Barbie Got Booty
January 29, 2016 10:34 AM Subscribe
America’s biggest toy company is changing the most famous body in the world. Classic, curvy, tall and petite; 7 skin tones; 22 eye colours; 24 hairstyles; 8 hair colours: meet the new Barbie Fashionistas.
Call me back when they introduce Fat Barbie and Totally Ripped Barbie.
posted by the_blizz at 10:42 AM on January 29, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by the_blizz at 10:42 AM on January 29, 2016 [8 favorites]
I think this is cool.
I also think it would have remapped my sexuality in my deformative years.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:43 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I also think it would have remapped my sexuality in my deformative years.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:43 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Somewhere, a collector just signed a third mortgage to keep up.
posted by lmfsilva at 10:43 AM on January 29, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by lmfsilva at 10:43 AM on January 29, 2016 [9 favorites]
It's funny, the urge to snark on Mattel is so strong--so ingrained after decades of complaining about this doll--that I'm a little taken aback by how sensible this new line is. Like, I still find myself wanting to find something wrong here...but, you know, I think I would buy some of these for my kids. And I think they would be excited to play with them, because we've already had the talk about how weirdly elongated the traditional Barbie figure is, how hard it is to fit clothes on her because of her strange proportions, how unnatural she is (although what doll is natural?)...this is a positive step. I, a snarker, approve.
posted by mittens at 10:44 AM on January 29, 2016 [23 favorites]
posted by mittens at 10:44 AM on January 29, 2016 [23 favorites]
Pardon my pessimism but I have a non sarcastic question: What's the point of the curvy barbie? If it is to encourage children to accept all kinds of body types, you can buy a child a toy but how do you teach her to genuinely like it? As mentioned in the article, the children will probably end up making jokes about the bigger barbie when no one's watching. I maybe misunderstanding the intent and impact completely - since I don't have any experience raising kids but won't this only teach kids to be PC and fake their true feeling in their fantasy world?
posted by savitarka at 10:44 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by savitarka at 10:44 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I really wonder how clicking on that link is going to change the ads that are served to me going forward.
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:45 AM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:45 AM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I think this is cool, too. Also, the video that played next after the one that's linked had a feeling of... warmth, I guess... in the photo album page-turning that I liked a lot. The textual description was a little syruppy but I really liked the visual style. It seemed to have some heart to it.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:47 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by Wolfdog at 10:47 AM on January 29, 2016
I freely admit that the hairstyles and colors are so neat-looking on these that I kind of want them, even though there would be totally no reason to have them, and even though I am officially skeptical of representation-in-consumerism stuff. But the hair! The one with the short red haircut! The one with the long blue hair! The one with the two-tone hair!!!
My bet is that the hair is going to carry the day - if you have the opportunity for an doll with long blue hair, you're not going to pay much attention to whether she's sort of slim with big hips instead of thin.
posted by Frowner at 10:47 AM on January 29, 2016 [10 favorites]
My bet is that the hair is going to carry the day - if you have the opportunity for an doll with long blue hair, you're not going to pay much attention to whether she's sort of slim with big hips instead of thin.
posted by Frowner at 10:47 AM on January 29, 2016 [10 favorites]
There are a couple of heart-breaking reports of the test-marketing. Little girls--six years olds--playing with the curvy doll unaware they were being watched, calling her F-A-T, rejecting her.
It matters so fucking much that images held up as "generic person" are realistic, diverse, not racist, not sexist, not hateful. And people just dismiss how much it matters.
posted by crush-onastick at 10:47 AM on January 29, 2016 [36 favorites]
It matters so fucking much that images held up as "generic person" are realistic, diverse, not racist, not sexist, not hateful. And people just dismiss how much it matters.
posted by crush-onastick at 10:47 AM on January 29, 2016 [36 favorites]
Pardon my pessimism but I have a non sarcastic question: What's the point of the curvy barbie? If it is to encourage children to accept all kinds of body types, you can buy a child a toy but how do you teach her to genuinely like it? As mentioned in the article, the children will probably end up making jokes about the bigger barbie when no one's watching.
The kids in the article have only been exposed to the non-curvy Barbie their whole lives, and the curvy Barbie is a new commodity.
The point of the curvy Barbie is for someone to give to a little girl who's never had a Barbie before, so that little girl grows up with the idea that curvy Barbie is just fine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:48 AM on January 29, 2016 [26 favorites]
deck chairs, titanic, etc
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 10:50 AM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 10:50 AM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
won't this only teach kids to be PC and fake their true feeling in their fantasy world?
