Who did Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, name the doll after?
Ruth and Elliot Handler modeled Barbie after the German doll known as Lilli. Lilli began as a cartoon character in a German daily newspaper. This character, known for her large breasts and sexy clothing, was created for adult entertainment “a symbol of sex and pornography for the men of Germany” (Johnson “History”). Handler discovered Lilli while shopping in Switzerland and brought the doll home for her daughter to play with. She made her debut in the US in 1959 and the little tart was presented as a “teenage fashion model”. By the early seventies, however, strides had been taken in the feminist movement which caused Mattel to re-evaluate and change Barbie’s image. So, in 1973, the little tramp appeared as a surgeon and various Olympic style atheletes. She’s now 49 yrs old and has managed to avoid the middle-age sag. Bitch!
