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Perface
Barbie has been a surgeon, an astronaut, a news anchor and a president. She's been the Duchess of Cambridge, several characters in "Mad Men" and every member of Destiny's Child.
芭比娃娃“当过”外科医生，宇航员，新闻主播和总统。她还曾是剑桥公爵夫人，《广告狂人》中的几个角色，以及“真命天女”（碧昂斯曾是该组合一员）中的每个成员。
But on her debut at the New York Toy Fair on March 9, 1959, she was just a doll in a swimsuit and ponytail, with white sunglasses in her hand.
但1959年3月9日在纽约玩具展上初次亮相时，她还只是个身穿泳装，梳着马尾，拿着白色太阳镜的玩具娃娃。
Six decades later, every passing minute sees more than 100 dolls sold, with 58 million sold every year.
六十多年后的今天，每分钟就有100多个芭比娃娃被售出，每年全球的销量达到5800多万个。
So how does Barbie remain so ubiquitous, and as the world has changed, how has she?
那么，芭比娃娃是怎么保有如此之强的存在感的？世界在变，她呢？
To Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and global general manager of the Barbie brand, the doll has remained popular because "she's continued to reflect culture and the world girls see around them."
对芭比品牌高级副总裁兼全球总经理Lisa McKnight来说，芭比娃娃之所以一直广受喜爱，是因为“她总能反映女孩们身处的世界和文化。”
But if Barbie's evolution has been crucial to her success, the journey has never been simple.
变化和发展是芭比成功的关键，但这条路并不简单。
A controversial icon
争议偶像
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Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, who owned the toy company Mattel with her husband Elliot. She was inspired by the paper dolls her daughter Barbara played with, as well as a German doll named Bild Lilli (which was based on a risqué cartoon, and intended as an adult gift.)
芭比娃创造者是Ruth Handler，她与丈夫Elliot共同拥有美泰玩具公司。设计芭比的灵感来源于女儿Barbara玩的纸板换装娃娃，以及一个叫Bild Lilli的德国娃娃（Bild Lilli原本是根据一部情色漫画打造的成人礼物）。
"At first, Barbie was a way for young children to project themselves as grown-ups," said Aurore Bayle-Loudet, who worked on a 2016 Barbie exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratif in Paris. Barbara saw her paper dolls as adults, but "the baby-shaped dolls of the time did not allow those projection games to happen."
Aurore Bayle-Loudet曾参与2016年在巴黎艺术装饰博物馆举办的芭比展，她说：“起初，芭比娃娃是供孩子们想象成年人生活的一种方式“Barbara把她的纸娃娃当作大人，但“那时的娃娃都是婴儿型的，没法用来玩模仿成人的游戏。”
By 1960, Barbie was gainfully employed, as either a nurse, fashion editor, flight attendant, or "Executive Career Girl." The next year, she had a swim-shorts-clad boyfriend, Ken, and the year after that, her first car and a "Dreamhouse." She became a CEO, a pilot and multiple presidential candidates.
到1960年，芭比有了许多收入颇丰的工作，她既是护士、时尚编辑、空姐，也是“行政小姐”。次年，她有了个穿泳裤的男友：肯。又过了一年，她有了第一辆车和“梦想之家”。她还当上CEO、飞行员和多名总统候选人。
But as Barbie was breaking ground as a career woman, she was drawing criticism for upholding a slim, white, domestic ideal.
芭比的职业女性生涯刚刚起步，却同时也引来了批评，说她总是一副苗条的白人传统理想型主妇的样子。
The first black doll in the range, marketed as "Colored Francie," wasn't released until 1967, and it would be another 13 years before the brand launched Hispanic and black versions of Barbie herself. Further complicating matters, the non-white dolls were often, as black feminist critic Ann duCille wrote in 1994, "dye-dipped versions of archetypal white American beauty."
芭比系列的第一个黑人洋娃娃直到1967才推出上市，被称作“有色弗朗茜”。又过了13年此品牌才推出了西班牙和她的黑人婴儿款娃娃。更复杂的是，正如黑人女权主义者批评家Ann du Cille在1994写到，非白种人的洋娃娃常常“有着深深的白种美国人审美的烙印”。
Then, of course, there's Barbie's body. According to the BBC, if the original long-legged, tiny-waisted doll was scaled up to human size, she would have a 21-inch waist and 30-inch hips. In comparison, a 2018 government report found the average waist size of American women was 39 inches.
当然，芭比娃娃的身材也有问题。根据BBC的报道，如果把最初长腿细腰的娃娃按比例放大到真人尺寸，她的腰围会是21英尺，臀围30英尺。然而，一份2018年的政府报告显示美国女性的平均腰围是39英寸。
Embracing inclusivity
包容性
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In 2016, a Time cover story headlined "Now can we stop talking about my body?" heralded a change. Mattel introduced 33 new Barbies, available for the first time in three additional body shapes: tall, petite and curvy.
在2016年，《Time》杂志的一份封面故事头条报道说到“现在我们可以停止讨论我们的身材吗？”，这预示着改变的到来。美泰公司推出了33款新芭比，首次设计三种身形：高的、娇小的和有着曲线美的。
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The updated range of Barbies also offered seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles. The following year saw the debut of the first hijabi Barbie, as the doll based on Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad was added to the "Shero" collection.
更新的芭比标准也新增了7种肤色，22种颜色的瞳孔和24种发型。在之后的一年里，伴随着以奥运会击剑运动员Ibtihaj Muhammmad为原型的洋娃娃被纳入“定制（芭比）”收藏品，希贾布芭比（带着面纱或头巾的穆斯林女性芭比）迎来首次亮相。
In February 2019, new additions to the "Barbie Fashionistas" line included a doll using a wheelchair and another with a prosthetic leg. In 1997, Barbie gained a friend named Becky who used a wheelchair, but the doll was discontinued -- in part because even after redesigns, her wheelchair didn't fit in the Dreamhouse.
2019年2月, 一个坐轮椅装假肢的娃娃新加入了“芭比时尚达人系列”队伍。在1997年，芭比有了一位坐轮椅的新朋友，她叫Becky，但她被停产了——一部分原因是因为，在重新设计后Becky的轮椅仍旧与芭比的房子尺寸不合。
"We are continuing to push ourselves and evolve, as evidence of the new additions which include a new body, hair texture and representation of physical disabilities," Mattel's McKnight said.
“我们不断敦促自己走出舒适区，不断发展，比如我们在芭比中加入了很多新元素，囊括了不同的身材、发质，加入了残障人士的代表。”美泰公司的McKnight说道。
For International Women's Day 2018, Mattel released a new batch of dolls based on "real-life role models." Pioneering NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, aviator Amelia Earhart and artist Frida Kahlo became Barbies in the "Inspiring Women" historical collection, while Olympic champion snowboarder Chloe Kim, Juventus soccer player Sara Gama and journalist Martyna Wojciechowska became "Global Role Models."
在2018年国际妇女节之际，美泰公司发布了一批全新的以“现实生活中的榜样（女性）”为原型的芭比。有开拓性功勋的NASA数学家Katherine Johnson, 飞行员Amelia Earhart和艺术家Frida Kahlo加入了“鼓舞人心的女性”、具有历史收藏价值的芭比行列，而奥运会滑雪冠军Chole Kim、尤文图斯足球运动员Sara Gama和记者Martyna Wojciechowska三位芭比成为“全球榜样”。
Not all of the 2018 additions were welcomed, however. The new Kahlo Barbie faced criticism for "whitewashing" the Mexican artist, minimizing her unibrow, and inaccurately representing her clothes.
然而，一些2018特别款芭比并没有得到消费者的青睐。比如新款Frida芭比受到批评，因为它“白人化”了这位墨西哥艺术家，弱化了她的一字眉，没有准确体现这位艺术家的穿衣风格。
Others noted that the Barbie based on Olympic champion Nicola Adams, a British boxer, had slender arms and legs that didn't reflect the athlete's muscular physique. When Iris Apfel, the 97-year-old style luminary, received a one-off Barbie in her image the same year, the doll was notably missing any wrinkles.
还有人指出，以奥运会冠军Nicola Adams为原型的芭比娃娃的胳膊和腿都太纤细，不能还原出这位英国拳击手的肌肉体格。此外，时尚大师Iris Apfel在97岁那年收到一个以她为原型的芭比娃娃，但这个娃娃都没有任何皱纹。
This year, more than 20 new "Sheroes" will be immortalized as Barbies: among them, supermodel and activist Adwoa Aboah, gymnast Dipa Karmakar-- the first female Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics -- and "Grown-ish" actress and activist Yara Shahidi. "By introducing girls to stories of women from all walks of life, they begin to see more opportunities for themselves," the Barbie website reads.
今年，芭比将要制作20位成功女性的娃娃形象，其中包括超模兼活动家Adwoa Aboah、体操运动员Dipa Karmakar，女演员兼活动家Yara Shahidi。Dipa Karmakar是印度首位有资格参加奥运会的体操运动员。芭比官网上写道:“我们想通过各行各业的女性故事，让女孩们发现未来更多的可能性。”
The range is part of the "Barbie Dream Gap" campaign, which McKnight described as "an ongoing global initiative aimed at raising awareness around limiting factors that prevent girls from reaching their full potential."
该系列是“芭比·梦想之差”活动（一群女孩面对镜头为自己代言，诉说为什么女孩和梦想之间存在差距）的一部分，McKnight说这个活动是“当下全球范围内的倡议，旨在让更多人意识到限制女性充分发挥潜力的因素。”
Beyond the toy store
商店之外
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At 60 years old, Barbie's has transcended the toy store shelf (or the Amazon warehouse). She stars in a Netflix series, "Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures," and has almost 40 animated films to her name. In January, it was announced that Margot Robbie will play Barbie in a live-action movie.
60岁的芭比，已经不仅出现在玩具店的货架上(或亚马逊的仓库)。她还活跃于电视荧幕上，主演Netflix的电视剧《芭比梦屋历险记》，并以芭比之名出演了近40部动画电影。今年1月，官方宣布 Margot Robbie将在真人电影中饰演芭比。
She's also a certified social media icon. On her most popular Instagram, @barbiestyle, she shares her outfits, street-style shots and "candid" photos of her hanging out with friends.
芭比现在也是一个经过认证的社交媒体偶像。在她最受欢迎的Instagram账号 @barbiestyle上，她分享自己的私服，街拍照，还有和朋友一起逛街时被“偷拍”的照片。
With 2 million followers, she's on a par with some of the bigger social media influencers. On YouTube, where she posts animated vlogs with titles like "Finding Your Voice," "What's In The Box Challenge!" and the Halloween-themed "Lion Makeup Tutorial With Ken,".
她拥有200万粉丝，粉丝量与一些网红博主不相上下。在YouTube上，她发布了名为“寻找你的声音”、“盒子里有什么”的动画视频，以及万圣节主题的“和Ken一起学画狮子妆”视频教程。
Postscript
Barbie is one of the most lovely chilhood memory💗
文章来源 | CNN
图片 | Baidu
编译 | 顾贝盈、刘可圆、杨雨霏
排版 | 杨雨霏
指导老师 | 刘佳
