Barbie is finally getting real.
After 57 years, Mattel has rolled out three new body types for America’s iconic doll — a curvy Barbie, a tall one and a petite one.
It’s about time girls are able to play with a doll that they can identify with.
Let’s face it, no one looks like the original Barbie unless, perhaps, you live at the Playboy Mansion. But what parent wants their daughter to aspire to that?
Kudos to Mattel for finally presenting normal, real-world body images to girls, not unrealistic ones that are unattainable for the masses.
Now it’s time for the fashion industry to do the same.
The modeling industry is diverse when it comes to skin color and ethnicity, but most brands don’t embrace body diversity. The majority of models are either unnaturally thin or lumped into the plus-sized category.
Why the polar extremes? Not all women are a size 0 or size 18. What about all the sizes in between? That’s where billions of women live. And guess what, men don’t have a problem with that.
Why does the out-of-touch modeling industry?
Women — of all sizes — are beautiful. Toy manufacturers and the modeling industry should embrace that reality and stop dictating to masses of young, impressionable girls their narrow perception of beauty.
Be healthy and self-confident — that’s the message the modeling industry and toy manufacturers should send to girls. Accept who you are, own what you’ve got. Be comfortable in your own skin.
Because smart adults know, happiness isn’t a dress size — it’s an attitude.
