Shorter-Gooden applauded Mattel “for diversifying the size and look of Barbie”, but noted that “European-American hair still prevails”, and that the dolls’ outfits still “convey a traditional and constraining gender norm about how girls and women should look”.
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Barbie’s manufacturer, Mattel, announced Thursday that the doll has three new body types – curvy, tall and petite.
Mattel said it will still sell the original 11.5-inch Barbie.
Leslie Goldman, a Chicago-based women’s health writer and body image expert, said the new dolls have persuaded her to buy Barbie dolls for her two young daughters. Facing competition from other brands such as Frozen and girl-oriented toys such as the Lego Friends line, Barbie sales tumbled 14 per cent in the most recently reported quarter.
“I think for the first time, Barbie is going to be truly reflective of what women are supposed to look like”, she said.
The variety of body shapes follows last year’s revamp, which added a wider variety of skin tones and facial structures. This isn’t the first time Barbie has been diversified. After decades of seeing Barbie as the epitome of beauty standards for children, the doll finally flaunts a new array of body types, skin color, eye color, hairstyles and professions.
The new dolls can be viewed on Barbie.com and will be available to order on January 28, 2016 on Shop.Mattel.com in the U.S. The collection will be available starting in spring 2016 at major toy retailers worldwide.
The pitch: The doll, which launched in 2012 by British company by Arklu, bills itself as an age-appropriate choice (the doll is supposed to be nine years old), and has an empowering story for young girls: the doll’s website describes her as “feisty” and “not flawless”.
Whether we can draw a direct line between unhealthy body image and a Barbie doll is above my pay grade, but as a father I can see where parents would be sensitive in this matter.
Equipped with a laptop and a gaming headset that is somehow not pink, Game Developer Barbie will be available this summer.
Barbie tweeted news of the dolls using the hashtag #TheDollEvolves.
The new toys allow “the product line to be a better reflection of what girls see in the world around them”, says spokeswoman Michelle Chidoni.
Speaking to the publication’s Eliana Dockterman, Mazzocco acknowledged that critics will say her company is “late to the game” in regards to diversity, but she reasoned, “changes at a huge corporation take time”.
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Barbie design VP Kim Culmone defended the doll’s longstanding design in 2014, saying: “Barbie’s body was never created to be realistic”.
