Barbie Unveils 17 New Dolls Based On Inspiring Women Like Frida Kahlo And Chloe Kim, And We Want Them All
Barbie dolls have been introducing girls to beauty and fashion trends for 58 years, but recently the company decided to switch things up. To better understand what the current society needs, Barbie surveyed 8,000 mothers. It found out that 86% of them are worried about what kind of role models their daughters are exposed to, so the company created 17 dolls of real and famous women.
“Girls have always been able to play out different roles and careers with Barbie, and we are thrilled to shine a light on real-life female historical figures and famous athletes to remind them that they can be anything,” senior vice president and general manager of Barbie, Lisa McKnight, said in a news release.
Each “Inspiring Women” doll comes with educational information about the way each of the female heroes shaped society. The lineup consists of both historical and modern-day figures. Amelia Earhart, the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and Frida Kahlo, the famous artist, and activist, is among them. Although the series has only three dolls so far, the lineup is set to grow with the release of new ones, a spokeswoman for Mattel said.
Barbie also made new additions to its Shero program, which began in 2015. The initiative has already honored such history-making women like Ibtihaj Muhammad, Misty Copeland, Ava DuVernay, Eva Chen, and Ashley Graham. Now, it’s celebrating even more modern-day female heroes: gold-winning Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, world-renowned chef Hélène Darroze, and others.
More info: mattel.com
Barbie surveyed 8,000 mothers and found out that 86% of them are worried about what kind of role models their daughters are exposed to
In response, the company has released a series of empowering women dolls from both the past and present
Frida Kahlo, Artist
Amelia Earhart, Aviation Pioneer
Martyna Wojciechowska, Journalist
Hélène Darroze, World-Renowned Chef
Ashley Graham, Model And Body Activist
Patty Jenkins, Filmmaker
Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician And Physicist
Yuan Yuan Tan, Prima Ballerina
Sara Gama, Soccer Player
Leyla Piedayesh, Designer and Entrepreneur
Ibtihaj Muhammad, Fencing Champion
Bindi Irwin, Conservationist
Xiaotong Guan, Actress And Philanthropist
Chloe Kim, Snowboarding Champion
Gabby Douglas, Gymnastics Champion
Ava Duvernay, Film Director
Hui Ruoqi, Volleyball Champion
Nicola Adams Obe, Boxing Champion
Some people applauded the new dolls
While others thought they shouldn’t exist in the first place
What do you think?
I think I used to play with the Barbies 50 years ago and grew up fine. I mean really this is ridiculous I mean I don't mind the dolls I think they're really cool but the original Barbie didn't screw with my head didn't make me want to look like her I didn't look to wear as a role model I just played with her. The s**t is out of control. If you're worried about your Children's role model than maybe you should just be one for them and stop relying on a Barbie doll.
Someone could make the case I was impacted by Barbie. For a time I wanted to be a tall, big breasted white woman. However I also wanted to be Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, a lamp and a cat. I don't think Barbie was the worst of these.
Load More Replies...Barbie company would still makes Barbie dolls as close as their old ones, it's the branding, the signature. Of course not all of it looks like the real heroes, but at least when girls see it, they would wonder who these are, google, and hopefully, inspired by it.
This. Also, it's technical reasons. I believe it's not easy to make more complex molds for those plastic doll faces meant to be mass-produced.
Load More Replies...there are many great women in the world both then and now. focus on the positive and the negative can be replaced.
But why no Jane Goodall??😢 I would have LOVED to have a Barbie of her when I was little! I dressed up as her for every dress up day at school and kids made fun of me because they didn’t know who she was, but I didn’t care because she was my role model and hero💕
Jane Goodall was the first one that came to mind when I saw Science being represented in this group.
Load More Replies...I mean...I could whine and point out how it could have been done better but I feel that this is a huge step forward. Especially from such a big company; a company that has had major influence over the years and could easily care only about its income and forget about any diversity. I say - congrats. :)
While I applaud the concept, why do mothers make Mattel responsible for who their daughters have as role models? My mother provided me with Barbies as a child and never did I wish to grow up to be Barbie. Not any version of them. I wanted to grow up to be a strong independent woman because that's who my mother was. The mothers should be teaching their daughters about these women, not handing them dolls to play with and expecting them to aspire to be them. It's who they are that is inspiring, not their outfits.
I agree but I'd add that the PARENTS, not just mothers, have a responsibility to teach their CHILDREN, not just daughters, about integrity.
Load More Replies...As a Czech I have to say it - I need Ester Ledecká as a barbie doll for my daghter.
