I
was a president once.
For
one whole year, I was the president of The
Jerusalem Chapter of the Barbie Club.
This
claim of life achievement would rightly strike most as dubious. But oh, what a glorious
year that was.
I
returned from a stay in Paris with two new Barbie dolls, one for me and a
second for my best friend. The dolls included a form to send to Mattel, the
dolls’ maker, to form a club. I sent it with my mother’s help (it was in
English) and thought about it no more until…
A
large box appeared a month later, with six membership cards, a book with
instructions on how to form the club, and suggestions for activities.
At
just about that time, Barbies made their appearance in the one “fancy” toy
store in Jerusalem. But very few kids had them. I forged ahead and formed the
club with the handful of classmates who succeeded in persuading their parents
to purchase these dolls.
We
met periodically at each other’s apartments, played with the dolls and made accessories
for them.
I
remember two “scandals” associated with our club. The first was when our
homeroom teacher called me for a meeting to say our club was exclusionary
because not everyone could join. I stood my ground. I told her anyone with a Barbie
doll could join. It was The Barbie Club, after all.
Our
teacher was not happy, but she didn’t have a good answer for that.
The
second “scandal” occurred when we were busy making mini-Christmas trees for our
Barbies, per the easy instructions from Mattel’s Club book. The parent in whose
house we met to make these asked why we are making Christmas trees and not
Hannukka menorahs.
My
answer (very presidential): “Because Barbie is Christian, not Jewish.”
And
that no-no was the end of our club and my presidency.
It
was long ago.
Pink Barbie and her Ken are now gracing the silver screen to record ticket sales.
No, I haven't seen the newly released feature film. Not yet, and likely never.
I grew up, and in my mind, I hoped Barbie did also.
6 comments:
Barbie clubs?!!! That's ingenious! So fun to read about your experiences growing up in Israel. I'll bet they have a Jewish, Hindu, Muslim Barbies now. I doubt I would ever enjoy a movie with that much pink and plastic. Also, I never grew up with them nor did my kids ever want them. But Dagny sure loved playing with her American Girl doll (Kaya, the Native American) and of all her toys, saved it for her future daughter. When she was 12, she decided she was too old to play and gave them all away. I lamented--I loved playing with some of those toys...sigh, some of us have never quite grown up.
That's so cool! I had beautiful Barbies. I also had PJ, Skipper, and an African American Julia doll from the TV show Julia with Dianne Carroll. She came in a nurses outfit. Along with Barbie was also Tammy and of course I had a Ken. I loved all their clothes and I had nice cases for them. Sadly, I passed them down to my sister who ended up selling them when she needed money. So sad! I would love to see the movie. Since hubby doesn't want to go, I need to find a girl friend to go with me.
I loved hearing your experiences with your Barbie Club. I didn't ever have a Barbie or remember wanting one; neither did my daughter. But I did start a club, probably about the same age you did. There were no scouts or other clubs for girls in my small Appalachian hometown, so I started one. We met at different girls' homes and I planned the activities.
I love the image at the end of the aging Barbie and Ken. LOL!
I saw the Barbie movie. It is very political. Very much slanted to the feminist movement where women have to fight not to be objectified and where men, portrayed as morons, enjoy a patriarchal society. Yes, there's a point, but in my opinion, it was overdone.
On the plus side, the actress who played the main Barbie was perfect-very pretty! Margo Robbins, I think. And they showed some vintage Barbie dolls and clothes which I thought were interesting.
I never had a Barbie doll - I was in my late teens when they came out. What I did have (and loved) were "Storybook" dolls. They came in different costumes from around the world. I think I only had three, but I longed for them all.
As for clubs - never had a doll club, but I did form a detective club in my neighborhood in Reno when I was ten. We combed the neighborhood looking for mysteries which, alas, were sadly lacking.
Fun to hear your experiences as a Barbie Club president!
I wasn't allowed to have a Barbie (despite the name). We were allowed other trendy toys. But my mother was against them, somehow. Anyway, she claimed I was too old for one, despite the fact that my cousin, the same age, had one.
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