The next time you see a Barbie doll she might look a little different than what you are used to. Kicking of their campaign with hashtags like #TheDollEvolves the makers of the iconic doll have announced that 2016 will be a year of change for Barbie. The blonde, impossibly thin, blue eyed doll will be getting a makeover which will include 4 different body types, 7 skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles.
The original Barbie doll has been no stranger to controversy over the years. Barbie’s super thin figure and unrealistic body proportions have been criticized as being determinantal towards the body image of young girls. One study found that young girls who were exposed to images of Barbie compared to girls who saw a realistically proportioned doll called Emme reported having lower body satisfaction and a preference for thinner body types.
The public outcry against Barbie has been a determinate to the doll’s reputation. When a life sized version of Barbie’s dream house was opened for public viewing in Berlin the exhibit was picketed by women’s rights groups. A protestor by the name of Stevie Meriel Schmiedel said of the protest, “There’s too much emphasis on becoming more beautiful and on being pretty and that puts an awful lot of pressure on girls as well as wasting capacities which they could use to simply be happy or for school.” Another protester was quoted regarding the dream house saying, “It presents a cliche of the female role in society.”
Whether you see Barbie as a female cliche, an embodiment of the unrealistic expectations of women’s beauty, or just as a children’s toy this change in design does mean something. Barbie’s new sizes, skin colors, and other changes prove that even corporate giants are taking notice of the shift in values our society is going through. Women and girls of all ages, no matter what size and no matter what skin color deserve to be represented and accepted as beautiful. The new Barbie is just one piece in a larger, much anticipated movement in which beauty is not defined or constrained but is appreciated in its natural setting in the eyes, skin, and figure of every type of women.
Barbie may be a simple piece of plastic, but her new look will embody an new era of acceptance and love. An era we will be proud to raise our daughters in.