#olympic barbies

[barbielore]

I have made a couple of posts in the past that refer to Barbies who are depicted as having disabilities, including the original 3 Becky dolls, the first doll in the Barbie line to be depicted using a wheelchair.

To go a little deeper on Becky, though, she was released specifically between 1997 and 1999. Her first appearance as "Share a Smile Becky" was not the only doll in the "Share a Smile" line - this line also came with Barbie and Christie, though they did not use wheelchairs.

Becky was the standout of the line, both in terms of marketing and sales - Share a Smile Becky sold a reported 6000 dolls in two weeks. I don't know exactly how this stacks up in raw numbers to other Barbie line dolls but it's quite impressive.

Becky's next appearance was as "I'm the School Photographer" Becky, where she is apparently an award winner for photographing the basketball team. She is depicted on the box with the Colour Streak Barbie line from the year prior, an articulated doll line with mascara-esque wands to put coloured streaks in their hair.

I'm not particularly sure why they marketed School Photographer Becky in relation to the Colour Streak line, as opposed to as part of a school or even athletics related line. Or for that matter, if you're going to market a Becky in this line, why not give her a Colour Streak doll? We could have had Raucous Red or Mellow Yellow Becky.

Her third and final appearance was as Paralympic Champion Becky, released in 1999 as a prelude to the Sydney Olympic Games. The equivalent Barbie in the line was Swimming Champion Barbie, who could "swim" backstroke or freestyle in water.

Teresa and Christie were also released as Swimming Champions this same year, as well as a variety of other Olympic tie-ins such as fans and, for some reason, a pin collector.

I think my biggest quibble with Paralympic Champion Becky personally is that the other athlete dolls (the Swimming Champions) have a name that refers to their event, rather than the games as a whole. Perhaps Becky should have been marketed as Racer Becky or something.

Of course, the doll was designed to educate children on the Paralympic Games, but I feel they could have done a little better in that regard.

Interestingly - some articles about Becky cite there being a fourth Becky doll, one who used sign language. As far as I can tell this is a misattribution of Sign Language Barbie.

Personally I find this one fascinating because, in addition to coming with instructions for some signs including the alphabet, she has a custom arm, with the hand molded in the shape of the sign for "I Love You".

Becky's other main appearance that I find notable is in the Barbie book "Three Cheers for Becky", in which Becky coaches the cheerleading squad.

A lot of Becky's appearances around this time carry a hint of condescension. It appears as though Mattel was genuinely trying, but fell into some tropes of Becky as an inspirational figure with few personality traits outside of being Barbie's Friend Who Uses A Wheelchair. Some of these things could be relatively easily sidestepped by Mattel - I don't object to Becky as a Paralympian in the lead-up to an Olympic year, but why not give Becky the opportunity to have regular fashion dolls too?

Oh, and let her actually fit in the Dreamhouse. That would have been good too.

#barbie #barbie lore #share a smile becky #barbies with disabilities #sign language barbie #paralympic champion becky #olympic barbies #barbie books #color streak barbie

[mimi-0007]

Florence Griffith Joyner 🙏🏾🙏🏾 with some beautiful little girls with their barbie!!

#black tumblr #black literature #black excellence #black community #black girl magic #barbie #florence griffith joyner #flo jo #track and field #track #fastest #relays #champion #olympic medals #olympic games #black barbie

[virtchandmoir]

tessavirtue17: It was a privilege to chat with my good friend (and extraordinary interviewer) @anastasure for her LAST EVER episode of the Player’s Own Voice podcast on CBC. Thanks for creating the space to reflect, reminisce, and reconcile a career in sport … and for so expertly guiding the conversation from prison stints to wedding bells 🙃 Give it a listen wherever you get your podcasts!

#tessa #off ice #ambassadorship #barbie #interview: player's own voice #social media #crying over barbie not olympics #is a choice

[prettyupsetnerd]

(her mom was her best friend)

#dndads #scary marlowe #but ACTUALLY #terri marlowe #or however it's spelled #her story will always be so tragic to me even if it's not winning oppression olympics or whatever female characters need to justify their- #-complex feelings #anyway lookout to the scary watches the barbie movie comic I've been working on #maybe putting the idea out there will finally force me to actually bring it to life #also sorry to redhead scary truthers i know i made it look like it but she's actually a blonde to me #she used to dye only some strands of it #and when her rebellion first hit she just used what was already there and went nuts on it

[pinkfai]

Source : barbie_worldfan on Instagram

#olympic skater barbie and ken #barbie #ken

[haveamagicalday]

Battle of the Barbies! Round 4: Career (Sub Round 2)

This is round 4 (sub round 2) of the bracket. All other polls in can be found here.

#battle of the barbies #barbie #barbies #barbie doll #barbies dolls #barbie core #barbie collectibles #barbie collector #dolls #doll #doll community #doll collection #doll collector #dollcore #polls #my post #non disney #career barbie #hockey player #olympic gymnast

[t00thpasteface]

i think one of the hallmarks of being an adult doll collector (or at least doll purchaser) is searching for online listings for childhood dolls you lost or gave away and remember as looking soooo cool and soooooo pretty but when you actually see images of them again you're like. oh you were a little silly weren't you

#thinking about my 1996 atlanta olympics gymnast barbie and my 2003 batgirl barbie. i miss them... but they were A Little Silly #batgirl had her own tiny lunchbox and it was SO CUTE but damn if i could ever get that cowl to align just right on her face #and olympic gymnast barbie's head popped right off one day. rip to a legend i'll never forget you and your stupid leotard #however. g3 star dasher you are exactly as beautiful as i remembered if not moreso. and the bratz reissues FUCK SEVERELY #shebbz shoutz

[ruffboijuliaburnsides]

Hello you have unlocked a Key Memory!! I had the Barbie and the Rockers VHS as a kid, in which Barbie is part of a rock band who are "the most popular band in the world". Barbie is named Goodwill Ambassador for World Peace, and they perform the worlds first concert in space. And then after Barbie declares it's the "first day of world peace".

