Super booby barbie?

August 12, 2005 2:22 PM

Did I dream this, or did there exist a Barbie-esque doll in the 70s whose breasts would grow when you windmilled her arm?
posted by tristeza to Grab Bag (14 answers total)

Best answer: "Growing Up Skipper," c. 1975. (Scroll down.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:28 PM on August 12, 2005

Response by poster: Amazing, I think you just set a speed record. BLESS YOU!
posted by tristeza at 2:31 PM on August 12, 2005

I remember being traumatized by this.
posted by matildaben at 3:43 PM on August 12, 2005

Skipper also had a brunette sidekick, "Growing Up Ginger".

*Shares matildaben's trauma*
posted by ambrosia at 4:51 PM on August 12, 2005

Definitely Growing Up Skipper.

I had that doll. It was the creepiest toy I'd ever owned.

Of course, I just made it creepier by cutting it apart, to see how the breasts 'worked'. But, yeah - I can't believe they sold this to girls, and that my relatives deemed it an appropriate gift for a 5 year old.
posted by spinifex23 at 6:05 PM on August 12, 2005

I remember being forced to play Joe's Mountain Fortress in the top bunk at a neighbour's house, and watching poor Skipper become a woman at the kung-fu grip hands of GI Joe and his friend Steve Austin.

Later, Skipper and Barbie discovered gender activism when someone gave me a doll without the ubiquitous High Heeled Feet. It was soon thereafter that I believe they came out as lesbian, if I recall correctly.

I remember my neighbourfriend was awfully interested in how womanly Skipper got when you pinned her arms back. I wonder if he ever ended up describing this to some guy with a beard and a psychology degree.

Because, damn!
posted by Sallyfur at 7:15 PM on August 12, 2005

Don't leave us hanging! How did the breasts work?
posted by smackfu at 7:37 PM on August 12, 2005

"Don't leave us hanging! How did the breasts work?"

Swimmingly.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:17 PM on August 12, 2005

Oh I wanted that doll so bad. And my properly horrified mother absolutely refused. If I'm right, there were two holes on her chest & the breasts were inside - when you pulled her arm down they came out. God, that sounds even creepier than it actually was.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:39 PM on August 12, 2005

Heh.

The arm was a lever, which simultaneously lifted and pushed out the breasts. If I remember correctly, the breasts got dragged along a vertical, slanted piece of plastic, which was Skipper's 'spine. The higher the breasts got pulled, the more they stuck out. There was a tab at the top which stopped the movement, when the breasts hit maximum 'perkiness'.

You could also completely remove them, which led to Growing Up Transgendered Skipper!
posted by spinifex23 at 9:01 PM on August 12, 2005

7193 Fun Time Skipper, Europe (1974)

White box, clear window, similar to Sunset Malibu only with pink skin, heavy eye makeup, long straight pale blonde hair, yellow two piece tricot swimsuit.
posted by mecran01 at 9:50 PM on August 12, 2005

...watching poor Skipper become a woman at the kung-fu grip hands of GI Joe and his friend Steve Austin.

So how long will it take before someone writes pornographic fanfic about this and posts it on the Internet?
posted by matildaben at 10:28 PM on August 12, 2005

And now we have pregnant Barbie, just as controversial. Actually, Barbie's friend Midge. This is the one that got pulled from Wal-Mart. There's a toned-down version available now where the baby doesn't go in Barbie's tummy, the tummy is just big.
posted by IndigoRain at 6:53 PM on August 13, 2005

I so want a growing up skipper. I never got to play with anything so cool. Breasts, no breasts, breasts, no breasts. Wouldn't it be so convenient if we were all made that way? Put away the breasts for running, bring them back for sex.
posted by jb at 12:15 AM on August 14, 2005