Most young American girls owned a Barbie at some point in their lives. I loved my Barbies so much that I took them everywhere. I cried when my little brother tied one of my Barbies to our toy rocket and shot it off into the sky. I even had one of those life-size Barbie dolls that was as big as I was at the time. I did her hair and dressed her in my clothes. Barbies were great; they were the best toy to have around when you were bored. Surely anything that comes with a dream house has to be pretty great, right?
Wrong. I had no clue that the entire time I was playing with the dolls, I was poisoning my mind with impossible standards of what a woman should look and act like.
Until recently, most of the Barbies that were on the market were incredibly thin with platinum blonde hair and perfect proportions. When I was young, I didn’t dwell too much on the fact that Barbie’s were tall and white when I wasn’t. As an adult, however, I can see the problem.
Because Barbie is a doll targeted towards young girls, it is important to present them with diverse and realistic options to play with that look like them. It is exciting to see that the Mattel Company has finally fully embraced the diversity of its customers. They are calling this “The Evolution of Barbie.” According to Barbie.com, the new line “includes 4 body types, 7 skin tones, 22 eye colors, 24 hairstyles, and countless on-trend fashions and accessories.”
These next generation girls have an awesome opportunity that we never had.
#TheDollEvolves
HCXOXO
Alana Long
Resources:
http://teachingkidsnews.com/2016/01/31/new-barbies-have-slightly-different-body-shapes/
http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/news/features/2016/01/27/barbie-2016-new-sizes