Editing Barbie (section)

===Development===

[[File:Ruth Handler in 1961.jpg|thumb|Barbie creator [[Ruth Handler]] with an assortment of Barbie and Mattel products (1961)]]
[[Ruth Handler]] watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband [[Elliot Handler|Elliot]], a co-founder of the [[Mattel]] toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.<ref>Mary G. Lord, ''Forever Barbie: The unauthorized biography of a real doll'' ([[Bloomsbury Publishing]] USA, 2004).</ref>

During a trip to Switzerland in 1956 with her children Barbara and [[Kenneth Handler|Kenneth]], Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called [[Bild Lilli doll|Bild Lilli]].<ref name="WP-20230525">{{cite news |last=Javaid |first=Maham |title=Barbie's 'pornographic' origin story, as told by historians - A new trailer for the Barbie movie shows her visiting the real world. In reality, the doll was based on a German sex toy called Lilli. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/05/25/barbie-trailer-creator-pornographic-origin-doll/  |date=May 25, 2023 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230526144415/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/05/25/barbie-trailer-creator-pornographic-origin-doll/ |archivedate=May 26, 2023 |accessdate=May 26, 2023 }}</ref>{{efn|In an interview with Mary G. Lord, the author of ''Forever Barbie'', Ruth Handler said that she saw the doll in [[Lucerne]], Switzerland. However, the book points out that on other occasions Handler said that she saw the doll in [[Zürich]] or [[Vienna]].}} The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a satirical [[comic strip]] drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper ''[[Bild]]''.<ref name="Lilli">{{cite news |title=Sassy with a sidelong glance: Meet Lilli, Barbie's German inspiration |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/sassy-with-a-sidelong-glance-meet-lilli-barbie-s-german-inspiration-20230719-p5dpo0.html |access-date=August 29, 2023 |work=Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> The Lilli doll was first sold in [[West Germany]] in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.<ref name="Lilli"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Meet Lilli, the High-end German Call Girl Who Became America's Iconic Barbie Doll|url=http://www.messynessychic.com/2016/01/29/meet-lilli-the-high-end-german-call-girl-who-became-americas-iconic-barbie-doll/|website=Messy Nessy|access-date=10 February 2018|date=January 29, 2016}}</ref>

Upon her return to the United States, Handler redesigned the doll (with help from local inventor-designer [[Jack Ryan (designer)|Jack Ryan]]) and the doll was given a new name, ''Barbie'', after Handler's daughter Barbara. The doll made its debut at the [[American International Toy Fair]] in [[New York City]] on March 9, 1959.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://jwa.org/thisweek/mar/09/1959/ruth-mosko-handler | title=Ruth Mosko Handler unveils Barbie Doll | publisher=[[Jewish Women's Archive]] | access-date=8 March 2014}}</ref> This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday.