Barbie

"Mom, Zach ruined one of my Barbies again! Mom, Emma ripped my Barbie's hair out."

These sayings were common occurrences of mine, as a middle child, meaning my Barbie's went through the trenches. Missing hair, colored faces, torn clothes; all of these items were normal to see on my beloved dolls.

For all who have had to face destroyed toys, we can happily celebrate Barbie-In-A-Blender Day.

This holiday, celebrated July 27, was started by Freeculture.org to show support for photographer and artist Tom Forsythe. Creators hoped to raise awareness about the freedom of expression - primarily artistic expression - that is severely lacking in society. Freeculture.org recently renamed its organization to Students For A Free Culture, after the holiday started growing.

Barbie's worst nightmare wouldn't have become possible, without the creator of the very first Barbie, Ruth Handler.

This doll was sculpted based on a German doll known as "Bild Cilli." Mattel, Inc. then launched the first Barbie doll in 1959.

The doll made major headlines for its unique design, but was met with controversy as it was only a skinny, white model for many years. In recent times, new dolls have been made to represent every race, ethnicity, religion, and body, such as the first Barbie with Down Syndrome, a pregnant Barbie, and a plus-size blonde bombshell.

Despite the criticism, beloved Barbara Millicent Roberts has had many careers. She began her occupational path as a fashion designer in 1960, representing the new age of fashion that was in style. In 1961 she filled three jobs: a flight attendant, registered nurse and a ballerina. Her very first sports' debut began with a 1962 tennis match against her boyfriend, Ken. After many years of hard work, Barbie graduated with a degree in 1963, all while putting herself through school while working different jobs. Using her newly-signed degree, the beloved doll was a career woman in 1963, hitting the post-graduate job ladder. Like most individuals who love the water, she became a scuba diver in 1964. Taking a year off to dedicate herself to her new life, the blonde bombshell walked on the moon in 1965, four years before Buzz and Neil. Shortly after her expedition, she became a student teacher to study her passions.

While Barbie was on the moon and completing her teaching degree, Aqua released the song "Barbie Girl." Much to the group's surprise, it was an instant hit and became the official theme song of the blonde doll.

Almost a decade later, Barbie finished medical school and became a surgeon in 1973. Miss Americana was Barbie's title in 1974, when she won her first pageant. Not only is she a smart surgeon, but the doll won its first Olympic medal, in skiing, in 1975. With brains comes great beauty, shown by Barbie's modeling debut in 1977.

Making sure to stay fit throughout her long occupational path, in 1984, Barbie joined the fitness market as an aerobics instructor. In 1985, our favorite blonde launched her career as a veterinarian and landed on the moon, for the second time, a year later. Living through the rocking 80s, Barbie created her own band, Barbie and the Rockers, in 1986.

Five years later, in 1991, the doll launched her career as an Air Force pilot, showing Tom Cruise that women can do it better. Not only does she have a pilot background, but that year, she became a naval petty officer, and a year later, a Marine Corps sergeant.

The same year Barbie served as a Marine, she skyrocketed herself into the corporate world as a business executive and she even re-launched her music career as a rapper. Using her love for the U.S. military branches, Blondie became a member of the police force in 1993 and left shortly after to become a U.S. Army medic. Missing the thrill of an emergency, in 1995, Barbie became the best firefighter she could, showing the opposite sex that she can do it better than they can, even in heels.

In 1996, she rejoined the Olympics as a gymnast, earning her second gold medal. Although she enjoys risky careers, our beloved doll missed having a steady career and decided to become a dentist in 1997. While saving kids from cavities, a year later she decided to moonlight as a soccer player, baseball player and NASCAR driver. Not wanting to give up her sports' dreams, in 1999, Blondie joined the WNBA for the Dallas team, while being an airplane pilot at the same time.

Having multiple degrees and careers, Barbara Millicent Robert knew she would be the perfect president and launched her first presidential campaign in 2000. Representing the U.S. the best that she could, Barbie rejoined the Olympics by earning her third gold medal in swimming, a year after her presidential campaign. Missing the hustle and bustle of her daily life, the childhood toy went to the classroom as an art teacher in 2002.

While a teaching career is rewarding, our favorite blonde missed the thrill and decided to run for president a second time, in 2004. Using her rock star background, she auditioned for American Idol a measly year after her presidential race. She starred in a cooking TV show in 2008. After her TV show marathon, she launched yet another presidential run this same year.

Missing little babies, Barbie rejoined the workforce as a newborn baby doctor in 2009, only to become a news anchor and a computer engineer a short year later. As any smart woman would, the doll became a high-powered architect in 2011 and a fashion designer in 2012. Using her astronaut background, the all-powerful Barbie became a Mars explorer in 2013, many years before NASA ever could. Naturally, in 2014 the doll became an entrepreneur and broke into the tech market, and succeeded once again, as a game developer, in 2016.

Fourth time's the charm ... at least it is for Barbie. The doll ran for president, and vice-president, in 2016. Although she enjoys a presidential run, she misses her STEM life and became a scientist a year later. Realizing her love for science and space, Barbie decided to be a space scientist and an astronaut this same year, combining her two passions. Like many scientists, the Barbie loves exploring rocks, and used this passion to become a paleontologist in 2018. She also rejoined the STEM field by becoming a robotics engineer this same year.

Despite her long career history, the doll never represented a positive image for women, and certain artists wanted to make light of this, as Forythe did in 1997. In order to criticize consumer culture and objectification of women, he made a project entitled "Food Chain Barbie." The series of work featured photos of Barbie near or inside of a blender. The holiday has become well-known due to social media. Users are encouraged to share their take on a blender Barbie, honoring the legacy Forsythe set.

While the art community found the blender photos works of art, Mattel didn't think the same. Two years after the art project became famous, the company sued for copyright infringement. After several appeals that lengthened the process, Forsythe was awarded $1.8 million in the case of Mattel, Inc. vs. Forsythe, in 2004.

Although I can never get my Barbies back from my siblings' claws, I can now use their artistic takes in a different way. Instead of tossing a colored Barbie, I will create my own series of photographs showing my artistic expression, entitled "The Joys of Being A Middle Child."