An Editorial in the NYTimes talks about Barbie's illustrious past in the context of Women's History Month and goes on to mention that she will be breaking up with Ken after 40 years and, furthermore, they were never married.
Now I never stopped to think about that... but then as a little girl I enjoyed my animal dolls much more than my human dolls.
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Over the years we've been encouraged to marvel at Barbie's dexterity. She has navigated an exceptional career path and maintained a picture-perfect 43-year relationship, with ne'er a hair out of place. Last month, however, the fantasy unraveled. Mattel announced two days before Valentine's Day that America's favorite plastic couple had split up.
Those of us who wondered, "Who will get the Dream House?" were a bit perplexed to learn that it's not an issue. There would be no lawyers' fees over the divvying up of assets, no quibbling over who keeps the Beach Cruiser, because Barbie and Ken were never married. That was a bit of a shock, and it provoked a complicated reaction. What do you call a single woman who's gone steady for more than four decades? Sexually liberated? Lacking in imagination? Commitment phobic?
Barbie made her debut in 1959 as a fashion model. Ken entered the scene two years later. The happily unmarried couple began their radical lifestyle together at a time when the working husband and his stay-at-home wife reflected mainstream cultural values on programs like "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Barbie made up for her radicalism with acceptable feminine occupations, like candy-striper volunteer and ballerina — although, always contradictory, she did sport a spacesuit four years before NASA put a person on the moon.
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By the time the 80's rolled around, Ken's main squeeze had gotten her groove back. She would not be caught unawares again. She covered all possible fast tracks. Barbie the hard-nosed business executive and Barbie the Unicef ambassador rivaled pop icons like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper as Barbie the rock star, and she sweated it out like Jane Fonda as an aerobics instructor. Luckily for the slew of exotic and domestic pets she'd acquired over the years, she also became a veterinarian.
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In 1998, Barbie went through one of her most drastic changes. Her breasts shrank, and her torso put on a little weight. Ken didn't love her any less — he stuck by her side for another six years. And while Barbie's family grew by leaps and bounds, the kids — Skipper, Tutti, Stacie, Todd, Kelly and Krissy — were introduced as her siblings, not illegitimate children. So there will be no need for a new outfit for the custody battle.
Now that Barbie has morphed into the latest trendy persona — single woman — who knows what she'll tackle next. But anyone scribbling away on a "Barbie and the City" pilot may want to think twice. Her future sounds more like Baywatch Barbie. Word is that she's surfing the California waves and has her eye on an Australian boogie-boarder named Blaine.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/30/opinion/30TUE4.html?ex=1081227600&en=14286b9062cb1443&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE