The first Barbie wore a black and white swimsuit and had her hair in a ponytail（马尾辫）． She looked very grown-up． But any concerns that parents would not want to buy it for little girls were soon proved wrong．

　　Mattel sold 300,000 Barbie dolls in the first year at a price of three dollars． Today, a fifty-year-old Barbie in good condition might cost more than 27,000 dollars．

　　Barbie dolls have represented 50 different nationalities and are sold in 150 countries． Mattel says 90% of girls in the United States between the ages of three and ten own at least one Barbie doll． It says girls between the ages of three and six own an average of about 12．

　　Barbie also faced her share of critics． A well-known example was when women’s education groups objected to a talking Barbie doll that declared, among other things, “Math class is tough!” Mattel agreed to change it． Saudi Arabia has banned Barbie dolls． And a lawmaker in the American state of West Virginia would like to do the same． Last month, he proposed banning sales of Barbie and other dolls that influence girls to put too much importance on physical beauty．

　　Some people say Barbie is an unhealthy role model for young girls． Robin Gerber disagrees． She wrote a book about Barbie． She points out dolls like scientist Barbie and race car driver Barbie． She says people who criticize Barbie should tell girls the story of the businesswoman who created her． She says Ruth Handler wanted the dolls to help girls think about what they wanted to do with their lives．

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