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Barbie’s New Body
Hi Beauties!
Did you hear the news? Barbie’s got a brand new body!
Mattel recently announced that Barbie will now be available in 3 new bodies: tall, petite and curvy. The original Barbie will still be available as well.
I can’t really believe it’s taken Mattel this long to address the concerns that consumers have been voicing years. Did you know that Barbie, as we know her, would not be able to stand on 2 feet due to her unrealistic proportions?
It’s good to see Mattel taking steps in the right direction with Barbie’s new body (they also added new skin tones and hair textures in 2015) and listening to the public.
Glamour magazine shared this video of young girls reacting to the new Barbies for the first time…
What do you think…are you happy with Barbie’s new bodies or are you still concerned with the messages these dolls send to young girls?
xo,
PS – Next I’d like to see Disney make a change!
Robin Long
Robin Long, founder and CEO of Lindywell, certified Pilates instructor, Nutrition Therapy Practitioner, and author of 'Well to the Core,' blends 15 years of expertise with a lifelong commitment to holistic health.
Learn more about Robin Long
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4 thoughts on “Barbie’s New Body”
I love that Barbie is coming around. About time 😉 it would be extra cool if girls could order them with specific qualities, like birth marks, hair texture, scars etc. Btw I LOVE that you posted about this! <3
I think it’s great that Barbie is going to be available in different body types. Love it. However, I think we as parents have the ability to have more impact than the shape/size of a doll on our daughters self-image. There are a lot of dolls/toys out there that are not able to be customized to fit all different types, colors etc, and that’s ok. I feel like it’s up to me to make sure my daughter doesn’t base her self worth, self image, satisfaction with herself off of her toys. I know our kiddos are bombarded from so many different angles (we are as adults as well) and toys are a big part of their young life, so I totally get the issue, and don’t discount it. I just feel like we as parents have more power and influence with them than we realize sometimes. How we view ourselves and treat ourselves goes a long way towards how our little girls will view themselves. I hope that this change in Barbie will help make our job a little easier. 🙂
Agree! Agree! Thanks for the post. xo
I love the video you posted and the positivity coming from the girls. However, in the Time magazine article about the new Barbie, they talked about how when young girls (and they did not give an age) were given the new dolls without adults around, there were disparaging comments made about the curvy body shape. When in front of adults, the girls had more positive remarks. This is concerning, but not surprising, in light of today’s culture of bullying. I agree with Jen Y., that we as parents and adult role models can be more impactful than these dolls in teaching our young girls and boys that all bodies are beautiful and in modeling behaviors that are respectful towards all at all times.
It’s amazing that even now, at only 4 months old, I almost become self-conscious putting on my makeup in front of my daughter. I feel like I need to say, every time, that mommy wears make up because she thinks it is fun and that she doesn’t need make up because she is beautiful. Of course, I honestly wear make up not because I “need” to, but because I do like the way I look, but I never want my daughter to think she needs make up to feel or look good. (And my mom is a wash-and-wear kind of woman – she’s never worn much make up – so I certainly didn’t get that from her!)