MUSLIM WORLD: Barbie's 50th anniversary Islamic makeover

From Barbie Beach to Pilot Barbie to Hard Rock Barbie, the glamorous and iconic doll has undergone many makeovers since her creation 50 years ago, but none of her previous outfits has probably stirred as much buzz as her latest Islamic look.

It's Barbie in a burka, as it's been dubbed by the yellow press.

Wearing the traditional Islamic dress with a mesh eyehole, she went under the hammer along with 500 other Barbie dolls dressed in unique outfits at an auction in Florence, Italy, at the renowned auction house Sotheby’s to raise funds for Save the Children. 

The auction, held in late November, was part of the celebrations put on for Barbie this year as she celebrated her 50th anniversary.

In her new look, Barbie also appeared in a line of stylish turquoise, lime-green, orange-colored burkas and regular head-covering Muslim veil, known as hijab.

The set of multicultural Barbies, including the burka-clad one, was dressed by the Italian designer Eliana Lorena in a project backed by Barbie's owner, Mattel.

Opinion has been divided on Burka Barbie. 

Fan Angela Ellis, who has a collection of more than 250 Barbie dolls, thought it was a good idea to introduce a veiled Barbie. That way, children living in conservative Islamic countries would have a doll they could identify with.

“Bring it on, Burka Barbie," Britain’s the Sun newspaper quoted her as saying. "This is really important for girls, wherever they are from, they should have the opportunity to play with a Barbie that they feel represents them.” 

But not everyone shared such excitement over Barbie’s new conservative Islamic look.

Critics such as Barbara Kay in Canada slammed Barbie’s Muslim dress as a “symbol of oppression” and ripped Ellis’ commentary in an article recently published in Canada’s the National Post newspaper.

“I have seen some pretty tawdry advertising campaigns in my time, but I must say this one takes the cake for insensitivity. What's next in dolls that are 'important for girls' to play with? ‘Illiterate Barbie’? ‘Forced-Marriage Barbie'?" she wrote.

Instead, Kay branded Burka Barbie a “mockery of disempowered women” who, she said, have been “stripped of human dignity."

 She felt the doll had no place in Mattel’s line of “diversity” Barbies. 

“There can be no parallel between these travesties of multiculturalism and other 'diversity' Barbies -- brown Barbies, native-dress Barbies, pilot Barbies -- avatars that reflect the natural appearance and truly traditional garb and career choices of free women,” she wrote.

The Barbie also has managed to stir the pot in the blogosphere.

Responding to a post on the blog Kabobfest, which argues that "it's kinda somewhat cool" of Mattel to put out a veiled Barbie, one commentator sarcastically suggested the Barbie makers introduce a line of “neocon pro-freedom Barbies" to balance out Burka Barbie.

Burka Barbie is not the first Islamic-styled doll for girls.

Back in 2003, the United Arab Emirates-based company Newboy launched the Muslim doll Fulla, resulting in some fierce competition for Barbie.

Unlike the skimpy and revealing outfits of blond and blue-eyed Barbie, dark-eyed Fulla wears more modest clothes and hairdos, to the delight of the authorities in conservative Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran who previously targeted the original Barbie in crackdowns.

In 2003, Saudi Arabia called Barbie a “symbol of decadence to the perverted West” and banned the doll. Last year, Barbie came under fire in Iran when Iranian prosecutor Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi said the dolls were “destructive culturally and a social danger.”

Barbie's veiled rival has become a smash hit in the Middle East, with more than 1.5 million dolls sold in the first two years of its making.

-- Alexandra Sandels in Beirut

Photos, from top: Barbie received an Islamic makeover for her 50th anniversary. Italy's Eliana Lorena designed the 500 Barbie dolls, including Burka Barbie, that recently were auctioned in Italy. Credit: Caters.  Barbie's veiled rival Fulla has become a bestseller in the Arab world. Credit: AFP

Comments

[Zabie Mansoory]

As a Muslim American, I feel very offended by this. We are just taking advantage of the backward view of these 'Muslim' countries who force their women and girls to wear that horrible burkah.

