Barbie’s Online Critics See Guise in Dolls

Barbie has been busy lately, what with her much-publicized breast-reduction surgery and the remodeling of her Dream House so that her new pal Share a Smile Becky can roll her pink wheelchair into the elevator.

Now the plastic princess has planted her pointed toe into a new cultural and political controversy by virtue of one of her recent incarnations: Puerto Rican Barbie, which was introduced by Mattel in February as part of its Dolls of the World collection.

An Internet debate is raging about the merits and demerits of the doll, her clothing, her skin color, her hair, and the back-of-the-box description of Puerto Rico and its history.

The issue has prompted serious discussion, satire and name-calling at a site devoted to Puerto Rican subjects. One correspondent urged others to put the matter in perspective, admonishing them to repeat this mantra: “It’s only a toy, it’s only a toy . . . “

This is only the latest Barbie brouhaha.

Barbie’s handlers earlier this week announced a make-over to produce a less busty Barbie. Then there was the embarrassing discovery a few months earlier that Becky, a disabled doll released with much fanfare, couldn’t fit her wheelchair into the elevator of the Dream House. In addition, Mattel has sued MCA over its satiric “Barbie Girl” video; sued Nissan over an advertisement in which a Barbie look-alike dumps a Ken look-alike for a GI Joe look-alike; and sued a popular doll magazine for copyright and trademark infringement after the magazine ran a picture of Barbie that Mattel didn’t like, which prompted “pink anger” and a monthlong boycott from a group of adult collectors.

The Barbie caught in the latest wrangle is vaguely ethnic in appearance while still retaining her essential Barbie-ness: Her hair is long, wavy and dark brown; her full-length, white ruffled dress is reminiscent of a 19th century party outfit; her skin is very light brown, suggesting Latin heritage or a good day on the beach with Malibu Ken.

The Barbie controversy heated up several weeks ago after the Institute for Puerto Rican Policy, a New York-based nonprofit policy center, posted on its Web site the text from the back of the pink box, which begins: “Hola (Hello) I’m Puerto Rican Barbie! I live in Puerto Rico, a beautiful place often called the Island of Enchantment.”

The Internet discussion group, which usually tackles weightier matters, exploded with more response than on any other subject so far, said Angelo Falcon, president of the institute.

Some of the discussion group members objected to Mattel’s depiction of the island’s history because it ignores the indigenous population, and to the company’s description of the commonwealth’s relationship with the U.S.

Some found Barbie’s skin too white, her features too Caucasian, her hair too straight, her clothing too suggestive of colonial oppression. This Barbie has become “the latest sounding board for Puerto Ricans to examine their political and cultural relationship with the mainland,” wrote Louis Aguilar, a columnist on Latino issues for Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service.

The Puerto Rican Barbie is part of a series that was begun in 1980 to expose girls to other cultures and introduce them to collecting, said Lisa McKendall, spokeswoman for El Segundo-based Mattel. “We have no intention of insulting the people of Puerto Rico in any way,” she said. “The description on the box is simplified because it’s meant for a little girl to understand. . . . The costume is a traditional dress,” not something a Puerto Rican woman would wear today.

Los Angeles resident Mari Bellas, who was born in Puerto Rico, bought the Barbie for her daughter’s fifth birthday because she sees it as a positive.

“I think it’s great that she could have a doll that she identifies with,” said Bellas, who writes a parenting column that appears in Spanish-language publications.