Barbie is far more than a toy; she is a cultural icon whose influence over the past six decades has been immense and contested. Since her debut by Mattel in 1959, the 11.5-inch plastic doll has reflected and shaped shifting social norms, aspirations, and ideals. 1 Invented by Ruth Handler and inspired by a German adult doll Bild Lilli, Barbie was introduced as the first mass-produced doll in America with an adult woman’s appearance. Barbie was a game-changer in the toy industry, as children could now play with a doll that looked like a grown woman rather than a baby doll, opening up new imaginative possibilities. Over the ensuing decades, Barbie became ‘the most famous doll in the world’ and a ‘potent icon of American popular culture’, recognised globally as an embodiment of discursive western beauty ideals and consumer-drive lifestyles. 2 From the beginning, Barbie also sparked debate. Enthusiasts celebrate Barbie’s motto ‘You can be anything’ and her endless careers which framed the possible for female empowerment, while other argue that it was done so often unrealistically and not recognising the structural barriers to female equality.