Barbie takes one step forward in representing all the children who love her — but is it enough?
The new “Fashionista” Barbie line has already began to hit retailers, with new dolls continuing to roll out through October 2015.
According to CNN, the new line features 23 new dolls that have different options: eight skin tones, 14 facial structures, 18 eye colors, and 23 hair colors.
So many Barbies!
This is, of course, a great thing, as diversity among dolls is important both for children who should see themselves reflected back to them in their toys and for all kids to be exposed to the differences that occur in the world around them.
Barbie is also getting an ankle upgrade (or is it a downgrade?).
Instead of her normal oddly angled ankles that require her to wear heels all the time, the new and improved Barbie has movable ankles that accommodate flats and theoretically let her stand like a human.
These are all steps in the right direction, but is it enough? I hesitate to call this body positivity, because each Barbie still comes with the classic impossible body proportions — and I don’t expect Mattel to release any body-shape diversity dolls any time soon.
But for now, progress is progress!
Racial diversity and a slightly more realistic body type — even something as small as movable ankles — is a good change. Baby steps!
