But today, Barbie maker Mattel is taking a big leap into the 21st century – ditching the tiny waist and hourglass figure for a “broader view of beauty”.
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Mattel has been putting Barbie through a transformation for the past two years to bring the doll in line with realistic body standards and reflect the diversity of the kids playing with the dolls.
Among the new changes are more seven more skin tones, as well as 22 eye colors, 24 hairstyles, and more “on-trend” fashions and accessories.
The Time magazine story “Barbie’s Got a New Body“, published Thursday, goes behind the scenes at Mattel, covering company thinking about redesigning the doll as well as focus group responses to the new toys.
“Thank you @Barbie for bravely acknowledging that women can be “Curvy, ‘ “Tall” or “Petite” & not just ‘Original”!!!” another Twitter user wrote.
Some parents have criticised the doll for promoting an unrealistic body image to girls – a criticism Mattel has long deflected.
A Barbie doll for you, you and you – no matter what you look like. How can Barbie be relatable if she doesn’t look like a typical woman?
Thursday’s broadening of the line to include a more representative set of body types met with approval on social media.
Robert Best, senior director of Barbie Product Design, said the changes address such concerns in a positive way.
Mattell has given its iconic Barbie doll a new body.
In face of fierce competition from Lego, Disney princesses, other dolls and electronic toys, sales of Barbie dolls have declined 20 percent from 2012 to 2014 and continued to slide previous year.
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Mattel general manager Evelyn Mazzocco, said in an interview with Time that the changes were made to promote “progress, not perfection“. “And even the “Fashionista” line is still about what clothes she’s wearing and what she looks like on the outside, with a virtually unattainable body shape”.