[Ted Edwards]

Great, let's encourage girls to cover up head to toe with mesh eye-holes to keep watch on their male owners. How about Islamic Barbie that gets an education, a career? Demeaning tradition should be dropped.

[mahasti]

I completely agree with Kay. Her "What's next" questions (Illeterate or Forced Marriage Barbie?) are spot on; I can't imagine how anyone with any conscience could ignore them.

[Monica]

I think that were not taking into account that Muslims all over the world wear these types of outfits that don't have anything to do with terrorism, or woman's rights. Yes it is a cultural norm in certain countries but plenty of women in so called free countries wear a burka because of their religion, and because they choose to do so.

Barbie is and always has been demeaning to women. Why not let it be demeaning to Muslim girls and women as well.?

[DRE DAWG]

All you see is the burka...did you notice the other dolls in the larger photo that are wearing regular clothes that are more conservative?

Money talks and Barbie can not be out done by Fulla. This is our culture ladies and gents....money, money, money, money, money, money!!!! Why does that surprise you?

[Rick]

How stupid.

[Mark]

I didn't realize that so many a--holes read and comment here on the LA Times website.

[Marcy]

I think that it's being FAIR to create such Barbie fashions but I wonder if it's really promoting a sense of accepting that all people are EQUAL, regardless of where they came from. Didn't the USA do that from the beginning?

[carol duran]

the real point is : more things for consumers to buy
so a handful of rich people stay rich...

[Brettstrodamus]

Sort of like how French Fries became "freedom fries" will the honorable republican't grand wizards of the senate rename this "moving target Barbie"?

[Ali]

I agree with the author that all kids everywhere should have a barbie that they can identify with or one that represents them. But at the same time kids are impressionable, not all muslim people cover there face or cover there head or wear this outfit s,o kids might start linking this outfit to Islam which isn't necessarily the correct representation. Islam talks about dressing modestly and a true reprsentation might be that the outfit under the burka is just as normal as someone else out there, which in reality it is.

[cefbjnij]

Coming soon, Suicide Bomber Barbie!!!!

[Chris]

In a way, "burka barbie" is similar to the original barbie in that the both attempt to persuade young girls that the male view of how women should behave is correct. So they both promote institutionalized sexism in the original country that they appear. In other countries, they are radical. So: original Barbie promotes sexism in the US but is a dangerous radical concept in Iran; burka Barbie promotes sexism in Saudi Arabia but is a dangerous radical concept in the US, because it promotes the absolute public de-sexualization of women.

[Sabrina]

Now this really surprises me. I thought in Islam it was against their religion to have any sort of images like this. Seems a bit disrespectful to me, an attempt to impose Western ideals on them.

[Bette Noir]

Kay mentions other Barbies as "avatars that reflect the natural appearance and truly traditional garb and career choices of free women."

She's kidding, right? Barbie, with her 18-inch waist and 46-inch bust has never reflected anyone's "natural appearance," and the gold lame-miniskirted "astronaut" costume on Astronaut Barbie certainly doesn't reflect anyone's "traditional garb."

Let Burkha Barbie be.

[Dan]

This is truly a DISGUSTING development. More importantly to the obvious where is NOW protesting the oppression of women......or do they just protest Republicans?

[Jimmy Coffin]

Bomb vest Jihad Barbie is next.....

[Inland Empire]

Anything to make a buck!

[Citlalmina]

Great! Not every girl should be stuck with an exposed white-blue-eyed baby doll. The designer is right in stating that little girls should be represented in the dolls that they play with. This allows for a healthier self-esteem.
Women come in all shapes and sizes. And we must add differnt cultural dress. Go Burka barbie! I commend you for that!!!!

[Larry Dallas]

Ken comes with an exploading vest.