Barbie has cankles? So says designer Christian Louboutin. (via)
posted by mrgrimm on Oct 15, 2009 - 68 comments

While US sales declined steadily in recent years, worldwide Barbie sales have been on the rise. So what better way to celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday and increase worldwide sales than by giving her her very own flagship store in Shanghai [Flash, sound]. [more inside]
posted by mudpuppie on Mar 6, 2009 - 20 comments

Pink Barbie fishing rod hooks record-breaking 21 pound catfish.
posted by miss lynnster on Aug 23, 2008 - 34 comments

Barbie vs Bratz: Mattel sues MGA, claiming the Bratz designs were created by a Mattel employee and smuggled to its rival.
posted by Artw on May 5, 2008 - 40 comments

Barbie Tarot.
posted by Orb on Jan 29, 2008 - 22 comments

Barbie Doll Electric Chair Science Fair Project [more inside]
posted by patricio on Sep 18, 2007 - 21 comments

Barbie Recalled. Mattel recalled one of their Barbie products today, a sweet little toy to teach kids responsibility called Barbie and Tanner. But watching that commercial closely one must wonder, if those magnets are coming out of Tanner so easily, surely they won't stay in your kid. Perhaps the design flaw had nothing to do with magnets but rather such an ill-conceived product. So, after Tanner poops out the magnet, you do what with it?
posted by Toekneesan on Aug 14, 2007 - 75 comments

A Polite Letter from the Smithsonian
posted by Stynxno on Apr 19, 2007 - 50 comments

Surreal Barbie and Ken jewelry art by Margaux Lange. Previously (but her work and site have evolved since then). While in China, voodoo dolls have been banned and immediately became a jewelry/accessory craze.
posted by nickyskye on Feb 6, 2007 - 20 comments

Once there was a band called Aqua. You probably know their song Barbie Girl. Apparently, a lot of other people know the song, and like it enough to make videos of themselves lip-synching to it. A lot of people. [a lot more and heavy youtube linkage inside]
posted by Ynoxas on Jun 16, 2006 - 67 comments

Barbarism begins with Barbie — the doll, that is. Research done at the University of Bath (UK) posits that prepubescents' pre-eminent plasticine plaything provokes disproportionate punishment. According to the study, which originally focused on the effects of branding on young consumers, the statuesque Mattel mini-miss seems to attract undue savagery. "The researchers had not intended to focus on Barbie, but they were taken aback by the rejection, hatred and violence she provoked when they asked the children about their feelings for the doll. Violence and torture against Barbie were repeatedly reported across age, school and gender. No other toy or brand name provoked such a negative response."
posted by rob511 on Dec 19, 2005 - 46 comments

Bling Bling Barbie.
posted by swift on Oct 6, 2005 - 46 comments

Bluetooth Star Trek Barbie. She also has the bonus distinction of also being USB-enabled. [via]
posted by grateful on Aug 18, 2005 - 13 comments

Breast brooches and butt bracelets: Barbie bits as jewelry. More here.
posted by Orb on Jun 20, 2005 - 22 comments

Barbie Pr0n. On this fine Sunday evening, I present to the fine folks of Metafilter the utter tastelessness, but strangely amusing images of Barbies doing the nasty. (NSFW)
posted by amandaudoff on Oct 17, 2004 - 26 comments

S&M Barbie ... and S&M Barbie
posted by nathan_teske on Jul 13, 2004 - 9 comments

Razanne, the Muslim alternative to this, this, this, or this
(Last link possibly NSFW?)
posted by magullo on Oct 9, 2003 - 21 comments

Sure, Scarlett O'Hara Barbie is lovely, and yeah, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz Barbie is cute, but for my money, it's hard to beat Marge Simpson Barbie, Medusa Barbie, or Dominatrix Barbie. The full collection, located here, clearly owes a debt to Todd Haynes, and the Barbie Liberation Army, but is still worth a chuckle.
posted by jonson on Jun 21, 2003 - 7 comments

Barbie and her friends now have blogs. Seeing this seriously made me consider hanging my hat and going home. They even have webcams, to do lists, and little photo galleries. The corporate giants are working hard to pull girls in to technology - which is a really good thing. Too bad the latest posts are about buying mini-skirts and things like that.
posted by christine_bpc on Mar 15, 2003 - 14 comments

Helplessly Addicted to eBay Barbie!
posted by bclark on Oct 23, 2002 - 10 comments

War Games? J.C. Penney, eToys and KB Toys all sell this scary "Military Forward Command Post with Two 12" Military Action Figures", despite the efforts of these shocked consumers who call it an "atrocity". It does sort of look like GI Joes taking over Barbie's bombed-out Dream House... how real is too real?
posted by sparky on Oct 1, 2002 - 38 comments

