The iconic Barbie doll will be getting an overdue makeover, Mattel announced on Jan. 28.
Instead of just coming in the one size, small waist, big chest and round bottom, Barbie will now be tall, petite or curvy, USA TODAY reports. The change will also feature other skin tones, hairstyles and facial structures.
The changes were available since Jan. 28 on Barbie.com and the shelves will start stocking the new dolls starting in March. According to USA TODAY, 33 new Barbies will be introduced this year.
On Barbie.com, you can find that Mattel will release four different body types, seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 different hairstyles, along with other clothing and accessories for the doll throughout the year.
As a girl who grew up playing with tons of Barbie dolls, I notice now one thing I lacked: All of my Barbie dolls were the same. Some were maybe tanner than others, some were blonde or brunette, but they all had the same exact body type.
What that did to me as a child, I guess, will never really be known. But I know that I and other women across the world struggle with what society thinks a female body should look like.
It is nice to know that Mattel is trying to do justice to the different, beautiful females who are not supermodel skinny.
Not only is Mattel changing the way it perceives body shapes, but it is also expanding on so much more. Not everyone’s face is shaped the same way. Not everyone has textbook definition olive or pale skin.
Barbie dolls, created in 1959, were actually formed from a comic book character that was considered like a prostitute, or breezy, according to The Atlantic. Yes, 1959 was a different time where sex was not yet talked about, but Barbie was basically based off of a man’s idea of what a woman should look like.
This perception of Barbie can finally be shifted into something greater and something that children, boys and girls, can learn from; not all bodies are the same and that is OK.
Florence Williams, an author and scholar from George Washington University’s public health school, told USA TODAY that children’s self-esteem can be damaged from images of body types that are warped and physically impossible to obtain.
Williams also said that it is important that boys get to see these realistic images of body types, so they do not grow up to think that a girl’s body should look a particular way.
Is this all a ploy for Mattel to revamp the doll so it can increase profits? Maybe, but does that really matter? This is a huge step in the right direction for the company and I do not see Mattel regretting it anytime soon.
People who are my age are having babies and those babies will need toys. Mattel has found that millennial mothers are the future of the company, and they will not buy an unrealistic Barbie doll for their children.
Women today are very critical of how the media or society perceives the female body. Mattel may just be trying to cover up its behind in order to make more money, but at least it is realizing what the public finally wants, which is good.
Why did this not happen sooner?
Barbie has had a business woman-inspired look since her birth. In 1965, she was an astronaut. In 1973, she was a surgeon, according to TIME magazine.
This attitude is why Mattel has not listened to the criticism of body shape and looks. Mattel solely believed that the Barbie was a feminist because of what she was wearing.
You cannot stick on some form-fitting scrubs on a doll and call it a feminist, and Mattel has realized this.
“Her status as an empowered woman has been lost,” said Jess Weiner, a branding expert, to TIME magazine.
Now, maybe her status can be found. This will not silence all critics, but it will definitely show that Mattel is willing to change a body that has existed for over 50 years.
I cannot wait to see the future of the company that was such a huge part of my childhood.
But one question remains: What about Ken?
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