I am definitely the coolest Mum in the world this weekend, as my youngest daughter and Barbie addict Miss A, got her hands on four of the new style Barbie’s with different body shapes – curvy, petite and tall!
We lucky enough to receive the four dolls above. Two of which were petite (2 and 3), one curvy (1) and the other tall. We were given them before they even went on sale nationwide. It’s a very radical makeover I think, and I personally love the variety of the different size dolls to play with. Each of these dolls will also be available in different skin tones(7), eye colours (22) and (24) hair.
I wanted to share with you this video, which explains more :
It was definitely interesting hearing Miss A’s reaction as she opened the dolls, she realised they were different straight away. As we are a tall family, she was instantly drawn to the tall sized doll declaring that it looked exactly like her big sister, and it was her favourite,
She giggled at the curvy girl, lifted her skirt saying she had a bottom just like mine…now that really did make me smile! I too played with Barbie when I was young, and I’ve never really given much thought to the thin size of the doll effecting me, or my girls as they grew up. Its only really now that I am thinking and questioning myself. I think because I was just so used to that being the iconic ‘Barbie shape’, and the fact it was a toy and not something I aspired to be like. I think for me it’s perhaps more important to introduce more skin tones than shape?
I think you can really tell that Barbie has been undergoing changes for quite some time, the career dolls for example. I think this change and others they have made, make the Barbie doll much more of a true reflection of what children see in the world they live.
It didn’t affect the way she played with the dolls, but opened up lots of discussion about their differences, so that was really positive.
You can buy the dolls first on Amazon here (available from 23rd Feb)
Overall learning about diversity has got to be a positive thing!
I’d love to hear what you think, so please leave me a comment below.
Jane Taylor says
Hi Amanda
See, I was saying just the other day that kids have so many more options these days (more than one type of apple, more than one type of tomato, more frozen foods (rather than Findus Crispy Pancakes or McCain cheese and tomato pizza)…Now they have MORE Barbies!
I think it is great that they come in different shapes and sizes now…They didn’t go as far as ‘Rebel Wilson’ Barbie though…
Great pictures. It’s lovely when the girls can help with the reviews and Miss A looks so much like her sister in the first pic.
Catherine says
I think it’s a positive change, there’s such a tide of pressure to push against on this issue of appearance that a shift in message from such a huge brand can only be a good thing. I was more of a Sindy girl when I was little – showing my age there I suspect! – but with my daughter fast approaching the age where Barbie is an inevitable influence I’m pleased to see a little more realism being introduced. They do still look like they’re wearing a lot of makeup though!