After studies, documentaries and several angry “social justice warriors” attacking Mattel’s original Barbie for creating impossible body standards that young girls look up to, the company has released a new line of diverse Barbie dolls.
Mattel will gradually release 33 dolls showcasing four body types, seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles.
The doll will also feature moveable ankles that allow it to wear flat shoes for the first time.
Since the doll’s release in 1959, girls around the world have idolized Barbie’s tiny waist, big eyes and perfectly placed curves.
However, in order for a woman to achieve those goals, she would have to lose ribs, get breast implants and somehow make her eyes larger than possible.
The hope behind the company’s change is to improve body image perceptions for girls growing up with these dolls.
Instead of seeing a doll and hoping to look like it, hopefully the girls will notice that the doll already looks like her.
Body image in media is something that has recently become a strong debate. Showing girls that only one body type is beautiful, instead of all beauty types, can cause girls to change themselves instead of embracing who they are.
For a person growing up with media that shames every kind of body, Mattel’s move was a powerful one.
Anyone can look online or in a magazine and instantly see something that they wish they looked like.
However, setting standards that are impossible due to photoshop or disproportions can create depression, eating disorders and self-esteem issues in girls and boys.
As a girl who grew up playing with my Barbies, I always wanted to be tiny and it created deep-rooted issues for me as a child.
Luckily, starting in June, girls will have dolls that show them that their bodies are fine the way they are and they are even beautiful.
image via ctvnews.ca