I dunno, if I'm playing with my niece or my daughter or whomever with these things, I think they're going to learn a lot more from me and how I act and treat them than the doll itself actually teaches them.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:50 AM on January 29, 2016 [13 favorites]
I dunno, if I'm playing with my niece or my daughter or whomever with these things, I think they're going to learn a lot more from me and how I act and treat them than the doll itself actually teaches them.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:50 AM on January 29, 2016 [13 favorites]
What's the point of the curvy barbie?
There's a huge value in seeing yourself in the world.
Last night I watched a news segment and a little chunky black girl picked up a doll and said, "This one looks like me!"
My nieces are Korean (adopted). Growing up we could never find dolls for them to play with. Closest were Pocahontas and Dora the Explorer. Getting a wider body selection and colors is a great thing. Also reduces unrealistic expectations.
One of my Facebook friends recently wanted to launch a business. Only after seeing Joy did she actually decide to go see about getting the loan. If you don't see yourself reflected the world you have a hard time picturing yourself there at all. When you do it's quite powerful.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:50 AM on January 29, 2016 [46 favorites]
There's a huge value in seeing yourself in the world.
Last night I watched a news segment and a little chunky black girl picked up a doll and said, "This one looks like me!"
My nieces are Korean (adopted). Growing up we could never find dolls for them to play with. Closest were Pocahontas and Dora the Explorer. Getting a wider body selection and colors is a great thing. Also reduces unrealistic expectations.
One of my Facebook friends recently wanted to launch a business. Only after seeing Joy did she actually decide to go see about getting the loan. If you don't see yourself reflected the world you have a hard time picturing yourself there at all. When you do it's quite powerful.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:50 AM on January 29, 2016 [46 favorites]
What's the point of the curvy barbie? If it is to encourage children to accept all kinds of body types, you can buy a child a toy but how do you teach her to genuinely like it? As mentioned in the article, the children will probably end up making jokes about the bigger barbie when no one's watching.
That's assuming that cultural size norms are natural instead of learned. Absent adult prejudices, a child who plays with dolls of all different shapes and sizes will hopefully see all of them as normal and healthy.
I want to know if they're going to make different sizes of Barbie clothes to fit the new body types. Because a zaftig/elfin/amazon Barbie with only one outfit to wear is a sad thing.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:52 AM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
That's assuming that cultural size norms are natural instead of learned. Absent adult prejudices, a child who plays with dolls of all different shapes and sizes will hopefully see all of them as normal and healthy.
I want to know if they're going to make different sizes of Barbie clothes to fit the new body types. Because a zaftig/elfin/amazon Barbie with only one outfit to wear is a sad thing.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:52 AM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
There's a huge value in seeing yourself in the world.
there are a few photos I've seen on social media of little African-American boys with huge grins holding action figures of Finn from Star Wars. Absolutely.
(Tangent - I also read a story of one little boy playing with an old-school Lando Calrissian action figure, and when his father asked him if he knew who that was, the kid said, "Duh, dad, it's Neil DeGrasse Tyson!")
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:54 AM on January 29, 2016 [70 favorites]
there are a few photos I've seen on social media of little African-American boys with huge grins holding action figures of Finn from Star Wars. Absolutely.
(Tangent - I also read a story of one little boy playing with an old-school Lando Calrissian action figure, and when his father asked him if he knew who that was, the kid said, "Duh, dad, it's Neil DeGrasse Tyson!")
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:54 AM on January 29, 2016 [70 favorites]
I love curvy Barbie. Growing up I always pretended that Barbie was a sex-alien like Barbarella. I never imagined her as a real person. The toy looks how people look. If this was available 20 years ago it might have totally changed how I played with toys as a kid.
posted by Marinara at 10:54 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by Marinara at 10:54 AM on January 29, 2016
Even the curvy one still has no arm muscles whatsoever though.... :-( I want strong Barbie.
posted by Kurichina at 10:55 AM on January 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Kurichina at 10:55 AM on January 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
I'm thrilled. I never expected to be a Barbie person -- only ever owned one in my life and didn't really care for it, am a feminist and disapproved on political grounds, etc. -- but genuinely cute fashion dolls in a variety of shapes, colors, and hair types are great. I've already ordered two of the Black ones for my sweet goddaughter. She's only 16 months old now, so I'll put them in the closet til she's a little older, but I want her to have plenty of dolls that look like women she could grow up to be. If she likes playing with them I'll probably buy her more, including some of the lighter-skinned ones, but being able to buy a doll off the rack for $10 that has natural-textured hair? That's flipping amazing. And to be able to do that in a variety of body shapes, from the fashion doll brand that is still the gold standard of fashion dolls and not some off-brand imitator? So much the better.
