Earlier this year Barbie (Yes, the doll) was on the cover of Time Magazine asking if we could stop talking about her body, and as much as I want to adhere to the wishes of an 11 and a half inch fashion doll I still have a few things to say. Barbie was doing a publicity tour promoting the new line of Barbie Fashionistas which now include tall, petite, and curvy body types in addition to the "original". These dolls are great (No, Mattel is not paying me) but they aren't exactly Barbie. They are friends of Barbie. Barbie is still the same thin, blonde haired, blue eyed doll that she's been for the last 50 or so years. (Barbie was originally a brunette, for anyone who didn't know). So Barbie's body hasn't necessarily changed, but that is okay.
Now before I get too far I feel like I need to explain myself. What do I, a 22 year old man, know about Barbie? EVERYTHING. My mother collects Barbie's and when I was a toddler she bought me my first Barbie (It was actually Barbie's friend Teresa, my older brother got Barbie because my mom was cool and didn't play into gender norms or something). I remember as a kid being so excited to walk down the Barbie aisle, a sea of wall to wall pink. "What new and crazy things would Barbie be up to this time?" I would ask myself. And Barbie was always up to something. She was a teacher, she was a dentist, she was a princess and even a mermaid. But over the last 15 years or so Barbie has begun to face more competition in the doll market. No longer does she have her own aisle, but rather a shared aisle with the likes of Bratz, Monster High and Disney Princesses. Could this be because of the rise in tech toys for kids? Dolls must now huddle together and hold on for life while kids shun them for tablets? Or Because of the scrutiny constantly placed on Barbie who is little more than plastic and fake hair has caused Barbie sales to drop and production to decrease?
This brings me back to Barbie's body. Why do we care so much!? She's a doll!? Yes, sure her proportions would not translate well to real life, but she's surely more realistic than a Bratz doll (no offense to those balloon headed girls with a passion for fashion). Even prior to this year Mattel has worked to change Barbie's body to be more realistic. Barbie used to have a joint at the waist that would allow her torso to spin all the way around. Gone. Her hips have gotten bigger, her chest has gotten smaller. She even comes in a flat footed variety now for those who were upset about the constant heel position of her foot. Barbie still might not be the ideal size that mothers want promoted to their daughters, but she is so much more than that.
It is when other fashion dolls fall short that Barbie rises to the occasion. Bratz are straight up fashion dolls. Monster High dolls are high school students with "freaky flaws". Disney Princess dolls are, pretty obviously, princesses. But Barbie can be anything. Back in 1965 Barbie was an astronaut, almost 20 years before the United States put a woman in space. Barbie has run for president multiple times (and honestly this time I hope she wins). She's had jobs ranging from paleontologist to yoga instructor to a news anchor. She is teaching kids to dream and imagine greater. Roleplaying their future and letting them know that they can be anything. That is what Barbie does that other dolls do not. She's thin? Yes. She's made some blunders? (Looking at you, 1963 Barbie Babysits outfit that came with a book that encouraged girls to lose weight by not eating) YES. But to look at Barbie's body and say that's all there is to her is wrong.
So now we CAN stop talking about Barbie's body. We can stop demanding that Barbie be a certain way. (That means stop vilifying Barbie every time a doll with a tattoo hits stores. To some little girls that doll is as representative of their families as a curvy Barbie might be to another girl or boy). Barbie is not just a doll, Barbie and her friends represent possibility. You can be a petite dog walker or a curvy fashion model or a tall gymnastics coach or an "original" photographer. Like Barbie's twitter says #YouCanBeAnything.
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