Ever since its first doll, introduced in 1959, the Barbie brand has become a household name. Barbie dolls have become a go-to present for little girls everywhere. Most women have owned a Barbie doll at some point in their lives or have at least formed an opinion about the dolls. In fact, Mattel (the company that produces Barbie) gets quite a bit of criticism. The biggest controversy being about Barbie's figure. According to the Huffington Post, a life-sized Barbie would stand at "about six feet tall with a 39" bust, 18" waist, and 33" hips." There is nothing realistic about that. Yet, with such small frames, Barbie dolls are fast and easy to dress, which is exactly the reason behind why they are designed with such impossible proportions.
But recently, Mattel has announced the release of three new body types: curvy, tall, and petite. Of course, this drastic change is bound to bring more controversy, and naturally, the debates have already begun over these new dolls.
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Some people fully support the change. They believe that the new additions will give little girls a broader look at women's body types and will help girls maintain a healthy body image. When girls walk down doll aisles at their favorite toy stores, they will see Barbies coming in not only a variety of skin, hair and eyes colors but also with different shapes and sizes. They will not feel as self-conscious about their own differences from other kids their age.
However, others think that these new dolls, the curvy size one, in particular, are only going to make matters worse. They say that the curvy doll resembles a curvy model rather than a true plus-sized woman. It will apparently give young girls the wrong opinion about what it means to be "curvy," which will, in turn, cause girls to have even worse body images.
There are even some people who love the idea of Barbie dolls in various sizes but are frustrated by the fact that they make up only a small percent of dolls sold. They think the original-sized Barbie still makes up too much of the company's merchandise.
It is worth remembering that Barbie has maintained a standard body shape for over 50 years. The company cannot go back in time to retract all their disproportionate dolls or to replace them with more realistic figures. All Mattel can do is move forward, and that is exactly what they are doing with these new dolls. They are introducing more realistic body types to young girls. It will definitely continue to cause controversy and disputes over whether or not these dolls are helping to better the way kids view body types, but what matters is that we are now getting a much-needed change. Whether or not this change is for the better is yet to be seen, but, at least, we can say a change has been made.
