Once known as the skinny white girl brand, Mattel’s Barbie has completely turned its game around in terms of representation in its dolls.
If you’re a little girl with a prosthetic limb, alopecia or the skin condition vitiligo, there’s now a Barbie doll that looks just like you. In Barbie’s new line of dolls, set to launch throughout 2020, you will now find a Ken doll with long, blonde hair, a deep skinned Barbie with vitiligo and another with a golden prosthetic leg(Golden!? How badass!), along with varying versions of Barbies in wheelchairs, with curvier figures and with shorter heights.
“We’ve been committed to increasing diversity in our line and showcasing all the different types of beauty that exist … making the line more accessible,” says Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and global head of Barbie and its dolls portfolio
Barbie launched it’s first prosthetic leg Barbie in 2019, collaborating with Jordan Reeves, a then 12-year-old with a prosthetic arm who is on a mission to build creative solutions that help children with disabilities.
They also worked closely with a dermatologist to create the Barbie with Vitiligo in order to make it look as realistic as possible. Vitiligo can affect a person with any skin color, though it looks the most significant for people with darker skin tones.
Over the years, Barbie has introduced a hijab-wearing doll in honor of Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, Barbies in the STEM field and Barbies representing different races and ethnicities. There are more than 170 dolls with different skin tones and hairstyles for children to choose and see themselves in.
A curvy black Barbie with an Afro and a Barbie who uses a wheelchair were top sellers for the brand last year, according to the company. In Britain, 1 in 4 dolls sold are Barbies with a wheelchair.
This just goes to show, you can NEVER ever go wrong with being more inclusive and embracing all forms of beauty. Way to go Barbie!