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This Happened - March 9: Barbie's Debut

The Barbie doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on this day in 1959.

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What inspired the creation of the Barbie doll?

Ruth Handler was inspired to create the Barbie doll after watching her daughter play with paper dolls and imagining a three-dimensional version that would allow girls to role-play and imagine different careers and lifestyles.

What was the initial reaction to the Barbie doll?

The initial reaction to the Barbie doll was mixed, with some critics expressing concerns that it promoted unrealistic beauty standards and limited girls' imaginations to traditional gender roles. However, the doll quickly became popular among young girls and has since become an iconic toy and cultural phenomenon.

How has the Barbie doll evolved over the years?

The doll has been redesigned to include different skin tones, body shapes, and career options, and has also been used to promote diversity and social causes. The doll has also had a significant impact on popular culture, inspiring countless books, movies, and songs, as well as becoming a symbol of girlhood and feminine identity. It has been a subject of controversy and debate, with some arguing that it reinforces harmful stereotypes and others celebrating its ability to empower girls and promote creativity and imagination.

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Geopolitics

Xi Jinping's Mission In Moscow, And The Limits Of The Russia-China Alliance

As Xi's closely watched visit to Moscow begins, China and Russia may seem like strategic partners, but it has ultimately shown to be a marriage of convenience. And both countries are naturally competitors, wary if the other grows stronger.

Photo of ​Chinese President Xi Jinping walking past Russian soldiers as he lands in Moscow on March 20

Chinese President Xi Jinping landing in Moscow on March 20

Petro Shevchenko

This article has been updated March 20, 12:00 p.m. CST

-Analysis-

Long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping were growing closer. China’s goal? To revamp the current world order, significantly weaken the West and its leaders, and to become the world-dominating figurehead over and above the United States.

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Russia’s war in Ukraine has become an essential element of this plan to destabilize the global situation.

When the West began imposing stringent sanctions on Russia, China instead chose to economically support Putin and left its markets open to accept raw materials from Russia. But don’t think this means China is Putin’s lapdog. Quite the contrary: Beijing has never helped Moscow to its own detriment, not wishing to fall under the punitive measures of the U.S. and Europe.

The fundamental dynamic has not changed ahead of Xi Jinping's arrival on Monday for his first visit to Moscow since the war began. Beyond the photo ops and pleasant words that Xi and Putin are sure to share, the Russian-Chinese alliance continues to be looked at skeptically amongst the elite in both Beijing and Moscow.

China was not expecting Russia’s plans to occupy Ukraine in a matter of days to fail and as a result, China’s aim to destabilize the West alongside its Russian partner failed.

Add to this the various alliances in the West emerging against Beijing and fears for China’s economy on home turf is beginning to grow.

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