芭比，不只穿泳装和裙子
导读
陪伴一代代女孩成长的芭比娃娃已经59岁了，而在这半个多世纪的时间里，芭比娃娃也发生了不少改变，见证了世界对女性认知的成长。
Even though she hasn’t aged a day since she was “born”, one of the most famous figures in US culture recently turned 59. Barbie, the doll whose face is known all around the world, was created in 1959.
尽管自诞生之日起，她的容颜从未老去，但这位最著名的美国文化名人最近度过了59岁生日。芭比娃娃诞生于1959年，如今她的面孔无人不晓。
In the past half a century, a lot of toys have come and gone, but Barbie – short for Barbara – has always had a home on toy stores’ shelves. This is probably due to the fact that “she” is not just a toy, but a “barometer” of people’s changing attitudes toward women, as The New York Times put it.
在过去的半个世纪里，不少玩具都是昙花一现，但芭比娃娃 —— 全名是芭芭拉 —— 在玩具店的货架上总有一席之地。这或许是因为“她”并不仅仅是玩具，而正如《纽约时报》所言，是人们对于女性态度变化的“晴雨表”。
When Barbie was first introduced by Ruth Handler (1916 – 2002), co-founder of US toy company Mattel, she had good intentions. “Unlike playing with a baby doll – in which a little girl is pretty much limited to assuming the role of Mommy – Barbie has always represented the fact that a woman has choices,” she said, according to her autobiography, Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story.
当美国美泰玩具公司共同创始人露丝·汉德勒首次推出芭比娃娃时，她赋予了芭比美好的意愿。“小女孩玩洋娃娃时，往往局限于扮演妈妈的角色，而芭比的不同之处就在于，她代表了女性能有所选择，”她在其自传《梦想中的娃娃：露丝·汉德勒的故事》中这样写道。
But these good intentions still didn’t prevent the earliest versions of Barbie being available only in a sexy swimsuit or a housewife’s outfit, neither of which gave the image of a girl with many “choices”.
但尽管存在这些美好的意愿，最早期的芭比娃娃却依然只能穿着性感的泳装或者家庭主妇的衣服，无法展现女孩的多种“选择”。
During the following years, fortunately, the company made some positive progress, including introducing the first black and Hispanic Barbies and making Barbie separate from her long-time “boyfriend” Ken, as they needed to “spend some quality time – apart”, as Mattel noted.
幸运的是，在接下来的几年里，该公司做出了一些积极的改进，如制作了首款非裔和西班牙裔芭比娃娃，以及将芭比与交往多年的“男友”肯分开，正如美泰公司所指出的那样，因为两人需要“分开独自享受美好时光”。
And on March 8, this year’s Women’s Day, the company launched a new line of “Inspiring Women”, with dolls of famous female figures from throughout history, including legendary US pilot Amelia Earhart and UK boxer Nicola Adams.
而在今年3月8日妇女节期间，该公司推出了“励志女性”新系列，娃娃们都是历史上知名的女性人物，如美国传奇飞行员阿梅莉亚·埃尔哈特和英国拳击手尼古拉·亚当斯。
But in spite of more “good intentions”, the line has its problems. The Nicola Adams doll, for example, unlike the athlete herself, has no muscle at all. Instead, it’s designed to have a slim body, just like other Barbies. And this, according to Independent reporter Biba Kang, exactly reflects the latest attitude that the world has toward women.
但尽管“美好的意愿”变得更多了，该系列娃娃也存在着问题。打个比方，该系列中的尼古拉·亚当斯娃娃和运动员本人不同，看不出一点儿肌肉。这款娃娃被设计成和其他芭比娃娃一样，身材苗条。《独立报》记者碧玛·康认为，这一点正好反映了世界对于女性的最新态度。
“We’re allowed to be fit, but we’re not supposed to be too muscular (肌肉发达的). We’re allowed to be clever, but smart women are meant to look like models with glasses on. We’re allowed to be creative and artistic, but quickly become ‘crazy’ if we start to look too individualistic or unkempt,” she wrote.
“我们可以变得健美，但我们不可以肌肉发达。我们可以很聪明，但聪慧的女性得看起来像戴了眼镜的模特。我们可以拥有创作和艺术的才华，但如果我们看起来太过自我或者邋遢，很快就变成了‘疯狂’。”她写道。
Yes, Barbie isn’t perfect. But the mere fact that she’s spent her life trying to break the norm one bit at a time is perhaps the one thing that most real females can relate to.
是的，芭比并不完美。但她一生都在试着一点点打破固有准则，而这一点或许是现实生活中大多数女性能够借鉴之处。
