March 9th is National Barbie Day! This iconic toy premiered on this day in 1959. To celebrate, we’ve highlighted relevant new titles as well as FREE access to related journal articles.
eBook
AN AMERICAN ICON IN PUERTO RICO
Barbie, Girlhood, and Colonialism at Play
Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez
Since her creation in 1959, Barbie has become an icon of femininity to girls all over the world. In this study, author Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez focuses on a group of multigenerational Puerto Rican women and girls, exploring how playing with Barbie dolls as children has impacted their lives. By documenting the often-complicated relationships girls have with Barbie dolls, Aguiló-Pérez highlights the ways through which women and girls construct their own identities in relation to femininity, body image, race, and nationalism through Barbie play.
Volume 4 in Transnational Girlhoods, a series focusing on the interdisciplinary field of Girlhood Studies that encompasses studies of feminism, women and gender, and childhood and youth and extending into such areas as sociology, anthropology, development studies, children’s literature, and cultural studies.
Paperback
Girlhoods and the Meanings of Play
Edited by Miriam Forman-Brunell
Deconstructing Dolls pushes the boundaries of doll studies by expanding the definition of dolls, ages of doll players, sites of play, research methods, and application of theory. By utilizing a variety of new approaches, this collected volume seeks to understand the historical and contemporary significance of dolls and girlhood play, particularly as they relate to social meanings in the lives of girls and young women across race, age, time, and culture.
Berghahn Journals
Free access to the articles below until March 16, 2022
Barbie versus Modulor Ideal Bodies, Buildings, and Typical Users
Frederika Eilers (Vol. 5, Issue 1)
Some Assembly Required: Black Barbie and the Fabrication of Nicki Minaj
Jennifer Dawn Whitney (Vol. 5, Issue 1)