Does Barbie Need a New Body?

Young girls growing up have different body types, so why shouldn’t a Barbie doll? Mattel, the creator of the original Barbie, has decided to expand its options for each doll to depict different body types and to have different skin colors.

So now, in addition to the original Barbie there will also be options for tall, petite, and curvy variations. Mattel announced its new line last week on its website and on the cover of the Time magazine.

But do we really need to change?

“I think it shows young girls growing up that aspire to one day look like their Barbie doll that it really doesn’t matter what size you are,” says Weedsport junior, Kara Donnelly. She continued, “Girls shouldn’t want to grow up and look like (original) Barbie! They shouldn’t want something like plastic surgery just to get a Barbie’s looks.”

However, while there were several positive reactions to the new line, some people didn’t really see the point. “It’s just a doll,” sophomore Kyle Burleson says after being asked if there should be a change.

According to the doll company, Barbie will also have 22 new eye colors, and 24 new hair styles as well.

The idea for a change appeared after years of criticism toward Mattel. Parents complained, claiming that the original Barbie doll had unrealistic characteristics and proportions that were virtually impossible standards of beauty for any girls to try and meet.

Due to previous studies, young girls introduced to the original Barbie had lower self esteem than girls given a more diverse doll or no doll at all. People have claimed that Barbie is a doll and that you are never going to get specific diversities out of every doll, so there will never be enough combinations of a specific trait to meet everyone’s needs.

Through all of this debate the new line will (in the company’s hopes) bring Barbie back to the top, and and they hope to surpass Lego, which recently just claimed most popular toy brand.

The new toy will hit major stores March 1st.