"If this were a sci-fi melodrama, it might be called Speech-Zilla meets Trademark Kong. ... The parties are advised to chill." (PDF file) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is at it again. Aqua's hit song "Barbie Girl" is judged not to be a violation of Mattel's trademark, but to be a parody protected by free speech. And all laboured judgely joshing aside, the decision offers a nice summary of trademark law. Get a plain HTML news story from CNN here. (The chorus is running through your brain now, right? And it's going to be there all day, too. *snicker*)
posted by maudlin on Jul 25, 2002 - 5 comments

Barbie creator, Mattel founder Handler dies More than one billion Barbies have been sold in 150 countries and has inspired love from girls everywhere and pure hatred from feminists everywhere. "The impossibly well-endowed doll -- her original figure would be about 39-18-33 if she were human -- has infuriated feminists, inspired artists and intrigued academics around the world. Barbie even was placed in the official "America's Time Capsule" buried in 1976." Can you think of any other toy who has brought about as much ferver as Barbie???
posted by gloege on Apr 29, 2002 - 30 comments

Multiethnic Barbie. (picture) ""It would be really boring if there were all white people," says the fourth-grader, who also likes her dolls to portray people she knows - from her half-Asian cousins to classmates of all races." Of course, nobody she knows probably has Barbie's proportions...
posted by owillis on Feb 19, 2002 - 31 comments

Barbie's Hot! Though they claim they have no interest in mass production, I can say right now that I'd buy this Barbie. Woo!
posted by dwivian on Nov 16, 2001 - 24 comments

When Barbie meets ballet...? Mattel are shelling out £85,000 to sponsor the ENO's traditional Christmas run of the Nutcracker, which coincidentally starts just as Barbie in the Nutcracker hits the cinemas. A good way to "interest young girls in the ballet", or a head-on crash between two questionable influences on their body image? (more inside...)
posted by holgate on Sep 9, 2001 - 4 comments

Ken, of Barbie and Ken has turned 40. To mark the occasion, Mattel is releasing a hot, young, 20 year old secretary, that Ken is having an affair with, and a Porsche 911. (to complete the whole midlife crisis thing you see.)
posted by tiaka on Mar 15, 2001 - 3 comments

A triumph for art and free speech over commercialism. Or something like that. A photographer can't be prevented (by Mattel) from shooting pornographically posed Barbie dolls and selling the pictures as post cards. I wonder what they looked like. Hey, hot mama! (Courtesy of Firing Squad)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Feb 24, 2001 - 9 comments

Waah! I want my Barbie PC! (I don't quite understand this; can't someone just put their own decals on their computer? What, exactly was the market here? This one seems to go into the "unbelievably stupid product concept" file.)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Dec 23, 2000 - 3 comments

Buy your kid a new doll you cheap bastards! - Apparently barbie dolls and other plastic toys made in the 1950's have recently been found to secrete a sticky chemical film that could cause developmental problems in children.
posted by Nyarlathotep on Aug 24, 2000 - 4 comments

This is just sick and wrong. Convention Barbie? Do you really want to support a party with lame merchandising tie-ins like this? Sidenote: does this make Bush pro-Mattel and anti-Matt L?
posted by mathowie on Aug 2, 2000 - 8 comments

Not that we need to give Mattel any more press, but I found gothic Barbie and Ken, Addams gig or no, to be très étrange. (Oh Tish! That's French! You know that drives me to further acts of kitschy assimilation!)
posted by jason on Jul 10, 2000 - 4 comments

Another victim falls to the tyranny of Mattel. What's really strange about this is that, to my knowledge, Barbie is a name. If someone names their kid Barbie, will they too receive a C&D from Mattel? Hmm...

Well, if you want to read the C&D its here.
posted by deckard on May 26, 2000 - 7 comments

Coming to a toy store near you: Cease and Desist Barbie. Very funny stuff Justin, I expect you'll be getting a letter soon.
posted by mathowie on May 23, 2000 - 6 comments

I'd heard about these for a while now but it's good to see actual shots of them. Barbie and Hot Wheels branded PCs are on the way. This is another sign that computers are becoming ingrained into our daily lives, when I was a kid, all I remember wanting was a racecar-shaped bed.
posted by mathowie on Aug 6, 1999 - 0 comments

The recent World Cup Soccer Tournament was one small step forward for women in sports, but this is one giant leap behind
posted by mathowie on Jul 15, 1999 - 0 comments