When I was eight years old my mom gave me a really cool gift. She had a trunk of vintage Barbie Dolls. I was so excited to have them that one day I decided to play beauty salon on the front porch and chop all their hair off! I am not kidding, I thought the original Spotlight Barbie looked way better bald than with that perfectly sculpted ponytail. My mother was mortified, and back then I did not know why she was so upset. Barbies were my favorite, and I was only using my imagination. My next vivid Barbie moment was the first time my dad and I went to Roosevelt Field Mall. He let me pick out a Barbie, and for the first time I saw a tan barbie that looked just like me, but with straight hair! I had to have her. I only owned barbies that really did not look anything like me, and I never gave it a second thought, but when I saw the Barbie similar skin and features it made me feel connected. I know I was very young, but I remember that feeling like it was yesterday, and I remember finally feeling like I had a glamorous character to play with…My imagination ran wild.
Mattel, the maker of Barbie, announced this week that they will be introducing a new line of Barbie’s, in stores March 1, that will come in three different body shapes (tall, petite, curvy) , with a variety of skin tones and hairstyles. When we think of the Barbie of decades past she is tall, impossibly thin, and stands on her tip toes all day eryday, ain’t nobody got time for that! It has taken Mattel two years to develop the new line of Barbies to align with today’s realistic body standards, and there will be 33 new dolls rolled out this year to represent the diverse group of girls that play with them.
A rep from Mattel explains that the new line was developed to “be a better reflection of what girls see around them”. See the full article from Time Magazine here. My hat is off to you Mattel! The Senior VP and global general manager of Barbie says, “We believe we have a responsibility to girls and parents to reflect a broader view of beauty.” As children, our ideas of beauty are developed at a very early early age. Boys and girls have both looked to Barbie as the standard of plastic beauty for decades, and I hope this dialog of realistic body type continues, and that it will shape both boys and girls views of realistic beauty in the future.
