Ruth Handler was not just the wife of the co-founder of Mattel. She was also the president of the toy company (Cross, 2013) and a female entrepreneur (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023). As a female entrepreneur in the 1930s, Ruth Handler did not have it easy, as at that time the labor market in the field of entrepreneurship was heavily dominated by men (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023). Nevertheless, according to Ruth, it was quite an exhilarating experience to be the only woman in a world full of men. In an interview, Ruth said that it was typical of her that she didn't let anyone stop her when she was trying to make an impression or stay on center stage. It was the same when Ruth Handler started to bring her latest idea to the market. The Barbie (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023).
When her daughter Barbara was younger Ruth often watched her daughter play with paper dolls (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023). She noticed how her daughter sat there and acted out in adult situations. Ruth could observe how she and her friends projected their dreams of being grown-ups through paper dolls (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023). This was when Ruth first had the idea of creating a realistic grown-up doll whose clothes could be changed (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023). In fact, at that time there were already three-dimensional dolls whose clothes could be changed (Cross, 2013). However, these dolls were exclusively baby dolls (Cross, 2013 & Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023) that allowed young girls to take on the role of a mother. At the time, this was in connection with the fact that girls were given the role of housewife and mother (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023).
But Ruth wanted more than that. Since Ruth has never let herself be stopped from doing what she dreams of, her idea of a realistic grown-up doll should serve as a symbol that girls should be allowed to dream (Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023). They should dream of growing up and being able to do and be anything they want. Since the doll was inspired by Barbara's need for a role model, she named the doll after her daughter (Cross, 2013). And so "Barbie" was launched on the market in 1959 (Cross, 2013 & Giacomin & Lubinski, 2023).