• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Deborah Munro, Author

APEX, a Sci-Fi Thriller Set in Rural Oregon

  • Home
  • About
  • Science
  • Blog
  • Publications
  • Contact

Barbies vs Baby Dolls

May 26, 2020 By Deborah Munro 3 Comments

I received my first Barbie doll for my sixth birthday. She was a Miss America doll, complete with short brunette hair in an up-do, a gold bodice on a white chiffon skirt, a red velvet cape trimmed in white fur, plus a tiara, bouquet of roses, silver scepter, and jaunty sash that declared her the winner. I had never seen a more beautiful doll in my life, and I was ecstatic.

The Miss America Barbie, a barbie in the epic competition of barbies vs baby dolls.
Miss America Barbie

Barbies vs Baby Dolls, the Beginning

Thus began the Battle of the Grandmothers. My mother’s mom, Lois, was a creative free spirit who could decorate, landscape, and artfully arrange things at a level found in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Standing barely five foot two, she’d wear tight white pants and heeled sneakers to clean out a shed. She would also surreptitiously take me out of school so we could play, just the two of us, much to my mother’s chagrin. My early gifts from my grandmother were cute and innocent, like the cowboy mug whose hat snapped on to make a lid. A straw poked through the hat allowing me to drink my milk, but that all changed when Lois learned that my father’s mother, Ruth, thought Barbie dolls were inappropriate toys for little girls.

Ruth was the devout daughter of missionaries, the seventh child after six boys. She was over five foot ten and was raised in Korea, where she always felt like a giant. She met my grandfather at church while she was studying nursing at Cal Berkeley. He was studying to become a dentist, and when he graduated, she gave up her nursing career to be the stay-at-home doctor’s wife, hosting luncheons for other wives and pursuing her own passions on the side. She was incredibly gifted, able to play piano concertos and create the most magnificent paintings in oil pastels. She also firmly believed that girls should play with baby dolls in order to learn to be good mothers someday. Thus, my gifts from her were the most amazing lifelike babies you can imagine. I had ones that would cry when tipped over, ones that would take a bottle and wet themselves, and ones that could talk and grow their hair.

I couldn’t have cared less. These baby dolls were the size of actual infants, and Ruth purchased real infant wear for them, even knit them little booties and sweaters. Being an obedient and people pleasing child, I always cooed over them and played with them to make her happy, but once home, they went up on the high shelf in my closet. My Barbie dolls, on the other hand, were in a well-used plastic tub on my floor.

One day, when Ruth came to visit, I showed her my Miss America Barbie. She pursed her lips and said it was outrageous how young women were prancing around on stage in their swimwear and being judged based on their height, weight, and measurements in order to win a scholarship. Looking back, she made a good point, but all I saw was her disapproval. I thought Miss America Barbie was pretty, and I loved her long gown and high heels. I had since received a Quick Curl Barbie and a Pretty Changes Barbie who had hair pieces and this sunshiny yellow outfit, and I played with them and talked about them constantly.

Pretty Changes Barbie

I don’t remember who told Lois about Ruth’s reaction to my Barbie dolls, probably my mother, but I do know that I was suddenly swimming in Barbies and all their accoutrements due to Lois’ generosity. I had the Barbie Corvette, which was a sleek pink convertible, the Barbie Country Camper with its tiny convertible table/bed and mini fridge, and even the Barbie Airplane which folded out from a suitcase-like shape into the split open cabin of a Boeing jet. That last one caused a row between my mother and Lois. They argued loud and long, my mother saying Lois was doing this only to provoke Ruth, and Lois gleefully admitting that’s exactly what she was doing, but she had her reasons, too. She said, “Today’s girls should practice being teenagers and young, unmarried women, for God’s sake. Lighten up!”

Barbie Airplane

My mother was a reformed hippy and had nothing to really preach on the matter of how young women should behave. So, she relented and would sew outfits for my Barbie dolls. One time, she made my Barbie a long, fitted black and white gown with white fur trim at the bell-shaped base. She also sewed white rabbit fur into the softest, most luxurious coat imaginable, and of course then said to keep it a secret from Ruth.

Unaware, Ruth began her own campaign of swaying my doll loyalties to something more wholesome by buying me more and more babies to play with and accompanying them with doll buggies, bassinets, and other items. Threatened by my mother, I hid all my Barbies and brought out a baby doll whenever Ruth was present, and it wasn’t a chore. My favorite of them was Baby Tender Love who could drink, wet, and squeak.

Baby Tender Love

When I was in my late teens, I sold all my baby dolls at a flea market and received top dollar for them, because they were in almost new condition.

Lois died when I was seven. My memories of her are solid gold, like the wedding ring she gave me months before she died. I wore it on my pinky finger until it no longer fit, and I passed it on to my eldest daughter when she was old enough to appreciate it. In my treasured belongings, I still have a few of my Barbie dolls, including Pretty Changes Barbie, who reminds me of my vibrant grandmother.

When I was twenty five and pregnant with my eldest daughter, Ruth died. I had saved all the clothes she bought for my baby dolls those many years ago, and my daughter wore them as an infant. She also wore all the baby clothes my grandmother had purchased and saved to give me “someday” when I had my first child. They were presented to me at my baby shower, and I cried my eyes out.

