In Forever Barbie, cultural critic, investigative journalist, and first generation Barbie owner M.G. Lord tells Barbie's own story with clarity and intelligence, brilliantly shaking up many preconceptions. According to Lord, Barbie's phenomenal endurance says as much about our culture's ambivalence towards femininity as it as it does about Mattel's successful marketing of the convention-defying toy. In this witty and provocative book, she unearths Barbie's low origins as "Lili," a sexy doll for grown ups sold as a gag gift in post-war Germany, and follows her development through countless makeovers and career changes into a "traditional toy" and ultimately an international pop-culture icon.