Here is Barbie's rocket:

my god she really can do anything <3 <3 <3

#barbie #fuckin amazing #i am so angry i never owned this doll #OLYMPIC GYMNAST BARBIE FROM 1996 JUST DOESN'T GO AS HARD tho she was delightful for her flat feet.

[teaofgan]

1997 Olympic Skater Barbie

#digital art #artists on tumblr #barbie fanart #Barbie #Olympic skater Barbie #procreate art #fanart

[supercosplaylover]

Margot Robbie was literally born to play Barbie!

Pan Am (2008)/American Airlines Stewardess Barbie (1961)

Birds of Prey (2020)/Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Barbie (1997)

I Tonya (2017)/ Olympic Skater Barbie (1997)

Mary, Queen of Scotts (2018)/Queen Elizabeth I Barbie (2004)

#barbie movie #barbie #margot robbie #greta gerwig #pan am #birds of prey #suicide squad #harley quinn #i tonya #tonya harding #mary queen of scots #queen elizabeth #gentlemen prefer blondes #diamonds are a girls best friend #marylin monroe #olympics #dolls #toys #mattel

[superstarbarbie1977]

Barbie Olympic Gymnast (1995)

#vintage barbie #my dolls #dolls #barbie #90s barbie #barbie dolls #olympic gymnast barbie

[barbielore]

I was always loosely under the impression that the first Olympic tie-in doll in the Barbie range was Olympic Gymnast Barbie for the 1996 Atlanta games, but as it turns out this is not the case.

The 1970s brought us "Gold Medal Barbie", including a range of different Olympic-themed outfits. To break down further, there were also a range of Barbies showing her and her friends competing in different events.

I believe, however, that Olympic Gymnast Barbie in 1996 was the first to be tied in to a specific Games, as well as the start of the trend of having Barbies representing the US in consecutive games going forward with specific tie-ins.

I have talked about Olympic Gymnast Barbie in many other posts before, because this is specifically a doll I remembered growing up with so she is always fresh in my mind.

If I talked about all the Summer and Winter Games tie-ins this would be such a long post that it would probably make people block on sight, so I'll save the Winter Games for a follow-up post.

Sydney 2000 had a wide range of dolls as tie-ins, including Swimming Champion Barbie, Paralympic Champion Becky, Olympic Fan Barbie and Olympic Pin Collector Barbie. There are probably several others as well that I have overlooked.

Barbie took a break again from the Games through 2004, 2008 and 2012 (though there are some non-Barbie fashion dolls produced by companies other than Mattel who are identified on reseller sites as a Barbie), making a kind of return in 2016 in a different way. Although there were no dolls that specifically tied into Barbie as a competitor, the 2016 Games inspired a few tie-in collectors Barbies in the likeness of specific Olympians.

Laurie Hernandez, a solo silver medalist and a team gold medalist gymnast at the Rio Games, and Ibtihaj Muhammad, bronze medalist fencer, were among the "Sheroes" honoured this way.

The 2020 (technically 2021) Games in Tokyo brought a new wave of Barbie competing as an athlete, in a variety of sports.

Most of her outfits heavily featured Barbie pink, alongside a Tokyo 2020 jersey.

No Barbies yet have dropped for Paris 2024, but I have to assume it is only a matter of time, as a range of athlete Barbies really fits with Mattel's branding of the doll right now.

#barbie #barbie history #vintage barbie #olympic barbies

[thelivesofourdolls]

Marsai at the Tulip farm near Amsterdam, Netherlands.

#Barbie #Mattel #Barbie doll #Doll #Fashion doll #Barbie olympics 2020 #Barbie tokyo 2020 karate #Doll collector #Doll photography #Styled dolls #Doll blog #Photo blog #Dolls that travel #The tulip farm #The netherlands

[eeveenicks]

Does anyone know if Weird Barbie was supposed to be a reference to the 1996 Olympic gymnast Barbie? I noticed in the scene where the girl was playing with her that “Spice Up Your Life” was playing and that came out in 1997.

I had Olympic gymnast Barbie back then and I remember it being really easy to make her do splits (and kind of hard to stop her from doing splits.) And I’m sure a lot of them looked weird after a year of being played with.

I’m not sure if this is already a common theory but it was my first thought when I saw Kate McKinnon’s character in the Barbie movie. Thoughts?

#barbie #barbie movie #weird barbie #Olympic gymnast Barbie #kate mckinnon #barbie theory

[jennyshow-art]

She stole flowers from Elysian Fields.

He stole her.

#greeky mythology #greek myth au #hades and persephone #hades #persephone #digital art #my art #barbie meme #olymp au

[haveamagicalday]

Battle of the Barbies! Round 4: Career

This is round 4 of the bracket. All other polls in can be found here.

#olympic gymnast #dentist barbie #barbie #barbies #barbie dolls #battle of the barbies #my post #doll community #dollcore #doll collection #doll collector #barbie core #dolls #non disney #polls