I don’t know why Barbie ever got such a bad rap. Mattel changed her image in recent years by making her more of a “career girl”, but I don’t think she needed it.

It was an obvious attempt to quiet the angry masses who said Barbie is a bad influence.

Even if they put Barbie on the moon (they did, btw), those people still wouldn’t buy the dolls for their kids because they had a problem with her body.

Ahhhhh… it’s A DOLL. Who gives a flip about her dimensions?

I loved Barbie but I wasn’t trying to look like her. Instead, I was a short, chubby tom-boy with buck teeth, a mullet and a rat tail. My favorite t-shirt had Garfield on it saying, “I love food.”

Yes, I know in reality Barbie would have triple Ds and a 10 inch waist, but it didn’t make me feel insecure. In fact, once I was leaning over in front of my friend while wearing my cool, oversized Garfield t-shirt. She looked down the neck hole and said, “Wow you have big ones”, about my pre-pubescent bug bites and I wanted to die a thousand deaths. Barbie definitely did not make me want to have bigger boobs.

However…

I loved Barbie because of the glitz and glamour I was lacking in my own life.

I wanted a Crystal Gayle look-alike Barbie that came with an apparatus that let me create gorgeous twists in her hair.

I wanted Barbie to dazzle the rodeo crowd when she stepped out in her silky, fringed outfit – complete with black cowgirl boots. Everyone would stop and stare as she gave them a big wink, then rode off into the sunset on her horse.

My Barbie owned a townhouse AND a mansion with a luxurious pool.

She drove her own giant yellow camper into the wilderness when she needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Barbie and I both liked cool cars, so she drove a Corvette. Two actually – one pink, one silver. She’d let Ken drive once in a while.

Barbie luxuriated in a nice bubble bath after a long day on the farm, or being a rock star, or a newscaster, or a talk show host – whatever I wanted her to be that day.

Barbie was a very positive influence on me. She made me want to strive. I knew that if I wanted anything nice, I’d have to work for it.

I was lucky enough to find a husband who wants the same things as me and we work together to make it happen. But please believe I’d be doing the exact same thing without him. Barbie can take a lot of credit for that.