My daughters never played with dolls. They preferred Beanie Babies, and I often smile and wonder what my grandmothers would have thought of this turn of events. Odds are good they would have finally agreed about something.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Deborah Munro Tagged With: Barbie dolls, dolls, grandmothers

Deborah Munro

Science is pure joy for me. I love understanding how things work and teaching others what I've learned. Thus, I am a bioengineering professor, scientist, and author. I've recently expatriated from the beautiful Pacific NW and have founded a new life for myself in New Zealand.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Claudia says

    May 26, 2020 at 2:22 pm

    I loved baby dolls and barbies. I don’t remember any discussion about either.
    But when I became a parent there was much debate.
    Enjoyed a smile while reading this.

    Reply
    • Deborah Munro says

      May 26, 2020 at 3:18 pm

      Thanks, Claudia. I really enjoyed my Barbie dolls as a child, and it’s sad that she’s become such a controversial doll over time. I learned how to sew making outfits for my dolls, and my sister and I learned how to create stories, too. We spent countless hours designing worlds for our Barbie dolls to live in. Now, you can download a story line for your doll….sigh.

      Reply
  2. Sarah Mahmood says

    June 1, 2020 at 8:43 am

    Excellent idea for a post! Glad I stopped by 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Creativity is Vulnerability
  • Barbies vs Baby Dolls
  • The Cost of Yes
  • What 2 Broken Wrists Have Taught Me
  • Kiwi Diary – Hiking in Paradise

Categories

  • Craft of Writing
  • Deborah Munro
  • Interviews
  • Kiwi Diary
  • Social Media for Authors

BLOG SUBSCRIPTION

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive new posts by email.

Footer

Follow Deborah Munro

If you're a science enthusiast, like bonus material and short stories, love learning about the craft of writing, or want to know the latest on APEX, here's your chance! Be notified of new content and receive short posts by subscribing today.
  • Count Me In!

Facebook Author Page

Facebook Author Page

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

INKSHARES

Please pre-order your copy of APEX here.

APEX cover

Instagram Feed

deborahmunro.author

Deborah Munro is the author of APEX, a contemporary world sci-fi thriller set in rural Oregon.

deborahmunro.author
Cricket game in New Zealand. Loving the ability to Cricket game in New Zealand. Loving the ability to be in a crowd! 😍
Gorgeous day for kiteboarding. I drive by regularl Gorgeous day for kiteboarding. I drive by regularly, finally stopped to take a video. The water, at its deepest, is about a foot.
Happy Valentine's Day! Chocolate raspberry ganach Happy Valentine's Day! 
Chocolate raspberry ganache pie with Oreo crust.
Instagram post 17844503747527875 Instagram post 17844503747527875
If you want to know more about my twisted sense of If you want to know more about my twisted sense of humor, this made me laugh and laugh and laugh 🤣. 💯
Decaf iced Americano with a shot of vanilla kind o Decaf iced Americano with a shot of vanilla kind of day.
On every walk, there's that one thing you see that On every walk, there's that one thing you see that brightens your day. From my new house, the walk to the bus stop offers this rock sculpture. I think of it as a woman crouching in an ornate cloak. 😍
2020 was a difficult year for most of us, but it a 2020 was a difficult year for most of us, but it also contained many bright spots for me, and I'd like to highlight a few of them.  I started the year in Tonga with my biomed students and my friend Dawn. Amanda became a divemaster and also released her first two singles, and Carolyn graduated with a Master's degree in clinical psychology and is establishing themselves as a counselor. Carolyn's new puppy, Luna, joined the family, making me a granddog-parent twice over (with Simba being my first granddog). I spent the lockdown hiking and knitting, and I even created some how-to videos on socks, which was fun. Once things returned to normal in NZ, I took advantage of the lack of tourists and had a road trip with a friend, taking in all of the south island. I also entered and won the HealthTech Supernode Challenge, providing much needed publicity for my research. I even obtained my New Zealand residency, which enabled me to purchase my first house here sooner than I anticipated. So, here's to us all having a prosperous and joyful 2021! Happy New Year!
We're having oliebollen for our New Year's celebra We're having oliebollen for our New Year's celebration. It's a traditional Dutch doughnut with raisins, and I can confirm they are delicious 😋.
Zoom Christmas with Settlers of Catan and my kids. Zoom Christmas with Settlers of Catan and my kids.
Merry Christmas from New Zealand! It's summer here Merry Christmas from New Zealand! It's summer here and usually warm and sunny, although the next few days will be drizzly. I'll be celebrating with friends, as I can't travel to see my kids in Denver. Instead, @once_upon_a_munro, @amandamunromusic, and I are planning a Zoom Christmas, something I would never have envisioned a year ago. Thank goodness for the digital age we live in!
https://deborahmunroauthor.com/blog/ As a creative https://deborahmunroauthor.com/blog/
As a creative, I well know that feeling of releasing the product of my soul to the world. It’s about as appealing as walking naked down a city street, and on a bad hair day. To create is to be vulnerable, and so it is no wonder that so many of us cringe at the thought of exposing ourselves to critique, judgement, and perhaps even rejection.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

HOME | ABOUT | SCIENCE | BLOG | PUBLICATIONS | CONTACT

Copyright © 2021 Deborah Munro, Author

WordPress Website by Waterlink Web | connecting your customers with you

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.