Finally, Barbies with more-realistic bodies!

[kenny]

Kudos to Mattel!

Unfortunately they are still making the (IMO harmful) impossibly-thin Barbie.
At least this is progress.



http://www.industryweek.com/growth-strategies/mattel-gives-barbie-body-image-update

Partial snip: "NEW YORK—Barbie, long the stereotypical blue-eyed blonde bombshell, has been given a makeover.
The iconic doll will now be available in three new body types--tall, petite and curvy.

The best-selling doll's manufacturer Mattel announced the new looks Thursday, ending a 56-year-old tradition of Barbie having just one physique: unrealistically perfect.

The new dolls join Barbie's Fashionista line, which will now feature four body types.
It will also have seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles--an acknowledgement, belated for some, that women come in many sizes and shapes."

 

[kenny]

Re: Finally, Barbies with realistic bodies!

Wow.

I'm pissed that 'Agence France-Presse' described the body of the traditional Barbie as, "unrealistically perfect".

It's not perfect.
It's harmfully impossible.

A big media outlet making this ironic mistake is the perfect illustration of how Mattel has brainwashed us.

 

[missy]

Re: Finally, Barbies with realistic bodies!

I agree at least it's a move in the right direction but I feel they still have work to do. I mean even the "heavier" Barbies are pretty thin IMO. It's not truly realistic but I get that at least they are making some progress. Just thinking if advertisers/general public could embrace the real bodies that are all around us how much better little girls and boys (and adults too) could feel about their body image and themselves. Such an important issue and we need to do better.

 

[kenny]

Re: Finally, Barbies with realistic bodies!

It will be interesting to compare the sales figures of the Barbie versions.
There will be pressure from stockholders to discontinue poor sellers.

Then some executive has to make the call ... conscience or commerce.

 

[momhappy]

I agree with you, kenny, about Barbie being potentially harmful. Sure, these new body types are a tad bit "better" but no matter how you slice it (curvy, petite, tall, etc.....), Barbie is still Barbie and a terrible role model for young girls

 

[blingbunny10]

I was more surprised to see a Barbie with blue hair! Seems like despite the inclusion of minorities and body types, all the Barbies have continued to be really mainstream and conservative. So the blue hair threw me for a loop and I think it's another good change.

Do kids even play with Barbies anymore? Barbies are for adults now, I think.

 

[iLander]

When I was 5 someone gave me a Barbie. I instantly hated her and cut off all her hair.

I think that's a pretty good step, "curvy" Barbie looks fairly natural.

I always thought Barbie fans were really into the clothes and accessories, not really the doll so much. But I was a "baby doll" girl, so I never knew what the actual appeal was.

 

[partgypsy]

As a female, I say that's a step in a positive direction.

As a Mom (with a girl who has Barbies) I'm thinking, if I buy these Barbies, I will now need to buy new Barbie wardrobes to fit all the various barbies since they won't fit the clothes we already have for them. Crap.
For that reason alone, I prefer 1 standard size Barbie, thought that standard size can be modified to be more realistic than the current standard Barbie.

 

[kenny]

Well, speaking from experience having to buy new clothes for different body sizes is realistic training for the future.

 

[partgypsy]

Well, speaking from experience having to buy new clothes for different body sizes is realistic training for the future.

Barbies are supposed to be about escapism, not real life! Are they going to start making realistic looking superheros and robots for boys?

 

[Niel]

I'm crazy about the purple bob one (is that a regular one? )

 

[Niel]

Well, speaking from experience having to buy new clothes for different body sizes is realistic training for the future.

Barbies are supposed to be about escapism, not real life! Are they going to start making realistic looking superheros and robots for boys?

Boys don't think they'll be growing up to be robots. As for super hero's, they are by nature extraordinary. Barbie is sold to children as the typical every-woman. This is the difference

 

[kenny]

Well, speaking from experience having to buy new clothes for different body sizes is realistic training for the future.

Barbies are supposed to be about escapism, not real life! Are they going to start making realistic looking superheros and robots for boys?

Of course not.
We males are ... special ...

 

[amc80]

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. I played with Barbies as a kid. I knew they were dolls, not real life, the same as my Cabbage Patch Kids. Our society is becoming ridiculous. Really, now all of our dolls have to be PC as well? I miss the 80s.

 

[Niel]

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. I played with Barbies as a kid. I knew they were dolls, not real life, the same as my Cabbage Patch Kids. Our society is becoming ridiculous. Really, now all of our dolls have to be PC as well? I miss the 80s.

