Barbie and Ken if you poor

[TkkkOnMe]

So, I just had 2 x generic barbies, a skipper and a Ken.
We didn't have the money for all the 'sets' to make her doctor, showjumping, lawyer or whatever, so she was just a perfect blonde. Mum and I made her clothes and it was fun.
Ken was a love rat in my house who was shagging all 3 of them.
AIBU to see that it is only about money for Mattel, not the fricking 'mission for female empowerment' Helen Mirren is bleating on about on the film, and they didn't have a clue about how lots of girls, especially in the 80s, played with her?

Have you seen the film? I think GG has done a great job of balancing the corporate needs for a hit film (which you have to fulfil to get $$$ to make a movie at that scale) and embedding a feminist message and reflecting many different ways that girls/women play with dolls. Just because she didn't directly show your personal experience, doesn't make her film invalid or craven and cynical. Meaning is an agreement between the reader and the text after all, and she's included many potential meanings which is why it's proving so enjoyable for all kinds of different audiences. But she can't please everyone.

FWIW I had to make my dolls house out of cardboard boxes and also only had one secondhand Ken to go around all my Sindys and Barbies. Happy memories! There's no limits on imagination and no one needs to buy things just because they're on sale and advertised or in a movie.

It was a fake Sindy in my house until the Christmas I was seven when it was, GASP, the ballerina Sindy wrapped up!

Are you my mother? Totally her view so I had a Sindy.

True. There are so many assumptions about this film, all from people who haven’t actually seen it.

I had a sindy. To be fair I wasn’t overly into Barbie dolls I preferred tiny tears and proper baby dolls. My friend was spoilt she had loads of Polly pockets I loved playing with them at her house , I would have loved to have one. My dd has been spoilt had the Barbie caravan, plane and mansions at birthdays / Xmas. I got loads of shoes and clothes from eBay and she did spend hours playing with them. Her brother now uses the plane and plays with his little marvel characters with it. I think it’s quite cool to show that woman can be anything as Barbie has had about every job going. Most toys don’t last that long apart from Lego so hats off to Mattel for that.

I had a brunette ballerina Sindy, and lacking a Ken (type) she had a hot affair with my Golliwog hand puppet. 😱I should probably be in therapy.

Actions man's hair was so creepy and his eyes. Not fun

Happily left the velcro hair and swivelling eyes version to Dbro.

My boy was all plastic old skool 😎

Well I didn't have any of these...I had a Tressy (whose hair pulled out of the top of her head so you could make it either long or short 🥰).

I had a Tressy too (🎶Tressy's got a secret, be the one who knows. You can style Tressy's hair to match the lovely clothes she wears. Her hair grows🎶)
but I wanted a Sindy too

I was very lucky as I had lots of Barbies and Cindys as well. They all lived in the big three story Cindy house. Sometimes I used to pretend it was a children's home or a Boarding School! I had Ken but he always seemed a bit of a drip, so my Barbies used to date my brothers Action Men.

I had My Little Ponies, Care Bears and Get Along Gang characters. I always thought cute little animals were so much better than crappy dolls. I did have a Sindy but never played with her.

My mother didn't approve of Barbies, so I never had one. I'm glad now, as I wouldn't have wanted a doll which may have made someone else sick making Hopefully it's improved.The grim truth of Chinese factories producing the west’s Christmas toys | Retail industry | The Guardian

I had neither Sindy nor Barbie, because my mother didn't approve if plastic toys, particularly not American ones like Barbie. My sister did get a Sindy from a jumble sale.

Not having them didn't stop me making houses and clothes for them.

I had the glitter hair barbie and the teacher barbie. Think we also had Barbie’s little sister.. she was called Shelly? My granny used to knit lots of clothes for them so although they started in cool outfits they ended up in knitted monstrosities of some kind 😂 No interest in getting a Ken doll AT ALL bless him. Very jealous of going to my friends house and she had the house and the car for Barbie

My parents weren’t well off, they worked their socks off, both had 2nd jobs etc they always went over the top with me on birthdays and Christmas so I ended up with 100s of barbies, some were new and some were secondhand, I got the dreamboat and camper van for Christmas along with a barbie house one year but I also saved up my pocket money and money from selling toys at bootsales to buy some things myself.
I go though old pictures and I honestly have no idea where we put it all! I also know I was incredibly lucky and still appreciate how much my parents always did for me.

Same 😀

I didn't have a Ken, so one of my Sindys had a sex change.

Ken who???
My brother's Action Man was my Barbie's love interest. Never heard of Ken!

I had about 7 in total, they have been passed down to my daughter. I love seeing her play with all the 1980s outfits.

That's brilliant

Why is there not a pregnant Barbie doll? ..... because Ken comes in a different box.

I had a Sindy and about 4 of the Pippa dolls (they were 6" tall)

My mum refused to buy me the clothes set and shoes as they were £ and I'd lose them.

I made shoes/boots out of foil and gave Sindy pierced ears with glass headed pins in all colours

This is what some people do with Barbies (sorry - paywall)

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-im-a-barbie-girl-jv0t6tdx2w0

Amanda Jane! My older sister had her. I was very much a baby doll type of girl.

On second thought, maybe there's a reason why Barbie et al are so stylised.

I had the horse and riders outfot but TBH it was a bit shit as the horse was static.

The Lone Ranger horses otoh had moveable joints , western tack and a stand to secure them so they could rear .
Silver (grey) Smoke (I thought he was Bandit) (black) and a skewbald (Scout) . There was a Palamino too which I didn't have