I love this idea! And there's even Polish woman here! I like Martyna Wojciechowska a lot! Lovely!
well i from mexico and i dont get why american millennial said that frida khlao was a feminist , she was not a feminist in the Mexico of her youth indigenous people were abused by everyone the catholic church was like a goverment , the church have more power over people that the own goverment and Spaniard people were benefit of it , the church manipulate poor mexican farmers to give up their houses and land and those property's ended in hands of Spanish colonizers, she tough that was injustice she believe MEN AND WOMAN deserved same rights as the colonizers. she was not a feminist unfortunately her views were took as communist she hide lenin in mexico. as a mexican i want Americans to leave all Mexicans things alone just leave it alone no need to make a doll out of frida khlao her family dont agree Mattel just took her image and making money out of it.
Trotsky is who she hid Lenin's operatives were pursuing Trotsky and eventually killed him. You can see the house with all the bullet holes in Mexico. Incidentally, both she and Diego Rivera considered themselves ethnically Jewish. So, for all the accomplishments of Jewish women in world, the only one represented by Mattel is Frida. Who is also represented without her medical corset or leg brace
Load More Replies...I love Barbies. They're so much fun for little girls who aren't worried at all about body image and just want to play fantasy. These barbies are incredible, some look more like the people(Chloe Kim) than others(frida kahlo) but they send a great message...and it's a great way to get MOTHERS talking to their DAUGHTERS about these wonderful role models. Maybe show them some actual pictures of the women, and give them a little history lesson while you're at it. Because at the end of the day, parents are most responsible for what their children's minds are being fed. NOT doll makers or movie/reality stars or musicians. The parents. I would definitely by this Barbie, or any other Barbie for that matter, for my child if they expressed interest.
OK you want to get your daughter/son one of these Barbie dolls (or not) get them a book on the person's life to go with the doll. A children's book depending on the child's age. Problem solved cuz the child can decide what they think. Yahoo!!
Ashley Graham, Model And Body Activist?! She does NOT deserve to be in this whatsoever. God I am so sick of hearing her and seeing her everywhere. She's not the best thing since sliced bread. She's a person who wears clothes for a living or doesn't wear clothes and gets photographed. Give me a break.
I still collect toys so I would love a Jane Goodall or Eugenie Clark. Definitely want the Katherine Johnson. They would need to adjust the bodies and faces a bit more than they have but I am mostly ok with them. FWIW, we were tiny dark Italian girls who made our Barbies act as Charlies Angels fighting James Bond on the Love Boat.
It's a nice present for older kids or adults to collect. I say that because when I was little [we are talking 6/7] all I was interested in was the length of the barbie hair so I could comb it and what accessories they had. I also knew very well that nobody actually looks like a barbie. I would have hated to get Amelia Erhard with short hair and the muslim one would have lost the hijab as soon as I'd have got my hands on it. Don't mix young kids up with adults. They have completely different priorities.
Wow amazing collections! I don't understand why some people are still being negative? Beatiful skin tones, some are athletes representing healthy body. If it doesn't look like the real person, remember that they're dolls, not the exact human replica
Is it just me or wasn’t Barbie already a positive roll model? Barbie is an astronaut, a doctor, a vet, a lawyer ect….I can’t remember ever seeing one “depressed housewife Barbie” or “moving back in with her parents because she doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life Barbie” have you? Let’s be honest here This new set of real life roll model Barbie’s aren’t being made to show little girls what’s possible. They are being made so that 40-50-60yo women can add them to their collections. This is all a marketing ploy to sell more dolls to collectors, your kidding yourself if you think this has ANYTHING to do with young girls esteem
I don't mean to be rude or the pessimist but some of these some of these people in these comments are saying that they played with barbies when they were younger and they are fine I loved barbies when I was younger they were my main toy and now I'm personally not fine I believe k could never get a husband or a boyfriend because I may be too ugly in the males eyes I think I have to big a waste and too big a stomache partly because of girls today and because of the young child's you the Barbie when k go to school and I see all these couples I get sad because I feel I could never have that because of today's stereotypes
The young childs toy* and when I say k I mean i
Load More Replies...Sorry, but the only doll that favors who it's supposed to be is Chloe Kim, and that somewhat does, you'd think for as much as they charge and make off of these dolls they could make them look much more like the person they are supposed to be representing to children.
I remember when Barbies used to be all blond and blue eyes. And then once I found a Barbie that actually looked at me. Tan skin, brown eyes, brown hair. AND it was a ballerina like I was. I was just like OMG YAY! And now I WANT ALL OF THESE. Because we don’t need all the girls to think they need to be someone they’re not.
I love Barbie Dolls of all kinds. I played with them when younger and collected many as I got older. I stopped collecting but these could make me want to start again. I never looked at Barbie as someone I wanted to be as I was always happy being just me.
