When I was little, I, like most girls, played with Barbies. Every Christmas and birthday I asked for a new one–Swan Lake Barbie, Malibu Barbie, Ariel Barbie. You name it, I played with it. As a small child, I longed to have a wardrobe like Barbie, to have a Dreamhouse, a pink convertible and a Ken. I didn’t long for her unrealistic body until I was much, much older–around eleven or twelve. By that time, I was a chubby preteen who no longer wanted to play with Barbie, but I wanted to be her. I longed to wake up one day with shiny blond hair, a perfect smile, a small waist and long legs.
As I grew I came to realize just how unrealistic (and unhealthy) Barbie’s body was, and gradually came to love my body regardless of how remarkably un-Barbie like it is. But I was not alone in wishing to be Barbie; I had frequent discussions with my friends about what we would do if we woke up one day with Barbie’s body, if we were as thin as her, etc. As time went on I left Barbies for my iPhone and playing dress-up with her to spending too much money on clothes for myself, but in the back of my mind I still wanted to be the ideal image of beauty. My pale skin, freckles and red hair are a far cry from Barbie (who I considered to be the be-all end-all of beauty at a young age). Constant exposure to models like Candice Swanepoel and Gigi Hadid have kept that image in my head: that to be considered beautiful, you need to be blonde, tall, tan, thin and have legs up to here.
Growing up in a society where this has been thrown at me all my life has been hard, as it took me a while to consider myself “beautiful” though I was different than many ideal standards of beauty. But, recently, something has caused me to look upon myself more favorably. On January 28th, Mattel released their new line of Barbies, called the “Fashionista” line. Normally I would not pay attention to the release of a new line of Barbies, but this was different: they have short Barbies, curvy Barbies, mixed Barbies, Barbies of all shapes and sizes and colors.
Though I don’t compare myself to her anymore, what this new line of Barbies tells little girls everywhere is that they are beautiful the way they are–look, they even have a Barbie to prove it! No longer will little girls be bombarded with self-image issues from the time they are four onwards; they can play with dolls that aren’t only normal-looking with realistic bodies and curves and skin, but look like them. I only wish that these had existed when I was younger, for maybe I wouldn’t have spent so much time as a preteen hating my body because of how “different” it was.
So thank you, Mattel. Thank you for no longer projecting self-image issues onto children, but instead promoting healthy bodies. Thank you for catching up to the modern world and realizing that today’s image of beauty is different from what it was in 2000. Thank you for telling girls worldwide who love their Barbies that they’re beautiful the way they are–they don’t need to be blond or tan or skinny to be beautiful.
Thank you for finally letting me release the insecure eleven year old inside of me that still worries if she’s too chubby or too pale or too freckled. Thank you for not giving my future children the same insecurities you gave me. Thank you for having your dolls reflect the time and age we’re in.