Barbie is now manufacturing a line of dolls that, believe it or not, look like real people! The standard Barbie had proportions that fit the criteria of only a few models and this new line is much more realistic of what real women look like. The company released girls with curves, curls, and color. And their ad campaign that goes along with it really shows how positively younger girls react.
Finally! No more too thin Barbie! Girls are identifying these new realistic dolls with women they look up to in their own life or their close friends. These dolls are a step in the right direction when it comes to expectations of what women should like. The media portrayal of females is one that is incredibly negative. The majority of ads have women in as little clothing as possible and the women are unhealthily thin. This kind of advertising makes girls, especially impressionable young girls, think that they should look like these models and question it when they don't.
The body positive concept has been spreading throughout social media and women everywhere are questioning the preconceived ideals of beauty that were forced upon them through pop culture. The ad that Barbie released the director of consumer insights, Tania Missad. She said, "We have to let girls know, it doesn't matter what shape you come in that anything is possible." The ad then shows clips of girls sharing their aspirations, to be a scientist or a teacher. Young children can relate to these dolls more than they could relate to the thin blonde straight-haired Barbie, and are more capable of imaging careers they want without restrictions.
This is a big step from Barbie, the company who received a lot of flack because their doll when put in proportion to a normal human was incredibly unrealistic, and not humanly possible. The sooner we allow young girls to see that their body image does not matter, and they should celebrate their curves, height, skin color, and everything about them, the sooner we can change gender roles in society.
Progress is satisfying and this is a win for feminists everywhere. Seeing Barbie change the body type of its' dolls to more accurately represent women will hopefully encourage toy companies and others to try harder to not misrepresent women and perpetuate a cycle of eating disorders and abnormal focus on appearance. Although I never found myself playing with dolls, perhaps dolls that looked more like the people in my life would make me more inclined to do so. There is still a lot to be done but it is exciting to see these ideas come to reality.
I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more toy companies following this trend in the near future. But it's also important to instill the positive mentality in young girls, that looks do not define a person and that it's what is on the inside that matters most.