Context and social attitudes are more important than the doll. My eldest daughter's Barbies were like her: they climbed trees and had adventures, sometimes rescuing poor Ken (tied up with a skipping rope and hanging upside down from a chair).
I've had plenty of Barbies, during my first 12 years of life and I was just fine with their measurements. I never checked if my body was different or whatever. Of course it was. A little girl or boy doesn't think of body proportions and compares them to their Barbies or Kens. What I really enjoyed, was the dressing up, playing clothes and/or shoe shopping, playing fairy tales, hairdresser, building castles for my dolls made of pebbles, created them a swimming pool out of my grandma's old plastic kitchen bowl... and so on. Never ever did I ask myself or anyone else why the Barbies have big tits, narrow waist and incredibly long legs. They were dolls for me, playthings, toys. Definitely not role models or proportion advocats and whatnot shits.
We need more barbies, there is still alot of brave women role models!
Can you actually buy all these. I've tried to get Sarah Gilbert but even Mattel can't tell me where she is.
What famous women would look like if they were hot... so the message from barbie is now, get a job and be hot
According to my eyesight, the Barbie with Frida has the eyebrows a little closer than usual, and I see a thin little line between as well. So idk what those people were talking about lol
Should have made a Michelle Obama Barbie instead of Ashley Graham!!
I played with Barbie dolls when I was younger, and so far, I have not thought once "Oh, I'm ugly compared to my doll!" Look, this is great, but small children don't know or care what body image is. They also don't know what a 'physicist' is. I like that they are based on these amazing women, but, little kids only want to play with their doll. That's all. So I think all this debate about barbies and body image is c**p. For teens as well, because they aren't going to become anorexic based on a piece of plastic with a face! Teens are where the problem is, and the media, let your kids play with Barbies.
The idea was great, the appearances sux. Skinny arms are the most terrible to me. Personal facoal details are completely hidden by company. Why? Great project so do it more human!
The only one with a remotely realistic body is Ashley Graham Barbie. But who cares i still like Barbies lol.
Barbie? People still cares about that? My daughter and her friends are all into Disney princesses dolls.
Funny at those people complaining that they didn't give Frida a unibrow... look a bit closer and they did.
Martyna Wojciechowska is so much more than just a journalist (former head of National Geographic Pl)- most and foremost sje is a traveller, a himalaist and climber, a race driver, diver, businesswoman, jewellery designer and a single mom. A great model fir little girls! Congratulations!
I never noticed Barbie's questionable dimensions until it became a big issue. They're dolls, and kids have plenty of opportunity to see real women. I can't ever remember thinking that my dolls represented real people. We're making way too much over this, but nothing wrong IMO with making dolls who represent women in various careers.
I think this is by far the best thing ever Barbie did, more is expected to make up for the years we spent under the influence of the impossible body shape. Thank you Barbie
All except Ashley Graham still look a bit emaciated. Why not make them with normal HUMAN proportions? Personally, I never wanted one nor played with one, but in this day and age I think it's a good idea to promote some positive female role models. We could do with fewer prostitute looking girls in the entertainment business too. Just sayin'!
*rolls eyes* I think if people are so worried about how a doll is going to influence their child, they have bigger problems. Give me a break, it's a doll.
Many of these are Not available, seems like they should of made more.
Oh please, a doll is a doll they don't have to be miniature replicas of specific women!! Anything to make a dollar across the globe.
This is cool! But my question is, does the Frida have an artificial LEG? It's important, because she turned her prosthesis into a work of art! And it had a BELL on it!
Speak for yourselves haters. I'm getting a Katherine Johnson the day they go on sale.
No British or European women ? Barbies are sold worldwide. Many people wld not know who these women are
Wow such ignorance, you can google it in one minute. Martyna Wojciechowska is Polish and Helene Darrozze is French. I think they are quite European. :P
Load More Replies...It makes me sad that they changed Frida. She was such a beautiful woman who showed herself as she truely was. I also hope that Matel publishes Kahlo’s story as it really was. She was bisexual, had her leg amputated, had a damaged spine and was impaled by a rail in a streetcar accident and survived. Kahlo was no pacive barbie. She was a spitfire and a cultral icon.
This is definitely a good start, but I see no musicians in the mix. No Edith Piaf, Marian Anderson, Billie Holliday, Joan Baez or Buffy Ste. Marie. Rosa Parks and Marie Curie would also be good additions. I also agree that the faces were made more in line with the classical idea of beauty, rather than accuracy.
I want them all, sure I would fix the paint job on frida and do some shading on some of the others, but I love this!
