Barbie’s New Body: Tall, Curvy, and Petite

Barbie may now look like the rest of us Arrowhead High School students. Mattel, the creator of Barbie just recently on January 21st, 2015 that announced that they are coming out with new  Barbie body shapes, other than the iconic Barbie doll shape that has been criticized.

On the Mattel website they said, “we have been putting Barbie through a transformation for the past two years to bring the doll in line with realistic body standards and reflect the diversity of the kids playing with the dolls. Last year we introduced 23 new dolls with different skin tones, hairstyles, outfits and flat feet, rather than the perpetually pointy ones meant to fit into sky-high heels.”

This year, they are releasing three new types of bodies: tall, curvy, and petite. They have opened online sales, and these new Barbies will be in stores on March 1st. You will be able to purchase these new dolls at Target, Toys R Us, and KMart. They will range from $15 to $24.

Mattel has been criticized for the old doll’s unrealistic body proportions. A woman who appears impossibly tall, skinny, and busty.

This new body shape will help girls understand that they don’t need to be perfect like their previous Barbie dolls.

Florence Williams, a visiting scholar at George Washington University’s public health school, said, “Kids are just bombarded with images that are really just not true to nature,” she says. “It can potentially damage your self-esteem or limit your world view.” She adds that it’s important for young boys to understand women’s bodies come in all shapes and sizes because “they grow up expecting girls’ bodies to look a certain way.”

Arrowhead students also think the new Barbie doll shapes are a great image booster. Senior Alaina Cardella said, “I used to play with Barbie’s all the time. I always tried to look like her and do my hair and makeup like her. I think it is a great thing that Barbie dolls won’t try to ruin girls self esteem anymore because not everyone is stick thin with beautiful blond hair.”

Senior Kristin Farina also agreed with Cardella: “When I was young and played with dolls I always tried to walk like Barbie and talk like her too. But I think now that Barbie dolls are going to look like the rest of us, little girls won’t try to act like someone that they aren’t.”