Mattel releases a new line of diverse Barbie Dolls for International Women’s Day
A collection of 17 new Barbie dolls will represent real women from past and present to serve as role models to young girls
When you picture Barbie, what image comes to mind? If you’re over a certain age, chances are it’s that very white model with stilts-like legs and a cinched waistline, little changed from her debut in 1959. But over the past few years, in the face of falling sales, the toy giant Mattel, as they say, got woke. As Mattel senior vice president and general manager of Barbie Lisa McKnight said, “The brand was losing relevance… we knew we had to change the conversation.”
Cue: a revamped Barbie Fashionista line including a range of skin colours, hairstyles, body shapes – and flat feet. (Dear old Ken got a range of different body shapes too.) Meanwhile, 2015 saw the introduction of a ‘Shero’ line, modelled on real women who’ve broken boundaries, such as Olympic athlete Ibtihaj Muhammad – the first hijab-wearing Barbie.
Woke worked: by 2016, Barbie sales rose 7 percent to $971.8m. And now Mattel’s gone further. Following its global survey which revealed 86 per cent of mums are concerned about the kind of role models their daughters are exposed to, it has unveiled a new range of dolls to act as empowering role models for girls – and, we daresay, some grownups too. Launched on 2018’s International Women’s Day, the 14 new Shero dolls include the likes of polish journalist Martyna Wojciechowska, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and Australian wildlife conservationist Bindi Irwin.
Elsewhere, a new ‘Inspiring Women’ series comprises models of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and pioneering NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson. These three dolls include an educational information pack about the contributions that each woman made to society, so children can learn while they play. A McKnight says, “We are thrilled to shine a light on real life role models to remind them that they can be anything.”