Toy Company Mattel Introduces Barbie’s New Look: Petite, Tall, Curvy With Seven Different Skin Colors
Barbie will undergo some changes as Mattel announced that the fashion doll will have new looks for this year. The toy company revealed Barbie will be available in new body shapes with different skin tones which is totally different from the typical blue-eyed and blonde fashion doll.
Yahoo! News reported Friday that the new Barbie has three fresh looks - tall, curvy and petite. Aside from that, it will also come in seven different skin colors, 24 hairstyles and 22 eye colors.
Mattel spokesperson Michelle Chidoni said Barbie's changes aim to "offer more choices" in order to craft "the line more reflective of the world girls see around them."
Despite this, the toy company expects that there will be adverse reactions over the changes on the famous fashion doll, as per The Guardian Thursday.
"We were seeing that Millennials are driven by social justice and attracted to brands with purpose and values, and they didn't see Barbie in this category," said Tania Missad, Mattel's director of global brand insights.
She went on, "There will be people who say we haven't gone far enough, or people who ask what's next, question our commitment to this. Barbie is a lightning rod for conversation, and of course there will be a backlash."
On the other hand, a teacher of sociology at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina said Barbie's changes do not change the reality that these fashion dolls give too much weight on the features of women.
"[I am] reluctant to celebrate Barbie's new strategy because it doesn't change the fact that Barbie dolls and other kinds of fashion dolls still over-emphasize female beauty," said Kris Macomber. "Sure, all body types should be valued. And, sure, all skin colors should be valued equally. But why must we keep sending girls the message that being beautiful is so important?"
American toy company Mattel, Inc. launched Barbie in1959. A runway show in New York for the Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week was staged for the 50th anniversary of the famous fashion doll.