Too bad they media-mainstream-feminized them. I still glad they are doing this but could have been done better by representing the actual person and their more obvious values...not putting make up someone on who wouldn't have worn it or simplifying Frida's amazing eyebrows as was her practice to leave herself natural, also althete's muscles have been thinned out...not their idea of feminine i guess :(
I can think of better role models than a gymnast or volleyball player. Like Mae Jamison, the female astronaut
They aren't everyday people. They are special, they've done something to contribute to society, unlike some people...
Load More Replies...What normal kid would want a doll of just a regular person? I wouldn't have .. the whole idea is for fantasy play .. not reality play .. these guys are just being dumb.
Yes. But they aren't in costumes, they are representing something. Unlike the standard Barbie dolls, they have a meaning.
Load More Replies...The people with "body issues" are always the ones who are anti-Barbie -- even with the Ashley Graham doll. Just saying...
I never played with dolls, although I liked to design clothes for my sister's dolls. I did buy a couple of Barbie witch dolls that came out on Halloween. The Frida Kahlo doll I must have. She is one of my favorite artists.
I think that this is amazing. But I think people need to calm down a bit, Barbies have been shat on for nothing too bad. Some things were really bad, but they don't really mess with kids heads in the long term. But these are absolutely amazing!!!
Mattel has made Barbies for far too many years for people to be so up tight about it. I still have my Barbie and her friend Midge that my Aunt bought me when I was 8 years old. I am now 67! No matter if you like Barbie or not, no child should be denied a doll because of a parents beliefs. Let them from their own beliefs. A child has a right to let their imagination free to dream no matter how old they are and dolls is one way for them to do it. They all have to grow up soon enough, don't take childhood away from them because you are so narrow minded. These dolls are a good place to start for any child, just like the Doctore Barbie, the Veteran and Dentist and Veterinary Barbie as well. There are so many job associated Barbies out there that gives a young child something to strive for in life. Barbie the sex toy, by the way.... would be a stripper with a pole! There is nothing wrong with Barbie!
They have a point with Frida Kahlo, they should have given her a unibrow and a cane. But the rest are absolutely amazing!
I too noticed the lack of facial hair on Frida but considering what most girls end up doing to their Barbies* a touch up with a Sharpie is an easy fix. *It's a nearly universal stage, covered in Jezebel in 2009: https://jezebel.com/5166340/why-do-we-destroy-our-barbie-dolls
CORRECTION- After visiting the Mattel website and seeing more detailed photos I saw that the doll has Frida's distinctive brow (if not her mustache).
Load More Replies...Having these dolls is really cool as they show a wide variety of people and appearances, just how you'd see a wide variety of people walking down the street when you're just walking in the city. This represents a whole range of women just like there's a whole range of women out there living their lives. Kids should see that and think 'I could fit in here' - nothing that tries to put that message across could be bad.
The only thing I think that’s maybe negative would be that some of them match pretty good to the real woman, while others look nothing like them! Just get it right, that’s all! But nice try and great beginning effort Barbie manufacturers!
I understand people's concerns about the dolls' appearance fidelity (or not), but I undestand also that a production line has it's issues and limitations - it's not simple changing from a default body to a group of different bodies, and it's even more complicated including new dolls inspired in 17 real people. The bodys won't always look alike, the faces neither (although I have to agree that Frida Kahlo's face... well... what did you do to her, Mattel?), but they're there, and that's good, that's a beginning. Every company thinks in the profits first, at least Mattel is listening to consumers while doing that. Anyway, if they would listen to me I would say unfortunately in my country these dolls are going to be completely inaccessible - only the rich girls will be inspired by them =/
Bindi Bloody Irwin?! Her parents forced her into the spotlight as a tiny child.The Mother cashed in big time once the Farther wasn't around to rake in the $$$. She is a long way from deserving a doll in her image. Really want to know what she is like,read this. https://ariaeappleford.com/2013/11/04/bindi-irwin-and-population-control/
Over population is a legitimate issue xDD shes not a bad person for saying that also her family was pretty famous so whether she wasnt forced or not she would still be in the spotlight. She deserves a barbie doll along with every other remarkable child from my generation who have made a difference
Load More Replies...They actually did pretty well, I love the Chloe Kim one, only because she's my idol!
Martyna has a doll! Wow, that's gotta feel great when "you" stand in line with likes of Katherine Johnson and Amelia Earhart
WAY TO GO BARBIE!!! PROGRESS AND HOPE FOR THE AMERICAN FUTURE!!! WOOHOO!!
I swear people will find ANYTHING to complain about. Reading those negative comments in the post was sad. I think what they're doing is a great start to inspiring girls everywhere. You of course can't please everyone but it gets to the point where you're like "this person is seriously complaining about this?"
Fun! If I was a little girl I would want barbie dolls of olympic athletes.... they should also make some non Ken dolls.
