Did you know Barbie was, among many other things, a Registered Nurse?
(Barbie from 1961...with the original packaging!)
Well, read this never reprinted story from Dell's Barbie and Ken #1 (1962) to find out about it!
You may have noticed that artist Norman Nodel deliberately drew Barbie (and to a lesser extent, Ken) to look like the actual doll, instead of a more "realistic" human.
The concept of the comic is that we're sitting in on a meeting of a Barbie Fan Club, where little girls talk about...you guessed it...Barbie!
In particular, her clothing and accessories, and how the girls imagine they'd interact with their plastic idol if she was a real person!
In this issue, four girls relate how they "met" Barbie...
As a stewardess (with Ken as the plane's pilot!)
As a ballerina (with Ken as the company's lead dancer)
As a nurse (with Ken as...well, you know already)
And finally, as a bride (with Ken as the groom)
Of course, Mattel already had playsets for each of these occupations on the store shelves...
The concept of the comic is that we're sitting in on a meeting of a Barbie Fan Club, where little girls talk about...you guessed it...Barbie!
In particular, her clothing and accessories, and how the girls imagine they'd interact with their plastic idol if she was a real person!
In this issue, four girls relate how they "met" Barbie...
As a stewardess (with Ken as the plane's pilot!)
As a ballerina (with Ken as the company's lead dancer)
As a nurse (with Ken as...well, you know already)
And finally, as a bride (with Ken as the groom)
Of course, Mattel already had playsets for each of these occupations on the store shelves...
Note: while Barbie is the star of the comic, Ken is the surgeon, and she's a nurse.
To be fair, in 1962, most little girls were culturally-conditioned to be nurses, not doctors.
Today, Barbie as an MD is an accepted concept...and quite a popular seller as well!
To be fair, in 1962, most little girls were culturally-conditioned to be nurses, not doctors.
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