Barbie goes to France

When I was around 8 years old we went on a family vacation to visit relatives in Minneapolis. While we were there, we visited the largest department store I had ever been to up to that point. It had a full toy department which was a candy store to my doll-loving eyes. It was the first time I had ever seen limited edition Barbie dolls and Parisian Barbie captured my imagination. I was smitten!! But as much as I begged and gave puppy-dog eyes to my parents, I didn't get Parisian Barbie that day. I bought the doll pictured below on the secondary market a dozen years later (and yes, I paid siginficantly more money that it originally sold for) But I love this doll and would be hard pressed to sell it.

Over the years, Mattel released more French and Parisian Barbies including these two:

Released ten years apart, the second edition Parisian Barbie is an obvious recreation of the 1980 doll. The French doll came seven years later in 1997. These two versions never held the same fascination for me as the original Parisian doll.

Fast forward and I have been a French historian for the past twenty years. Over the years I have spent time in France as a student and as a scholar. I do wonder at the excessive stereotyping that suggests French culture is the equivalent of Moulin Rouge-style can can girls. But, an analytical analaysis of the stereotyping by Mattel is a very different type of post.

Every time I go to France, I make sure to stop at the toy stores in the department stores. The Parisian department stores - like the one in Minneapolis - are pop culture feasts for the eyes. They are luxurious and elegant and worlds away from most American shopping experiences. I still scope out the Barbies and see what is the same and different in Europe as in the US. This is one of my favorite French dolls because she is not just a repackaging of an American doll. Naf Naf is a French brand (that had a similar vibe to Benetton) so these dolls reflect 1990s French culture. Stereotypes, yes, but a far cry from pink-tulled, black-chokered can-can Barbie.

Comments

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