According to official Mattel history, Barbie was born in 1959 after creator and Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler saw the opportunity to "champion and inspire girls". In the 1960s and 70s, Handler's blondhaired, blue-eyed doll (usually wearing something pink) conquered the US, living the American dream in Malibu with a docile boyfriend called Ken. But storm clouds were gathering.
By the 1980s and 90s, Barbie, her body and her fashion choices were increasingly frequent targets of Western feminists, and Mattel began toying with the idea of introducing foreign markets to their signature product. Sadly, the leggy blond that had been such a compelling, if questionable, role model for pale little girls in the West flopped resoundingly on the international stage.
Russian authorities gave her the cold shoulder in 2002, lamenting that she aroused "early sexual interest" in young girls. The following year, the Saudis banned her, appalled by Barbie's "shameful postures". In 2009, Mattel's very pink six-floor flagship Barbie store in Shanghai, China closed its doors after just two years. Barbie's "universal appeal", it seems, has its limits.
BARBIE Mattel (USA, 1959)
Barbie was originally made in Japan, but Mattel was forced to move production out of the country as local rival Licca-Chan grew in popularity
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Denne historien er fra AG 160-utgaven av ASIAN Geographic.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Revealed Doctor Yellow
Japan Railways' special lemony Shinkansen is a rare sight to behold
The Mighty Yellow
Over 5,000 kilometres long and flowing through nine provinces and autonomous regions, the Yellow River is China's second largest, after the Yangtze, while its basin is deemed the cradle of Chinese civilisation
Wildlife Big Yellow Beauty
The popular "amelanistic" form of the Burmese python is considered among the most beautiful snakes - if that's your sort of thing
All That Glitters Is Gold
From Turkey to China, the yellow metal plays a central role in cultural practices and is coveted as a symbol of affluence and status
Chengdu Hotel Spotlight TRIKA TSANG INTERNATIONAL HOTEL
For an authentic taste of Tibet in the heart of Chengdu, the most luxurious option is the majestic Trika Tsang International Hotel.
Conservation Yellow in Peril
While the demand for use in traditional Chinese medicine is putting seahorses under pressure, it is damaging non-selective fishing that is driving depletion
History Spiritual Rebirth
During the Spanish Golden Age, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan achieved the first European navigation to Asia via the Pacific, arriving in the Philippines in 1521 and claiming the islands for Spain. But by converting the first Filipinos to Catholicism, Magellan also instigated the Christianisation of the entire archipelago, a spiritual rebirth celebrated through the two most important festivals in the Philippines - Fiesta Señor and Sinulog.
Green Dreams
With its tea plantations and rice paddies, dense jungles and expansive forests, the region is well known as a green paradise. But many of the most impressive Asian landscapes have names you may never have heard of. Journey with us as we reveal just some of the incredible locations that make the rest of the world green with envy!
Life On The Edge
In the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the remote northern Russian Far East, indigenous ethnic groups like the Chukchi and the Yupik live in the most extreme conditions, hunting seals in their traditional kayaks as they have for millennia
The Karakoram Anomaly Decoded
For decades, scientists have believed that glaciers in the Karakoram Range are defying the trend of those across the globe-resisting glacial melt due to human-induced global warming. But as we trek up the Karakoram's second-longest glacier in July, as the United Nations announces the world's hottest ever month on record, does the melting ice beneath our feet suggest the so-called Karakoram Anomaly is slowing? Or is there a ray of hope it will continue to delay the inevitable?