Little girls don't care about Olympic athletes, but yeah - if they're doing "real" women they should do real men: Ken should trade in his toned, tanned body for a "dad bod" or something. Real men have big hairy guts and sweaty man breasts.
Load More Replies...I approve this message. These rock, and I love that the body proportions are realistic
For the folks who commented about the dolls all having the same measurements/proportions: in 2016, Mattel introduced multiple body types, including tall, petite, and curvy (plus sized). Mattel has also introduced new skin tones.
You can't please everyone. Someone is always going to be "offended!" I LOVE these dolls!
Frida, being a woman of Latina descent, had HIPS...like mine ...I am Latina...the doll is ludicrously waiflike...they ALL are...and, yeah, as someone else has posted, she had a UNIBROW...as I did when I was younger...I am not a parent, never have been, but I CARE about what children are influenced by...come on, Mattel, get it REALLY together and prove that you WANT to be "inclusive", "global", "REAL"...........
That's what YOU think are big names and I guess you are from the US because I've never heard of Sacagawea. Personally, I agree with you about some names, but they may be important to others. For example, I've never heard of Ibtihaj Muhammad either, but after I googled her I believe she is a great role model for Muslim girls.
Load More Replies...They are not mostly white. 7/18 are white, i.e. 38 % are white.
Load More Replies...I think I used to play with the Barbies 50 years ago and grew up fine. I mean really this is ridiculous I mean I don't mind the dolls I think they're really cool but the original Barbie didn't screw with my head didn't make me want to look like her I didn't look to wear as a role model I just played with her. The s**t is out of control. If you're worried about your Children's role model than maybe you should just be one for them and stop relying on a Barbie doll.
Someone could make the case I was impacted by Barbie. For a time I wanted to be a tall, big breasted white woman. However I also wanted to be Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, a lamp and a cat. I don't think Barbie was the worst of these.
Load More Replies...Barbie company would still makes Barbie dolls as close as their old ones, it's the branding, the signature. Of course not all of it looks like the real heroes, but at least when girls see it, they would wonder who these are, google, and hopefully, inspired by it.
This. Also, it's technical reasons. I believe it's not easy to make more complex molds for those plastic doll faces meant to be mass-produced.
Load More Replies...there are many great women in the world both then and now. focus on the positive and the negative can be replaced.
But why no Jane Goodall??😢 I would have LOVED to have a Barbie of her when I was little! I dressed up as her for every dress up day at school and kids made fun of me because they didn’t know who she was, but I didn’t care because she was my role model and hero💕
Jane Goodall was the first one that came to mind when I saw Science being represented in this group.
Load More Replies...I mean...I could whine and point out how it could have been done better but I feel that this is a huge step forward. Especially from such a big company; a company that has had major influence over the years and could easily care only about its income and forget about any diversity. I say - congrats. :)
While I applaud the concept, why do mothers make Mattel responsible for who their daughters have as role models? My mother provided me with Barbies as a child and never did I wish to grow up to be Barbie. Not any version of them. I wanted to grow up to be a strong independent woman because that's who my mother was. The mothers should be teaching their daughters about these women, not handing them dolls to play with and expecting them to aspire to be them. It's who they are that is inspiring, not their outfits.
I agree but I'd add that the PARENTS, not just mothers, have a responsibility to teach their CHILDREN, not just daughters, about integrity.
Load More Replies...As a Czech I have to say it - I need Ester Ledecká as a barbie doll for my daghter.
I love this idea! And there's even Polish woman here! I like Martyna Wojciechowska a lot! Lovely!
well i from mexico and i dont get why american millennial said that frida khlao was a feminist , she was not a feminist in the Mexico of her youth indigenous people were abused by everyone the catholic church was like a goverment , the church have more power over people that the own goverment and Spaniard people were benefit of it , the church manipulate poor mexican farmers to give up their houses and land and those property's ended in hands of Spanish colonizers, she tough that was injustice she believe MEN AND WOMAN deserved same rights as the colonizers. she was not a feminist unfortunately her views were took as communist she hide lenin in mexico. as a mexican i want Americans to leave all Mexicans things alone just leave it alone no need to make a doll out of frida khlao her family dont agree Mattel just took her image and making money out of it.
Trotsky is who she hid Lenin's operatives were pursuing Trotsky and eventually killed him. You can see the house with all the bullet holes in Mexico. Incidentally, both she and Diego Rivera considered themselves ethnically Jewish. So, for all the accomplishments of Jewish women in world, the only one represented by Mattel is Frida. Who is also represented without her medical corset or leg brace
Load More Replies...I love Barbies. They're so much fun for little girls who aren't worried at all about body image and just want to play fantasy. These barbies are incredible, some look more like the people(Chloe Kim) than others(frida kahlo) but they send a great message...and it's a great way to get MOTHERS talking to their DAUGHTERS about these wonderful role models. Maybe show them some actual pictures of the women, and give them a little history lesson while you're at it. Because at the end of the day, parents are most responsible for what their children's minds are being fed. NOT doll makers or movie/reality stars or musicians. The parents. I would definitely by this Barbie, or any other Barbie for that matter, for my child if they expressed interest.
