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Barbie You’ve Chaaaaaanged. And We Love It!

10 February, 2016 - 08:27pm by - First Lady | 19 Comments

By BR Kellie

Barbie’s getting short. Yes! Barbie’s also getting curves. Excellent! Barbie’s getting a range of skin tones and hair types and facial features! Woohoo! Barbie might actually even start to become relatable to 99.9999999999% of the female population. Hoooo-rah! 

While the world applauded Mattel’s move to make Barbie more like the women around us, I shed a little tear. Of joy. For nearly three decades I’ve had one memory of playing with dolls that would spring up from nowhere, bringing with it little feelings of guilt. 

You see I was a child of the 80s. A time when Barbie was rife and Miss Universe was the most exciting televised show of the year. For this young girl anyway. Of course this meant that I would sit in my room, gather my dolls and host my own pageants. The contestants would be Lisa, a ginormous blonde-haired blue-eyed doll that could walk. She scared the heck out of me and spent nights hidden at the back of my wardrobe as I was convinced she had plans to do away with me. Peaches & Cream Barbie, in all her slim-waisted, boobied-up and little-featured perfection was another contestant. And then there was Princess Tiger Lily. Brown-haired, brown-eyed, short and wearing a cardboard dress decorated with seashells. They’d be lined up, made to parade around, say a few words and then Princess Tiger Lily would win. All the time, except for the odd occasion when I felt bad for the others and shamed myself into sharing the joys of victory with them.

An innocent memory really, but that guilt of only wanting the one doll that looked like me to win was emblazoned on my mind. Of course to the adult mind the reason for that is obvious… even as a child I knew my squat form and average features were never going to win any pageant, or compete with anyone remotely resembling Barbie, so at least this doll aka my mini-me could. 

All these years I thought I was being weird, allowing Princess Tiger Lily to win the majority of my beauty pageants. Turns out I wasn’t being weird at all. In this article from Time on how kids reacted to the new-look Barbie’s it was noted that the children were attracted to the dolls that they related to most, which was a comfort to me because it meant that my desire to relate to a Kellie-esque doll from such a young age was actually perfectly normal and natural. 

Going through the pictures Mattel has released of their new Barbie’s, which will sit alongside the original gal, I’m liking what I’m seeing. Mattel have created a range of dolls that young girls could see themselves in - whether it’s due to the curves, the height, the shape of the nose, the colour of the eyes, the type of hair, or a combination of things. Sure, there’s probably not something there for everyone (yet!), but you’ve got to start somewhere and if it helps young girls learn self-acceptance and teaches them to realise they are good enough just as they are, then I’m all for it. 

As for me, I’ll probably be picking one up for my daughter - it has her brown eyes, brown hair, olive skin, and even a hint of the facial features that could represent her Maori heritage. And maybe, unlike the original blonde blue-eyed Barbie I bought her as the ultimate potty-training success present, it might not end up tossed into a corner, never to be played with. …It may even go on to win its own pageant one day! 

If you’ve got a spare five minutes have a read of this article from Time explaining the process behind creating new-look Barbie. It’s a fascinating read.  

So are you a fan of the new generation of Barbies? Do you like the idea behind it? Is it a good start? Or are you old-school Barbie all the way and of the mind that old Barbs should’ve been left as she was and not fiddled with? Chat away… 

Comments

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2nd April, 2016

I saw a while back someone was upcycling Barbie (and other makes like Bratz) in to more realistic and down to earth dolls. Removing all facial features and makeup as well as making new clothes etc. It was a neat idea.

16th February, 2016

I never owned a Barbie. I did have a Jem Doll though that I adored. Good on you Mattel :-)

15th February, 2016

This is a good move for Mattel. Barbie has been around for so long it's time they did something different.

14th February, 2016

This is fascinating and I absolutely love this idea! Dolls are being more realistic and not giving a warped image of what girls should look like

13th February, 2016

As a child I never had a Barbie I had a Sindy Doll, loved her and still have her today. I think that it is great to have a diverse range of dolls, as one style does not fit all.

