The new barbie dolls will be sold in stores on March first! Mattel, the maker of Barbie has spent two years creating and transforming original Barbie to be more realistic and diverse. The doll now comes in three new body types, and a variety of skin tones and hair styles. A spokes woman by the name of Michelle Chidoni said The new toys allow “the product line to be a better reflection of what girls see in the world around them.” The general manager of Barbie said they believe they have the responsibility to parents and children to reflect a broader view of beauty.
I am personally so excited for the evolution of Barbie I think it’s a step in the right direction to prevent young teens from hating their bodies and comparing themselves to others. I believe this new line of Barbies is going to help children appreciate every body type, skin tone, hair style, and personal style out there. In one of Barbies new commercials (I’ll link below) a little girl is playing with the new tall barbie and says “This doll looks just like my friend Nan, her name is Nan!” I found that so sweet and touching, she wasn’t comparing her differences to the Barbie, she was excited to have a Barbie that looked like her friend.
Unfortunately like everything else there are some critics out there that don’t appreciate what Barbie has created. Lexi Surunis a college student at Pittsburgh wrote an article on why she’s not a fan. She worries that the different size Barbies are going to bring attention to body image in a negative way. She began describing a hypothetical situation of little girls switching clothes and discovering the clothes don’t fit each others Barbies causing them to think negatively about their own Barbies “Her Barbie is skinny and can fit into that pretty dress, my dolls legs are too big to fit so I want the skinny Barbie.” Lexi says when she was younger playing with Barbie dolls she never thought about how skinny the Barbie was or about body image at all, and worries the new differences will take the fun out of playing.
I look forward to watching the little girls and boys I babysit play with the new Barbie line. It’ll be interesting to watch them interact with each other and to see where they take their Barbies while pretending. I grew up with Barbies and dolls when I was younger and loved them, however I’m thrilled to know that my future children will have the opportunity to love the new line of Barbies. What are your thoughts about the evolution and transformation of Barbie?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPETP7-UfuI
http://www.hercampus.com/school/pitt/why-i-am-not-fan-new-barbie