Barbie: German Sex Doll to American Icon

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

She's an icon, a polymath, a fashionista, and she's absolutely everywhere right now.

Where did Barbie come from? What has she represented to the many who have bought and played with her? And what makes her an American doll?

In this episode, M.G. Lord joins Don to introduce us to Barbie, her friends and her creators. M.G. is the author of Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll. She is also the host of the podcast LA Made: The Barbie Tapes from LAist Studios, So Cal Public Radio.

Edited and produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	All right, let's see here.
0:05.2	Sorting through the toy box, we have a fluffy
0:09.9	cuddly dog with torn off ears, check.
0:13.2	Wooden sailboat, minus the rudder.
0:15.8	Check.
0:17.0	Train cars with passengers intact, sort of.
0:20.9	A baby doll, of course,
0:22.4	complete with nappy and bottle. Here it is. Right. Check, check, check, check. Hold on, what's this? A glamorous,
0:30.8	fabulously clad blonde looker with pert lips and a button nose who's wearing, well, hold on here, that's interesting, a whole wardrobe filled with costumes.
0:41.0	Astronaut, Army officer, rock star, doctor, and of course
0:46.8	plain old trusty fashion model. She's beautiful, she's brainy, she's even a bit buxam. She's Barbie and she belongs to American girls
0:57.0	everywhere and apparently that has made a big difference. Welcome to American history Hit here in the midst of a hot hot summer.
1:17.0	We hope you're finding some cool calm peace wherever you are.
1:19.0	I'm Don Wildman. Thanks for listening.
1:21.0	Ordinarily, it is coarse and impolite to inquire about a woman's age,
1:26.0	but the lady we speak of today is no ordinary woman.
1:29.0	She was born on March 9, 1959,
1:32.0	which makes her about 64 years old.
1:34.5	Nonetheless, she somehow possesses a face of eternal youth,
1:38.2	not to mention her ageless hair and physique.
1:41.2	She is narrow in carriage, but mighty in her impact upon the world.
1:45.2	While she herself can't really be bothered to manage her money,
	...

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