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| Ruth and her husband Elliot |
Ruth Mosko was born November 4, 1916
in Denver Colorado. She was the youngest of ten children of Jewish immigrants from Poland who came to the United States
in 1907 and then they settled in Denver Colorado. Her father was Jacob Mosko, he was a blacksmith who fled Poland so he could
avoid going to the Russian Army, there mother was Ida Mosko who was in very poor health most of Ruth's life, so
Ruths older siblings mainly raised her.
Ruth spent most of her early
years working in her parents drugstore. When Ruth was 19 she went to Hollywood for a vacation and then just decided
to stay there. Her high school sweetheart fallowed her to Hollywood and thats where they were married in 1938. Her husband
and her had to children Kenneth Robert and Barbra Joyce. The Barbie was named after there daughter and Ken was named
after there son.
In 1970 Ruth was diagnosed with breast
cancer and had to have her left breast removed and had it replaced with a fake one. Ruth ran the breast prosthesis companys,
which was known as Ruthton Corporation for fifteen years and then sold it to the Kimberly-Clark. Ruth and her husband
Elliot started in a Los Angeles garage. The Mattel company first began in 1945 making picture frams, but soon later began
making doll houses. In 1959 Ruth began to create dolls for the doll house and now they are known as Barbie and Ken. After
Mrs. Handler created the Barbie it helped change the way American girls spend there time and gave young girls a good idea
on how a person could be what ever they wanted considering the Barbie Doll did about everything.
Mrs. Handler was a hit with her invention
as soon as it was out in the world. All girls looked at barbie as an icon, but everybody didn't had the same views about this
hit. Some say that it gives girls the image that is misleading about there development as they get older. Also, critics say
that it may effect future career goals with what barbie does as a career. With all this said about her creation, Ruth did
not care about it or let it get the best of her. Instead, it ended up being sold in one hundered and fifty countries, and
more than a billion were sold. However, that never stopped critics and there views on this "Dream Doll."
Mattel Incorperated, which first started
as Ruth and Elliots small company that sold unsuccessful doll furniture out of old picture frams untill they begain creating the
barbie, and it then was at first charged with fraud. Because barbie had careers as being a doctor, an astronaut, and
other major and unreachable jobs, feminists said that it gives girls nothing but imaginary dream jobs that
they may not attain. With the high expectations that barbie has, such as looks, jobs, and situations she implies, girls may
become depressed and have low self esteem if they do not become her. Many had joked that barbie did not have
human like measurements such as long legs, short torso, long arms, and big breast with the rest of her body.
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| Ruth Handler and the Barbie doll |
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| Ruth and her Husband with Barbie |
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