OK you want to get your daughter/son one of these Barbie dolls (or not) get them a book on the person's life to go with the doll. A children's book depending on the child's age. Problem solved cuz the child can decide what they think. Yahoo!!
Ashley Graham, Model And Body Activist?! She does NOT deserve to be in this whatsoever. God I am so sick of hearing her and seeing her everywhere. She's not the best thing since sliced bread. She's a person who wears clothes for a living or doesn't wear clothes and gets photographed. Give me a break.
I still collect toys so I would love a Jane Goodall or Eugenie Clark. Definitely want the Katherine Johnson. They would need to adjust the bodies and faces a bit more than they have but I am mostly ok with them. FWIW, we were tiny dark Italian girls who made our Barbies act as Charlies Angels fighting James Bond on the Love Boat.
It's a nice present for older kids or adults to collect. I say that because when I was little [we are talking 6/7] all I was interested in was the length of the barbie hair so I could comb it and what accessories they had. I also knew very well that nobody actually looks like a barbie. I would have hated to get Amelia Erhard with short hair and the muslim one would have lost the hijab as soon as I'd have got my hands on it. Don't mix young kids up with adults. They have completely different priorities.
Wow amazing collections! I don't understand why some people are still being negative? Beatiful skin tones, some are athletes representing healthy body. If it doesn't look like the real person, remember that they're dolls, not the exact human replica
Is it just me or wasn’t Barbie already a positive roll model? Barbie is an astronaut, a doctor, a vet, a lawyer ect….I can’t remember ever seeing one “depressed housewife Barbie” or “moving back in with her parents because she doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life Barbie” have you? Let’s be honest here This new set of real life roll model Barbie’s aren’t being made to show little girls what’s possible. They are being made so that 40-50-60yo women can add them to their collections. This is all a marketing ploy to sell more dolls to collectors, your kidding yourself if you think this has ANYTHING to do with young girls esteem
I don't mean to be rude or the pessimist but some of these some of these people in these comments are saying that they played with barbies when they were younger and they are fine I loved barbies when I was younger they were my main toy and now I'm personally not fine I believe k could never get a husband or a boyfriend because I may be too ugly in the males eyes I think I have to big a waste and too big a stomache partly because of girls today and because of the young child's you the Barbie when k go to school and I see all these couples I get sad because I feel I could never have that because of today's stereotypes
The young childs toy* and when I say k I mean i
Load More Replies...Sorry, but the only doll that favors who it's supposed to be is Chloe Kim, and that somewhat does, you'd think for as much as they charge and make off of these dolls they could make them look much more like the person they are supposed to be representing to children.
I remember when Barbies used to be all blond and blue eyes. And then once I found a Barbie that actually looked at me. Tan skin, brown eyes, brown hair. AND it was a ballerina like I was. I was just like OMG YAY! And now I WANT ALL OF THESE. Because we don’t need all the girls to think they need to be someone they’re not.
I love Barbie Dolls of all kinds. I played with them when younger and collected many as I got older. I stopped collecting but these could make me want to start again. I never looked at Barbie as someone I wanted to be as I was always happy being just me.
Context and social attitudes are more important than the doll. My eldest daughter's Barbies were like her: they climbed trees and had adventures, sometimes rescuing poor Ken (tied up with a skipping rope and hanging upside down from a chair).
I've had plenty of Barbies, during my first 12 years of life and I was just fine with their measurements. I never checked if my body was different or whatever. Of course it was. A little girl or boy doesn't think of body proportions and compares them to their Barbies or Kens. What I really enjoyed, was the dressing up, playing clothes and/or shoe shopping, playing fairy tales, hairdresser, building castles for my dolls made of pebbles, created them a swimming pool out of my grandma's old plastic kitchen bowl... and so on. Never ever did I ask myself or anyone else why the Barbies have big tits, narrow waist and incredibly long legs. They were dolls for me, playthings, toys. Definitely not role models or proportion advocats and whatnot shits.
We need more barbies, there is still alot of brave women role models!
Can you actually buy all these. I've tried to get Sarah Gilbert but even Mattel can't tell me where she is.
What famous women would look like if they were hot... so the message from barbie is now, get a job and be hot
According to my eyesight, the Barbie with Frida has the eyebrows a little closer than usual, and I see a thin little line between as well. So idk what those people were talking about lol
Should have made a Michelle Obama Barbie instead of Ashley Graham!!
