The first Barbie Doll was released in 1959, our generation wasn’t even a thought in anyone’s mind yet. No one knew what a cultural phenomenon Barbie was going to become over time. I personally remember receiving Barbie dolls for birthdays and being so excited I couldn’t wait to open them. Barbie was popular when I was a kid in the early 2000s and she is still popular today and she’s about to get some new friends.
On Tuesday Barbie announced that they will be releasing a new batch of dolls based on real inspirational women through history. The dolls are in two separate batches; “Inspiring Women” who are the historical role models that I looked up to as a kid and children still look to today. For example; Amelia Earhart and Frida Kahlo will be in the “Inspiring Women” series. The “Inspiring Women” series of dolls will come with educational information about what that specific woman contributed to our society.
The second group of dolls to be released are the “Sheroes”, these dolls will be based on more contemporary role models for young girls. The “Sheroe” dolls have been around since 2015 and Barbie has been releasing new inspiring role models each year. Among this year’s dolls are; “Wonder Woman” director, Patty Jenkins, and US snowboarder Chloe Kim.
These two new batches of dolls are being released after Mattel ran a survey and found out that 86% of mothers are worried about the types of role models that there are for their daughters.
I for one am glad to see the dolls being released! We have always been able to play with Barbie having any job in the world she wanted. But now young girls today will get to learn about real life inspirational women who have accomplished amazing things. Hopefully the girls who receive these dolls for gifts or just because will be inspired to contribute to society the way those before us did.