All our dolls? They're still making original barbies.

I guess I dont get why the option to have a barbie that looks more like you, your mom, your sister, is a bad thing for kids...

 

[momhappy]

I was more surprised to see a Barbie with blue hair! Seems like despite the inclusion of minorities and body types, all the Barbies have continued to be really mainstream and conservative. So the blue hair threw me for a loop and I think it's another good change.

Do kids even play with Barbies anymore? Barbies are for adults now, I think.

Apparently, the blue-haired Barbie seems to be the most popular - at least according to one group of moms & young girls who were given examples of the new dolls to see how they might respond. No mention was made of her body type, but the blue hair was a big hit for some reason (some girls mentioned that it looked like Katie Perry).

 

[momhappy]

I was more surprised to see a Barbie with blue hair! Seems like despite the inclusion of minorities and body types, all the Barbies have continued to be really mainstream and conservative. So the blue hair threw me for a loop and I think it's another good change.

Do kids even play with Barbies anymore? Barbies are for adults now, I think.

Yes, some kids do still play with Barbie

 

[momhappy]

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. I played with Barbies as a kid. I knew they were dolls, not real life, the same as my Cabbage Patch Kids. Our society is becoming ridiculous. Really, now all of our dolls have to be PC as well? I miss the 80s.

The issue is not about having the ability to draw a line between a doll and real life - it's about sending the wrong message to young girls about how they should look. I played with Barbie too (a lot actually) and I knew she was just a doll. That doesn't mean that it can't warp your mind a little bit thinking that Barbie had some sort of magical standard of beauty (that was impossible to achieve). I do agree with you though about society becoming overly-PC.

 

[december-fire]

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. I played with Barbies as a kid. I knew they were dolls, not real life, the same as my Cabbage Patch Kids. Our society is becoming ridiculous. Really, now all of our dolls have to be PC as well? I miss the 80s.

You're not alone in your view.

Kirstie Alley, the actress, posted the following about the new Barbies:

Are we seriously going to imply that BARBIE needs to be taken seriously? Jeez bring back 1965 where BARBIE just looked like a freak

I'm glad I was raised in the 50's when a doll was an object, not a role model, & boys could call me a cootie without going to the principal

I think ALL times are great...my only point was I don't consider "Toys" to be role models .. I prefer humans

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My opinion:

Mattel made a business decision that has resulted in free publicity and will probably result in increased sales. From a business perspective, a good move. Its also nice that the dolls will come in a variety of appearances; broader product line and larger target market.

I think the debate pertains to the issues of political correctness and role models.

These days, political correctness seems to be taking priority over common sense.

Not sure who today's roles models are, but its something about which I wonder.

I agree with Kirstie Alley that I grew up thinking toys were toys, not a subliminal message as to how I should look.

 

[kenny]

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. I played with Barbies as a kid. I knew they were dolls, not real life, the same as my Cabbage Patch Kids. Our society is becoming ridiculous. Really, now all of our dolls have to be PC as well? I miss the 80s.

You're not alone in your view.

Kirstie Alley, the actress, posted the following about the new Barbies:

Are we seriously going to imply that BARBIE needs to be taken seriously? Jeez bring back 1965 where BARBIE just looked like a freak

I'm glad I was raised in the 50's when a doll was an object, not a role model, & boys could call me a cootie without going to the principal

I think ALL times are great...my only point was I don't consider "Toys" to be role models .. I prefer humans

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My opinion:

Mattel made a business decision that has resulted in free publicity and will probably result in increased sales. From a business perspective, a good move. Its also nice that the dolls will come in a variety of appearances; broader product line and larger target market.

I think the debate pertains to the issues of political correctness and role models.

These days, political correctness seems to be taking priority over common sense.

Not sure who today's roles models are, but its something about which I wonder.

I agree with Kirstie Alley that I grew up thinking toys were toys, not a subliminal message as to how I should look.

Clearly everyone is as smart or self-assured as you and Alley because many girls and women, and some men, starve themselves (literally to death) in a hopeless attempt to look like Barbie and the skeletal models ubiquitous in ads.

 

[december-fire]

Models are a different issue!
There is/was terrible pressure for models to starve themselves.
I didn't take the time just now to search for it, but a few years ago, I read that a new policy was put in place to prevent models being under a certain weight? Size? Sorry. I really should google it instead of relying on my unreliable memory.
Anyway, it seemed like a small step in the right direction. But more needs to be done in the fashion model industry.