I played with Barbie dolls when I was younger, and so far, I have not thought once "Oh, I'm ugly compared to my doll!" Look, this is great, but small children don't know or care what body image is. They also don't know what a 'physicist' is. I like that they are based on these amazing women, but, little kids only want to play with their doll. That's all. So I think all this debate about barbies and body image is c**p. For teens as well, because they aren't going to become anorexic based on a piece of plastic with a face! Teens are where the problem is, and the media, let your kids play with Barbies.
The idea was great, the appearances sux. Skinny arms are the most terrible to me. Personal facoal details are completely hidden by company. Why? Great project so do it more human!
The only one with a remotely realistic body is Ashley Graham Barbie. But who cares i still like Barbies lol.
Barbie? People still cares about that? My daughter and her friends are all into Disney princesses dolls.
Funny at those people complaining that they didn't give Frida a unibrow... look a bit closer and they did.
Martyna Wojciechowska is so much more than just a journalist (former head of National Geographic Pl)- most and foremost sje is a traveller, a himalaist and climber, a race driver, diver, businesswoman, jewellery designer and a single mom. A great model fir little girls! Congratulations!
I never noticed Barbie's questionable dimensions until it became a big issue. They're dolls, and kids have plenty of opportunity to see real women. I can't ever remember thinking that my dolls represented real people. We're making way too much over this, but nothing wrong IMO with making dolls who represent women in various careers.
I think this is by far the best thing ever Barbie did, more is expected to make up for the years we spent under the influence of the impossible body shape. Thank you Barbie
All except Ashley Graham still look a bit emaciated. Why not make them with normal HUMAN proportions? Personally, I never wanted one nor played with one, but in this day and age I think it's a good idea to promote some positive female role models. We could do with fewer prostitute looking girls in the entertainment business too. Just sayin'!
*rolls eyes* I think if people are so worried about how a doll is going to influence their child, they have bigger problems. Give me a break, it's a doll.
Many of these are Not available, seems like they should of made more.
Oh please, a doll is a doll they don't have to be miniature replicas of specific women!! Anything to make a dollar across the globe.
This is cool! But my question is, does the Frida have an artificial LEG? It's important, because she turned her prosthesis into a work of art! And it had a BELL on it!
Speak for yourselves haters. I'm getting a Katherine Johnson the day they go on sale.
No British or European women ? Barbies are sold worldwide. Many people wld not know who these women are
Wow such ignorance, you can google it in one minute. Martyna Wojciechowska is Polish and Helene Darrozze is French. I think they are quite European. :P
Load More Replies...It makes me sad that they changed Frida. She was such a beautiful woman who showed herself as she truely was. I also hope that Matel publishes Kahlo’s story as it really was. She was bisexual, had her leg amputated, had a damaged spine and was impaled by a rail in a streetcar accident and survived. Kahlo was no pacive barbie. She was a spitfire and a cultral icon.
This is definitely a good start, but I see no musicians in the mix. No Edith Piaf, Marian Anderson, Billie Holliday, Joan Baez or Buffy Ste. Marie. Rosa Parks and Marie Curie would also be good additions. I also agree that the faces were made more in line with the classical idea of beauty, rather than accuracy.
I want them all, sure I would fix the paint job on frida and do some shading on some of the others, but I love this!
Too bad they media-mainstream-feminized them. I still glad they are doing this but could have been done better by representing the actual person and their more obvious values...not putting make up someone on who wouldn't have worn it or simplifying Frida's amazing eyebrows as was her practice to leave herself natural, also althete's muscles have been thinned out...not their idea of feminine i guess :(
I can think of better role models than a gymnast or volleyball player. Like Mae Jamison, the female astronaut
They aren't everyday people. They are special, they've done something to contribute to society, unlike some people...
Load More Replies...What normal kid would want a doll of just a regular person? I wouldn't have .. the whole idea is for fantasy play .. not reality play .. these guys are just being dumb.
Yes. But they aren't in costumes, they are representing something. Unlike the standard Barbie dolls, they have a meaning.
Load More Replies...The people with "body issues" are always the ones who are anti-Barbie -- even with the Ashley Graham doll. Just saying...
I never played with dolls, although I liked to design clothes for my sister's dolls. I did buy a couple of Barbie witch dolls that came out on Halloween. The Frida Kahlo doll I must have. She is one of my favorite artists.
I think that this is amazing. But I think people need to calm down a bit, Barbies have been shat on for nothing too bad. Some things were really bad, but they don't really mess with kids heads in the long term. But these are absolutely amazing!!!
