I’m trying to remember what I thought of Barbie when I was a girl. I’m 48 now, so let’s see. I had only a few dolls plus one Ken. They were blonde, I was a brunette. They were tall, I was petite. They were big busted, I wasn’t quite there yet.
I don’t remember being especially disturbed by the differences, although there may have been a subconscious effect I’m unaware of. Perhaps because they had the same skin color I had, the rest didn’t matter. I believe that if they were Asian or African, I probably would have noticed. But then again, sometimes children don’t see the same way adults do. So I’m not sure. However, I do strongly agree that the body type of the traditional barbie is so inaccurate to actual women that it holds girls to a standard that is simply not achievable.
Along with more realistic body types, I’d love to see Barbies of different liftstyles – a granola girl Barbie, an entrepreneurial Barbie, a Barbie doctor, nurse, computer programmer, mother and so on.
Congrats to Barbie for updating her look and physique. All body types are beautiful!