Barbie’s new look

With blond hair, blue eyes, and an extremely unrealistic body, the famous Barbie doll has long been the obsession of many younger children. From her dream house to the numerous movies, Barbie’s sparkling, plastic life has served as a goal for many. However, this expectation that Barbie sets is incredibly unrealistic and even harmful.

Fortunately, after a decades-long debate regarding Barbie’s harmfully unrealistic body, Mattel has finally made a change to this iconic doll. The toy company unveiled three new body types: petite, tall, and curvy and each doll comes in a variety of skin colors and hairstyles. Mattel has finally started the production of Barbie dolls that are more reflective of real women and this is a much-needed step towards the acceptance of different bodies in our society.

To begin, the original Barbie sent an unhealthy message to the children who played with these dolls. The first realistic African American Barbie finally came out in 2009, after 50 years of production and Barbie with different body types came out just this year in 2016. The fact that there was only one look for Barbie set a single standard of beauty that was unrealistic and ultimately unattainable for all.

The children playing with these dolls were given one image of beauty that did not reflect the reality of society.

However, with the production of the new and improved dolls, children are even able to see themselves reflected in these toys. This then shows that they themselves are beautiful and that they don’t have to be the blue-eyed blond with feet permanently elevated for heels.

However, the production of different Barbie’s is not only beneficial for children who play with these dolls, but also for society as a whole. The creation of these dolls shows that we are starting to become more accepting of different body types, giving both men and women alike greater confidence regarding their natural selves.

It helps people realize that there are different shapes to beauty and that society is slowly starting to see this. The production of the different types of bodies shows that society is becoming more open-minded and accepting of differences.

While this change has been receiving positive feedback, critics still argue that it is up to the children’s parents to teach their kids that Barbie does not reflect an attainable idea of beauty, concluding that this change is unnecessary. While it may seem trivial that a doll’s body has been changed, this change symbolizes that the idea that beauty comes in different shapes and sizes has been accepted. Barbie has long been the ideal image of beauty, and the fact that Barbie can look different shows that beauty can look different as well.

Mattel’s decision to produce different Barbie’s is only a small step toward a more positive body image. Although it will take time for true change to take place, this decision shows how far we have come and how much further we have to go.