I see dolls and toys in a different light than actual people (models, ads).

I'm very happy to see companies featuring models of various sizes.

Kudos to Dove for everything they've done in that regard. And, to me, they seem sincere; not as if they were jumping on the politically-correct bandwagon.

Does more need to be done in regards to body shapes promoted via models and advertising? Absolutely!

And could we please take a look at the messages sent via music videos and entertainers?

Is it possible for a female singer to be successful without being controversial in terms of clothes or actions?
OK, yes, it is; Susan Boyle, Adele, etc.
But you get my point, I hope.

Anyway, to me a doll is just a doll.

To anyone who felt pressure due to a doll's appearance:
I'm sorry you didn't have a sufficient number of healthy influences in your life. Perhaps there were too many unhealthy influences, and the doll was just one more. Or the unhealthy influence was from a key player. Or, perhaps more likely, I'm under-estimating the power of a doll to influence a person's thinking, based solely on my person experience. A study of one is a dangerous thing. My apologies.

Hmmmm, seems like I'm wandering into a different topic; childhood stuff.
Word has it that there may be a prize for creating more threads.
So I'll stop here.

 

[swingirl]

I grew up with Barbies. I never once thought anything about her body not looking realistic. I mean, come on, she could not bend her knees, her eyes didn't close and she could only sit from the hips. My peeing baby doll didn't look realistic either. She had one hole and it was in the wrong place. My baby dolls eyes did close but they had eye lashes that were as thick as a tooth brush. Make-believe dolls weren't meant to be real roll models, just fun fantasy things.

I wonder if anyone would say that playing with baby dolls encourages early pregnancy since playing with a un-proportional doll can make you feel badly about your own size. I think society is the culprit. However I just watched a movie from the 40's and it was amazing how slim everyone was and they all looked just average. Not just the main actors, but the people in the background.

 

[arkieb1]

My mother was a feminist and flat out refused to buy me a Barbie when I was a child, I used to go to friends houses just to play dress up Barbies and with the dolls. And I agree I never once thought they were real or aspired to look like the doll, I think you can love playing with something in child like terms without needing to assume it is real, many children's books and toys these days are based upon the imagination.

 

[chemgirl]

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I'm just excited that they included my body type. Usually when advertisers want to use real women, they go plus sized or curvy etc. Nothing really wrong with that, but us tall freaks feel left out!

 

[packrat]

I like the bobbed purple hair one too.

I'd like to see a short, stocky, tattooed one w/a pixie cut..pink or lavender.

There's still going to be kids that aren't represented in the grouping. It is impossible to include every variation of us. There's no Barbie w/down syndrome. There's no trans Barbie. There's no Barbie that identifies as male. There's no Barbie w/bad skin. No Barbie w/scars.

I think at some point we're going to turn ourselves inside out trying to include the limitless possibilities so that everyone is happy.

 

[momhappy]

Models are a different issue!
There is/was terrible pressure for models to starve themselves.
I didn't take the time just now to search for it, but a few years ago, I read that a new policy was put in place to prevent models being under a certain weight? Size? Sorry. I really should google it instead of relying on my unreliable memory.
Anyway, it seemed like a small step in the right direction. But more needs to be done in the fashion model industry.

I see dolls and toys in a different light than actual people (models, ads).

I'm very happy to see companies featuring models of various sizes.

Kudos to Dove for everything they've done in that regard. And, to me, they seem sincere; not as if they were jumping on the politically-correct bandwagon.

Does more need to be done in regards to body shapes promoted via models and advertising? Absolutely!

And could we please take a look at the messages sent via music videos and entertainers?

Is it possible for a female singer to be successful without being controversial in terms of clothes or actions?
OK, yes, it is; Susan Boyle, Adele, etc.
But you get my point, I hope.

Anyway, to me a doll is just a doll.

To anyone who felt pressure due to a doll's appearance:
I'm sorry you didn't have a sufficient number of healthy influences in your life. Perhaps there were too many unhealthy influences, and the doll was just one more. Or the unhealthy influence was from a key player. Or, perhaps more likely, I'm under-estimating the power of a doll to influence a person's thinking, based solely on my person experience. A study of one is a dangerous thing. My apologies.

