Barbie’s birthday

Jo Lumb pays homage to one of the great ladies of our time

9 MARCH 2009 marked the fiftieth birthday of a very special lady: Barbara Millicent Roberts. More commonly known as Barbie, this is a woman who boasts a résumé of 100 different careers, a two times candidacy for president of the United States, and a yearly wealth of approximately $1.5 billion. And all this without a grey hair in sight.

Still looking good for 50!

Barbie was born to American toy manufacturers Elliot and Ruth Handler. She was conceived after seeing their daughter Barbara (hence the name) playing with infant paper dolls and giving them adult roles. The initial concept was to produce a plastic doll with a womanly figure that would help children ‘realize their dreams and goals through play.’ Despite the fact that my own Barbies may not have helped me plan my lifelong ambitions, I will readily admit that they are a prominent feature when reminiscing upon my many fond childhood memories.

Amid a vast array of swanky birthday celebrations, reaching the half-century milestone also allowed a perfect opportunity for people to reflect on the plastic phenomenon. Barbie has not only influenced children’s playtimes, but also adult lives. While images of Katie Price’s wedding day spring to my mind on combining the words ‘adult’ and ‘Barbie’, at the launch of the Barbie Dream Beetle Convertible car (one of her many lavish gifts) Laura Soave, the Manager of Marketing at Volkswagen of America, said: ‘Barbie has made a remarkable impact on pop culture history, and still remains a cultural icon today.’

When thinking of her many successes it would seem that there is actually a lot to be learnt from Barbie, who has marketed herself as one of the most successful business women of all time. From working as a McDonalds cashier to serving as a Navy Officer, she has undoubtedly cemented herself as a respectable pillar of society, all the while doing so with a dazzling Hollywood smile on her face. And better yet, there are most definitely brains behind the beauty, she has both a medical and veterinarian degrees under her size quadruple-zero belt.

Although her outfits may leave little to the imagination, there is no doubting Barbie’s decorum. After a 43 year romance (yes, she started early) Barbie left boyfriend Ken to embrace life as independent woman. Any celebrity who manages a four decade romance with no surface of a sex tape is a very classy lady in my eye.

It seems that the only criticisms she faces are those related to her unrealistic body proportions. If Barbie were to be human, and of an average height of 5 ft 6 ins, then her relative waist size would be 20 ins (this is three inches less than Victoria Beckham, although not unheard of), her bust 27 ins and hips 29 ins. It is fair to say that Barbie’s BMI would fall below the minimum healthy 17 per cent, but let’s be honest, it’s not realistic that she would be an astronaut and a Spice Girl in the same lifetime, so I think we can cut her some slack. My only personal concern is that ex-boyfriend Ken was named so after Elliot and Ruth’s son. Technically Barbie and Ken are therefore siblings, and thus their relationship is a little incestual for my liking. But I suppose choice is somewhat limited when you’re a plastic doll.

Sadly, Barbie’s market share has suffered since the Bratz Dolls were introduced in 2001. However, after reading an article, ‘Bratz Begets Brats’, which branded the dolls as tarty-party girls, I feel confident that the Barbie role model will forever reign, and rightly so. As her website boldly states: ‘It’s Barbie’s world. We just play in it.’

Sat Nav – Kids 2.0

Annie Gregory reviews the new Sat Nav watch for kids

Most parents would roll their eyes at the idea of yet another batch of electronically tagged kids hitting our streets, but a recent invention of a locally based company suggests otherwise.

Worcester’s LOK8U have devised a GPS wristwatch aimed at helping parents track their child’s every move, ensuring they always remain safe.  Despite a litany of youngsters disappearing over the past two decades, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, Sarah Payne in the mid 1990’s and the ongoing search for Madeline McCann, why weren’t these life-saving gadgets invented sooner?

With only 20% of children now being able to go out and play, the digital bracelet offers a parent or guardian the opportunity to put more trust in their child leaving the house and remaining safe. Parents will use a website to interact with the NUM8 watch, using satellite navigation, and receive a text message indicating a street name or postcode and a link to GOOGLE MAPS to establish the child’s whereabouts.

Ruling kids’ lives all over the world

As Chief Executive of LOK8U, Steven Salmon, describes, the tracker is essentially aimed at sub-teens, they will be oblivious to the trackers and under the impression that it is just a simple digital watch. Even if removed and put into a rucksack, the watch remains in the child’s proximity and can still be tracked. Taking into account all possibilities, he stated that even if removed from the child forcibly, parents can receive a notifying alert. 

Sounds flawless. Salmon further stated that ‘it would be nice if every child in the world wore one of these’, forcing us to consider that it is only a matter of time before every adult does too. Governments could keep an eye on those threatened by international conflict, overbearing mothers could force their gap year twenty-somethings to add one to their already overflowing backpack. Wives could track their husbands. But is this just another step forward into an over-controlled Big Brother society?

Is this product to become as essential as the mobile phone? There is a risk of becoming dependent and of course the debate over where parents are to draw the line. At what level does a child playing outside become unsafe? With teenagers becoming ever-more autonomous,  adults could feel the need to strap a NUM8 Child GPS tracker to their wrist too. For a parent who has relied on the device for the majority of their child’s life, at some point needs to consider that their teen will become an adult and can no longer be wrapped in cotton wool. 

There of course exists a niche market, the product could potentially only get purchased by those of a security conscious, middle-class background. Thus, there is a loophole in terms of how this will realistically serve to make our society become safer. Parents of more deprived areas are the ones who have children who could perhaps be in more danger, but who are not in the position to afford £149.99 for a plastic watch. With a further charge of £4.99 a month for the service, this idea could be a pipe dream for most.

Having nobly worked on the product, dedicating two years of his life to enabling children to go out and play safely, Steven Salmon believes that even if he can save one child, then his work has been worth it.