Mattel has made Barbies for far too many years for people to be so up tight about it. I still have my Barbie and her friend Midge that my Aunt bought me when I was 8 years old. I am now 67! No matter if you like Barbie or not, no child should be denied a doll because of a parents beliefs. Let them from their own beliefs. A child has a right to let their imagination free to dream no matter how old they are and dolls is one way for them to do it. They all have to grow up soon enough, don't take childhood away from them because you are so narrow minded. These dolls are a good place to start for any child, just like the Doctore Barbie, the Veteran and Dentist and Veterinary Barbie as well. There are so many job associated Barbies out there that gives a young child something to strive for in life. Barbie the sex toy, by the way.... would be a stripper with a pole! There is nothing wrong with Barbie!
They have a point with Frida Kahlo, they should have given her a unibrow and a cane. But the rest are absolutely amazing!
I too noticed the lack of facial hair on Frida but considering what most girls end up doing to their Barbies* a touch up with a Sharpie is an easy fix. *It's a nearly universal stage, covered in Jezebel in 2009: https://jezebel.com/5166340/why-do-we-destroy-our-barbie-dolls
CORRECTION- After visiting the Mattel website and seeing more detailed photos I saw that the doll has Frida's distinctive brow (if not her mustache).
Load More Replies...Having these dolls is really cool as they show a wide variety of people and appearances, just how you'd see a wide variety of people walking down the street when you're just walking in the city. This represents a whole range of women just like there's a whole range of women out there living their lives. Kids should see that and think 'I could fit in here' - nothing that tries to put that message across could be bad.
The only thing I think that’s maybe negative would be that some of them match pretty good to the real woman, while others look nothing like them! Just get it right, that’s all! But nice try and great beginning effort Barbie manufacturers!
I understand people's concerns about the dolls' appearance fidelity (or not), but I undestand also that a production line has it's issues and limitations - it's not simple changing from a default body to a group of different bodies, and it's even more complicated including new dolls inspired in 17 real people. The bodys won't always look alike, the faces neither (although I have to agree that Frida Kahlo's face... well... what did you do to her, Mattel?), but they're there, and that's good, that's a beginning. Every company thinks in the profits first, at least Mattel is listening to consumers while doing that. Anyway, if they would listen to me I would say unfortunately in my country these dolls are going to be completely inaccessible - only the rich girls will be inspired by them =/
Bindi Bloody Irwin?! Her parents forced her into the spotlight as a tiny child.The Mother cashed in big time once the Farther wasn't around to rake in the $$$. She is a long way from deserving a doll in her image. Really want to know what she is like,read this. https://ariaeappleford.com/2013/11/04/bindi-irwin-and-population-control/
Over population is a legitimate issue xDD shes not a bad person for saying that also her family was pretty famous so whether she wasnt forced or not she would still be in the spotlight. She deserves a barbie doll along with every other remarkable child from my generation who have made a difference
Load More Replies...They actually did pretty well, I love the Chloe Kim one, only because she's my idol!
Martyna has a doll! Wow, that's gotta feel great when "you" stand in line with likes of Katherine Johnson and Amelia Earhart
WAY TO GO BARBIE!!! PROGRESS AND HOPE FOR THE AMERICAN FUTURE!!! WOOHOO!!
I swear people will find ANYTHING to complain about. Reading those negative comments in the post was sad. I think what they're doing is a great start to inspiring girls everywhere. You of course can't please everyone but it gets to the point where you're like "this person is seriously complaining about this?"
Fun! If I was a little girl I would want barbie dolls of olympic athletes.... they should also make some non Ken dolls.
Little girls don't care about Olympic athletes, but yeah - if they're doing "real" women they should do real men: Ken should trade in his toned, tanned body for a "dad bod" or something. Real men have big hairy guts and sweaty man breasts.
Load More Replies...I approve this message. These rock, and I love that the body proportions are realistic
For the folks who commented about the dolls all having the same measurements/proportions: in 2016, Mattel introduced multiple body types, including tall, petite, and curvy (plus sized). Mattel has also introduced new skin tones.
You can't please everyone. Someone is always going to be "offended!" I LOVE these dolls!
Frida, being a woman of Latina descent, had HIPS...like mine ...I am Latina...the doll is ludicrously waiflike...they ALL are...and, yeah, as someone else has posted, she had a UNIBROW...as I did when I was younger...I am not a parent, never have been, but I CARE about what children are influenced by...come on, Mattel, get it REALLY together and prove that you WANT to be "inclusive", "global", "REAL"...........
That's what YOU think are big names and I guess you are from the US because I've never heard of Sacagawea. Personally, I agree with you about some names, but they may be important to others. For example, I've never heard of Ibtihaj Muhammad either, but after I googled her I believe she is a great role model for Muslim girls.
Load More Replies...They are not mostly white. 7/18 are white, i.e. 38 % are white.
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