Hmmmm, seems like I'm wandering into a different topic; childhood stuff.
Word has it that there may be a prize for creating more threads.
So I'll stop here.

You mean Dove's "real women have curves"? I was not a fan. It implied that only "real" women (whatever that is) have curves and those who don't must not be "real" (again, whatever that is).
I do tend to agree with you that a doll is just a doll, but I try to look at the big picture too. Maybe it's not just Barbie - maybe it's a combination of factors as your post demonstrated. It's Barbie, it's models, it's advertising/media, it's music/entertainers, etc....

 

[momhappy]

I like the bobbed purple hair one too.

I'd like to see a short, stocky, tattooed one w/a pixie cut..pink or lavender.

There's still going to be kids that aren't represented in the grouping. It is impossible to include every variation of us. There's no Barbie w/down syndrome. There's no trans Barbie. There's no Barbie that identifies as male. There's no Barbie w/bad skin. No Barbie w/scars.

I think at some point we're going to turn ourselves inside out trying to include the limitless possibilities so that everyone is happy.

Those Barbies will exist when we have unisex bathrooms....

 

[Gypsy]

My cousin visited me this last summer. She's always had body image issues. She was anorexic and very sick throughout her teens, and now is so into physical fitness that she gets stress fractures from working out too much. And she's the 'rescue me' type too. Though I do love her. And I acknowledge that I have huge flaws as well.

But this was the first time I met her kids. 2 girls. All they seem to pay with are Disney princesses and barbies. I was frankly appalled. Yes, I know, I'm not a mom so I shouldn't judge, but the fact is I couldn't help it.

I think BOTH are terribly harmful. I don't think its realistic to expect to abolish these harmful role models all together (though I would if I could) so I will take the baby steps. At least there are now Disney princesses that manage to rescue themselves. And now more realistic Barbies.


That said, if I were the mom of girls. Well, let's just say I think being a parent is a very challenging job no matter what sex your kids are. But I personally HATE the Disney princess "wait for a man to rescue me" as much as I hate the harmful Barbie "ideal" where you would have to surgically remove organs to get that body shape.

And I do think with Barbie the change should have happened a decade ago, at least. But, I'll take it.

 

[december-fire]

I recalled that Mattel produced Barbie dolls having various occupations and googled it to see the scope of careers.
The complete list is quite lengthy but includes:
Surgeon (1973)
US Air Force Jet Pilot (1990)
US President (2000)
Astronaut (1965, 1985, 25th Apollo 1994)
So, if Wikipedia is to be trusted on this one, Mattel has not restricted Barbie to traditional roles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie%27s_careers

The following is from Dove's website:
The Dove® Campaign for Real Beauty was created to provoke discussion and encourage debate.
Based on the findings of a major global study, The Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report, Dove® launched the Campaign for Real Beauty in 2004. The campaign started a global conversation about the need for a wider definition of beauty after the study proved the hypothesis that the definition of beauty had become limiting and unattainable. Among the study’s findings was the statistic that only 2% of women around the world would describe themselves as beautiful. Since 2004, Dove® has employed various communications vehicles to challenge beauty stereotypes and invite women to join a discussion about beauty. In 2010, Dove® evolved the campaign and launched an unprecedented effort to make beauty a source of confidence, not anxiety, with the Dove® Movement for Self-Esteem.

Dove had an ad stating 'tested on real curves', but I think the 'real women have real curves' saying originated elsewhere.
Dove recognized that not all women have the same shape and had ads that featured women who probably wouldn't be referred to as particularly curvy.

I'm pleased to see a company try to make positive changes or send positive messages. However, some people were upset with Dove for stating 'real women'. Its unfortunate that some people criticize steps in the right direction by complaining that a change is 'good but its not perfect'. What is perfect? And isn't it better to move in a positive direction rather than do nothing or perpetuate a negative image?

Earlier I mentioned music videos and the entertainment industry. I'd like to see some of the popular female vocalists consider the messages being sent.

I suspect that the actions of people in a child's life are more influential than a doll. We should be trying to raise our children to become independent adults. So, Gypsy, the 'waiting for a man to rescue me' Disney characters would have been shown the door at my house!

If women criticize their own appearance or that of other women within earshot of their daughters, its possible that the child might become overly-sensitive to their own appearance. We have to try not to be part of the problem, as much as humanly possible.

Here are the Dove ads to which I referred.

 

[december-fire]

And on a lighter note, we have the following campaign to change our idea of attractiveness!