mother of ALL

Mother of ALL — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:26:05 +0000

Apparently my mother never got the Sears catalog because I never saw these as kid of the sixties. Granted I was a senior in high school in ’64 but I still loved me some dolls. (Still have quite a few of them.) The accessories for Barbie must have come out much later than when I got my first Barbie as I remember just being thrilled at the “grown up” clothes for her.

As to her going bald, I seem to remember some neighborhood girls who did really tragic things to our national semi-icon of feminity back in the 80′s. I remember Punk Barbie quite well.

By: GayProf

GayProf — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:57:10 +0000

Maybe it’s crypto-Jewish Barbie and the “wigs” are really sheitels?

By: Historiann

Historiann — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:26:39 +0000

Erica–Southern was my other guess as to “Miss Barbie’s” crypto-identity. The “Miss,” the wigs–it seems much more Southern than any other regional U.S. identity. And the lawn swing kind of fits with the region, too.

So Notorious–maybe you’re just Southern? (Or all Southern women are female female impersonators? I think there’s something to that, actually, based on what friends of mine who have lived in Texas have told me–Houston, not Austin.)