Barbie is no longer just ‘skinny’ as Mattel adds height and curves to it’s new collection of dolls.
Mattel, the maker of Barbie, has announced that their iconic doll will now have three new body types. The dolls will be available in tall, petite and curvy. They’re already set to order online, but will be in stores March 1. The company is trying to create more realistic body types to refelct the diversity of the kids who are playing with these dolls. The company has already made a couple of changes to the dolls within the last two years by adding 23 new dolls of different skin tones. They also created different hairstyles such as blue long hair and made changes as small as creating flatter feet.
Evelyn Mazzocco, senior vice president of Barbie said “We believe we have a responsibility to girls and parents to reflect a broader view of beauty” in a company statement.
In reaction to the new dolls, several young girls had a lot of positive feedback, which was shown in a reaction video that Glamour filmed. The video showcases the girls sitting with the original Barbie in their hands talking about why they love their doll. The video then shows the girls being introduced to the new collection of Barbie’s and their reactions to the new look.
“I think that you can relate to them more, now that they are not all the same,” says 12 year old, Liat. “Because everyone is different in their own way, so it’s like really cool,” says 12 year old, Faith.
According to an additional interview Glamour did with Barbie Design Vice President Kim Culmone, the company was worried that the skinny blonde version of the doll would be “out of touch” with today’s children. The company stated that the new dolls were part of an effort to provide more inclusive products. When asked the question, “Why Now?” Kim stated “It’s such an exciting time, culturally. We at the corporation hear from our fan base in a more real-time way than we ever have before. The expectation that’s arisen from consumers is that how Barbie looks and what Barbie does should be reflective of the times.” Check out the rest of that interview here.
