“You can be anything”: South Jersey counselor collects dozens of career Barbies to inspire job seekers
“Barbie over the years has become more and more relevant," says Debbie Friedner, veteran Camden County career counselor and avid collector of career Barbie dolls.
The movie Barbie tells women, “You can be anything.” Debbie Friedner and her Barbies help people believe it.
Friedner, 68, is a career counselor with Camden County’s One-Stop Resource Center. For nearly 29 years, she has helped the unemployed figure out what they want to do and how to get there.
The Cherry Hill resident has been a longtime Barbie fan, but the doll’s 60th anniversary in 2019 rekindled her passion for Barbie, who was no longer just the fashionista of Friedner’s childhood.
“Never before had I seen so many [Barbies] marked with a specific job title, with the box displaying the slogan, ‘You Can Be Anything,’” Friedner said. “I just thought that they were so relevant to what I do that buying only career Barbies started to become an obsession.”
Friedner now has 56 career Barbies in their original boxes, and she’s always on the lookout for a new addition. “The fun is in the find.”
Her collection includes dolls of different body types and is multiracial. They’re all stacked atop the walls of her office cubicle — everything from President Barbie to astronaut to nurse to polar explorer, and historic figure Barbies . Her favorite is probably the Helen Keller Barbie. Friedner has had hearing challenges since she was child, so Keller has long been an inspiration.
On the wall, above all this, are the magic words to live by: You Can Be Anything.
It’s not that any of the people Friedner helps have ever pointed to a career Barbie and said they wanted to do that profession, she said. What the Barbies have done is give a much-needed lift to people, especially women, whose stories feel overburdened by defeats.
“When they come to us, they’ve gone through something,” Friedner said. “They’ve gone through a job loss. They’ve been laid off from their job. Or maybe they had a medical problem, and they can’t do that job anymore. So they’re thinking about the next move, but at the same time, they’re dealing with the emotional impact of that.”
The vast array of Barbies has raised downcast gazes as well as spirits.
“Anybody that sees my collection can’t help but be inspired,” Friedner said.
The original Barbie came out when she was 4.
“My sister and I mutilated her,” Friedner said, sounding a bit gleeful. “We made earrings out of pins. We took crayons, and we made makeup.”
She understands the later objections to Barbie’s perfection and impact that could have had on impressionable young minds. Friedner said she never noticed. In the end, she got a master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation and her sister, Ronee Korbin Steiner, is a judge in Arizona, and they both turned out OK.
And Barbie evolved. Friedner said she gave Barbies to her daughter, Sarina Russomano, including a graduation Barbie in honor of her commencement from Pace University. She has also bought Barbies for Sarina’s daughter, Juliet, age 6, one of her 12 grandchildren. Juliet’s Barbie has horses to ride. Friedner noted there are also Barbie food trucks, Barbie campers, and cars. Like young women now, today Barbie has choices.
Friedner hasn’t seen the Barbie movie yet, but she’s looking forward to it. She intends on adding to her career Barbie collection so the doll can keep bringing a smile and maybe some inspiration to someone who needs it.
“Barbie over the years,” said Friedner, “has become more and more relevant.”