Great article! Love the Naomi Harper reference and how it related to the personality your sister gave Barbie, that's hilarious. And your characterizations and scenarios (especially your sister's) seem quite sophisticated for kids! Your sister's take on her Barbie's personality makes me assume you were 90s kids but I may be off a little. I requested Ken and Barbie one Christmas pre-Kindergarten and my excuse was, "Well, Ken needs a wife!" This was in the early 70s. Even at that age I was thinking of ways to navigate the gender norms of the day, which I didn't fit into, while still getting what I wanted. My sister had a doll I absolutely loved it was a little witch with purple skin, long mint green hair, and her eyes lit up with these matching mint green lights that shone like jewels. Conservative parents today would be terrified of such a toy! They can barely handle Harry Potter. My Barbie and Ken disappeared fairly quickly and I don't remember ever asking my parents what had happened to them; I'm pretty sure I knew better than to ask, because I probably wouldn't like the answer. I do recall, however, going out to the sidewalk in front of our house at around the same time and destroying my entire Hot Wheels collection, one car at a time, with a croquet mallet. I don't recall the reason I did this, but I do remember it being an expression of anger toward my mother. Maybe there was a connection.