In somewhat shocking news, Mattel announced Thursday in a special Time Magazine feature of Barbie’s new body shape with three versions of the doll.
Barbie has been a symbol of idealistic beauty for decades so it’s refreshing to hear a company give honest and open answers about such a significant change. But it’s also a huge risk the company is only now willing to take.
Because people hate change, check out the first reply after the announcement:
That reply is one of many hating the decision to add diversity to a lineup that hasn’t changed much over the years. How dare a company offer a variety of choices for a variety of bodies!
While it’s been a frustrating problem for women and girls of today to find proper representation of all shapes and sizes, let’s hope the iconic Barbie brand, which earns more than $1 billion in global sales, can influence makers of other merchandise that having greater diversity isn’t something to shy away from.
You can read the full expose over on Time Magazine’s website of the decisions that went into a two-year-old rebrand. Here’s hoping this is the first of many new dolls little girls will have an option to play with and more importantly, believe that all shapes are beautiful.
