Barbie Redesigned

As of Thursday, January 28th, Mattel announced a new line of Barbie dolls featuring different body types. The three new body types — ‘tall’, ‘petite’ and ‘curvy’ — along with the wider range in skin tone, eye color and hair style that came out in June 2015 will eventually come together for 33 different dolls.

As a fashion doll subject to numerous criticisms and controversy, Barbie has been an icon of the toy-company Mattel, Inc. from America for around fifty years. However, Mattel has been suffering a slow down-slide in sales recently, and in the October 2015 report it could be seen that Barbie sales had fallen by almost 43% since its highest point in 2013.

One of the most prominent criticisms of the Barbie doll is that it represents what much of Western society considers the ‘ideal’ body and that it would cause children to think of the Barbie body as a ‘norm’ and strive for an impossible body type. Research in this area showed that young girls exposed to Barbie dolls had lower self esteem and wanted to be thinner, showing dissatisfaction with their own bodies. Furthermore, Barbie has always iconically been blonde and white, with very little racial representation. This has reinforced the beauty standards of pale skin being ‘better’ than other shades, which has gotten to the point where companies are selling skin whitening products aimed at people of color.

This will impact children and women worldwide, both in self-esteem and the way that they will be represented and viewed by the marketing industry. This will likely be especially evident in North America, where Mattel is based. The new model, which includes both different body types and skin tones, could be a big step in terms of decreasing unrealistic beauty standards and increasing body positivity in women. Responses have been varying, but many have been positive — a relief that their body type is represented and happiness that their doll looks like them.

“I believe that having realistic role models in children’s toys will be overwhelmingly beneficial for the child’s long term mental health and self-esteem. Having an attainable standard of beauty for a variety of different body types and builds, with the caveat of the different body types being within a healthy standard (not overweight or underweight). Research into mental health has already indicated that young children of color benefit from seeing positive role models in the media, so there should be no reason to stop representation there.” (Lauren, 19)

As can be seen in statistical reports, Mattel has been suffering losses in business sales, leaving Lego rather than Barbie as the most popular toy brand. Numerous people, prominently amongst them actress Kirstie Alley, are questioning if Mattel is simply trying to ride the wave of progressiveness in order to increase their popularity again.

This could be seen as a ploy for them to regain their market shares, and some argue that Mattel is simply ‘joining the party late’, so to speak, since there are numerous other doll makers that have made their inclusiveness and range a selling point.

“I can definitely see profit being a huge component in Barbie’s decision to change up their look. Realistically, behind every company in a capitalist economy, the main goal is to make money. However, I don’t think this changes the fact that these changes should be seen as a positive thing. Whether or not the company’s intentions were good, the steps they are taking help promote positivity and that’s never a bad thing.” (Cameron, 18)

Body image is an issue that almost everyone struggles with, especially in a society where first impressions are everything. For many years, Western society has constantly idolized stick-thin models, showcasing them on billboards, in commercials, and on the runway. Recently, though there has been a positive change in the types of bodies that are being featured in the spotlight. Celebrities such as Nicki Minaj make it clear that a curvy body makes them feel empowered, and plus-sized models are becoming more prominent in the marketing world. Of course, we still see the typical size 0 models everywhere, but this just displays a growing appreciation for all body types. By incorporating this mindset into the toys that children will grow up with, these values of self-love and acceptance will only continue to strengthen with the future generations to come.

Buzzfeed recently released videos of adults and children reacting to the new Barbies.

The reactions were generally positive, but some people were also of the opinion that children simply shouldn’t see plastic dolls as role models. While there was agreement about this, one adult said that even so, seeing a doll with her body shape looking just as beautiful as the others “was meaningful” to her.

Students from Lord Byng Elementary School were asked their opinions on the new Barbies and here are a few responses:

“I think that it is good to change the Barbies because many women try to attain perfect body figures because of what they see in magazines. Also you get a variety of eye colour, skin colour, hair colour and body figure. I like them because they don’t have perfect figures.” (Anne, 11)

“I really like the new Barbie because now I can feel confident in what ever body I have. Also if I have a belly that’s okay because you don’t have to be super skinny to be pretty, just like the curvy Barbie, she’s my favourite.” (Lexi, 10)

“I think the change is good because when I was younger I didn’t have a Barbie like me so I think the change is wonderful. I’m happy to have a Barbie that has hair like me and skin like me. I think the new Barbies look more stylish and they have flat feet which I like because I don’t wear high heels.” (Ruvi, 9)

“I think it is really nice that the Barbie’s are more realistic because when they are “perfect” they are not like real people so I think that the new Barbie’s are a good idea to show people that not everyone looks super skinny like a Barbie.” (Ashley, 9)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fj9XtnrNRFam68HqHV3OeX4XZfwD0yYWJisbbWMGq08/edit