Doll:President 2000 Barbie

Introduced by Mattel, Inc., in 1959, Barbie dominates the doll world like no other doll. Today, annual sales for Barbie reach into the billions of dollars, and this one product accounts for about 34 percent of Mattel's gross sales. Barbie's popularity since her introduction, however, has not been consistent. In the 1970s, many mothers and feminists condemned Barbie for encouraging little girls to think of themselves as clothes horses and party girls. By the early 1980s, Mattel had refocused Barbie from the ultimate consumer and party girl to a more career-oriented and culturally inclusive figure. Mattel issued more Barbies as astronauts, pilots, engineers, race-car drivers, doctors, and dentists with the slogan, "We girls can do anything." Copy on the exterior of the packaging promotes The White House Project, described as "dedicated to a world where any woman can rise to the highest level of leadership, including President of the United States. . . . We encourage girls to run for office, play sports, learn science and math and reach for the stars because someday you, too, can be called Madame President." Female empowerment aside, Mattel, Inc. has perhaps forgotten that Barbie, like all candidates for the Presidency, must be, according to the U.S. Constitution, 35 years of age.