11th February, 2016

As much as I think the new barbies are cute, I am still a big fan of the old-school Barbie <3

11th February, 2016

We ( my sisters and I) never had barbies. We had those cardboard dolls with the paper clothes with the tabs that basically hang over their shoulders.

It is great to think toy makers are being a bit more realistic these days. I have seem anatomically correct dolls as well.

11th February, 2016

i played with barbie doll but never aspired to look like her.my first doll had lovely short hair,you of course couldnt do much with it but still I didnt care.maybe if she had long hair i may have been a hair dresser! I do not believe a doll has that much influence....maybe thats just me

11th February, 2016

I know deep down this is just a marketing campaign but I do like this. I've seen a lot of negative talk around this but I would have loved a doll to look like me as a kid. I think heaps of kids will love and enjoy having different shape dolls and knowing that there is nothing wrong and we are all different.

11th February, 2016

ahh Barbie - My neighbor had the Peaches & Cream Barbie - I was so jealous of her beautiful dress... It was the 80s and I had the Jazzercise Barbie complete with legwarmers. Back then, you only got one and if someone had a horse - they were lucky as! My mum made mine some clothes and that was my favourite part - putting her in all the fabulous outfits (and making a waterbed out of a bladder from a cask of wine). I never thought about looking like barbie. I like these different dolls though it's going to be harder to dress them with all their different shapes - oh why are we destroying childhood dreams??

11th February, 2016

Ohhh I love them!!! I think I'm going to have to buy one!

Those articles are great!!!

11th February, 2016

I love the new generation Barbies. More natural and really cute.

10th February, 2016

I'm old school barbie - it's what I know but I think it's fantastic Mattel have come out with new versions - heck, there's a doll or two I'd like to have!! Haha.

Sniffles, the TIME article is only for subscribers; going to check if I can access it another way without having to subscribe - if it's not beauty products I don't want any notifications haha.

10th February, 2016

I still have and love (and occasionally buy more) limited edition barbies- still in their boxes untouched - I rocked out to Barbie and the Rockers on cassette, Crystal Barbie and Crystal Ken were my treasured favourites - will Ken get a man bun and beard in future editions? I never liked the pregnant barbie, I did buy my children Grandama barbie- she wasn't well received! I also learned to cut hair on a Barbie doll - great life lesson that I'll never be a hairdresser. I like Barbie in her original form.

10th February, 2016

I liked the old Barbie. My father made me feel like an ugly and fat, Barbie didn't. I was attracted to her glamour and beauty and wanted to be like that, it was kind-of aspirational for me. I never got there of course, but I didn't hold it against her. I have also had since I was around 10, one of the Debbie dolls that looks like Barbie but her bottom half is a talcum powder container, and she was equally aspirational to me. She has brown hair and freckles.

MareeB
10th February, 2016

Sadly, I look more like these dolls (chubbier if I'm honest) and I don't like it. Or them. They look frumpy. That probably speaks to the ideal of my generation though - people in the 70s were much thinner than they are today.

MareeB
17th February, 2016

It's interesting that NZ now as overtaken Mexico and USA to become the fattest nation in the world. It worries me that our tolerance for over-weight is increasing. I wish I knew what the answer was...

kirstyj
10th February, 2016

Lol! I love the idea of Ken with a beard and man bun!

MareeB
17th February, 2016

Hahahaha Ringy - I cut the Debbie doll's hair too! but I also have some tiny wigs for her - I haven't a clue where they came from!

MareeB
17th February, 2016

I'd love to see Ken with a man bun and beard, but he seems too much of a 'goodie' for that teeheehee

Head Pixie
11th February, 2016

Hmmm, that's strange that it's only for subscribers.... I wonder if they changed it after I wrote the article. Apologies!

MareeB
17th February, 2016

Oh an 80s Barbie would have to be the best Karen - the glamour - oh la la!!

MareeB
17th February, 2016

I loved those cardboard dolls. And the mystery date game - two of my beauty favourites from the 70s!!

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