When my mother was little, my grandmother searched the city for a doll that had dark hair, fair skin, and green eyes like my mother did. When I was little, my mom sifted through stacks and stacks of Cabbage Patch dolls to find one with dark hair, fair skin, and blue eyes like I had. Wanting a doll that looks like you/your child is natural. This makes it even easier for more people to find one that looks like them.
posted by katemonster at 10:55 AM on January 29, 2016 [9 favorites]
When my mother was little, my grandmother searched the city for a doll that had dark hair, fair skin, and green eyes like my mother did. When I was little, my mom sifted through stacks and stacks of Cabbage Patch dolls to find one with dark hair, fair skin, and blue eyes like I had. Wanting a doll that looks like you/your child is natural. This makes it even easier for more people to find one that looks like them.
posted by katemonster at 10:55 AM on January 29, 2016 [9 favorites]
Now release an African American Bride and Groom!
posted by drezdn at 10:56 AM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by drezdn at 10:56 AM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
I love everything about this petite one, and I want a matching dress for myself.
I think Barbie is probably doomed, but this is a decent effort at saving the brand. It's interesting how wrong the curvy ones look to me, given that they're proportioned basically like a real woman (and basically like me, except that I have much shorter legs.) It's a testament to how distorted my perceptions are that the ordinary Barbies look in any way normal to me, since they're anatomically impossible.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:00 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think Barbie is probably doomed, but this is a decent effort at saving the brand. It's interesting how wrong the curvy ones look to me, given that they're proportioned basically like a real woman (and basically like me, except that I have much shorter legs.) It's a testament to how distorted my perceptions are that the ordinary Barbies look in any way normal to me, since they're anatomically impossible.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:00 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Sir Mix-A-Lot sheds a tear and pumps a fist. “My work here is done.”
posted by Going To Maine at 11:02 AM on January 29, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 11:02 AM on January 29, 2016 [20 favorites]
So this is Mattel's play after losing the Disney Princess line? Now they come to the table with a bit of diversity and customization for their own toys?
posted by Nanukthedog at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Nanukthedog at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
(also i mean if they come out with the barbie styling head with blue hair i am probably going to have to buy that for myself...that was one of my favorite things in the world as a kid)
posted by mittens at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mittens at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
About damned time.
posted by skye.dancer at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by skye.dancer at 11:03 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
This actually makes me very angry. It's very clear that Barbie has lost, she is irrelevant now that we have Anna and Elsa. So now is the time they make this change, which people were demanding for decades? Now? Not back when Barbie was a cultural force that could actually change opinions?
I mean, it's good. But in a backhanded kind of way.
posted by epanalepsis at 11:07 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I mean, it's good. But in a backhanded kind of way.
posted by epanalepsis at 11:07 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think it's pretty cool that these are all "Barbie" and not Barbie's black friend or her short sister or her "curvy" friend.
posted by almostmanda at 11:07 AM on January 29, 2016 [51 favorites]
posted by almostmanda at 11:07 AM on January 29, 2016 [51 favorites]
Peggy Hill is still waiting for Realistic Feet Barbie™
posted by pipeski at 11:18 AM on January 29, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 11:18 AM on January 29, 2016 [16 favorites]
Oh wow, seeing every doll side-by-side has made me notice that every iteration of Barbie has the same foot size. I mean, it makes sense because nobody wants to have to rebuy Barbie shoes, but now I can't unsee it.
posted by FJT at 11:19 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by FJT at 11:19 AM on January 29, 2016
It’s very clear that Barbie has lost, she is irrelevant now that we have Anna and Elsa.
Cite? (And is Anna the curvy one, or is Elsa?)
posted by Going To Maine at 11:21 AM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
Cite? (And is Anna the curvy one, or is Elsa?)
posted by Going To Maine at 11:21 AM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
Now release an African American Bride and Groom Bride!
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:22 AM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:22 AM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
nobody wants to have to rebuy Barbie shoes
...but they keep falling down the a/c vent in the floor! by themselves!
posted by mittens at 11:22 AM on January 29, 2016 [10 favorites]
...but they keep falling down the a/c vent in the floor! by themselves!
posted by mittens at 11:22 AM on January 29, 2016 [10 favorites]
It’s very clear that Barbie has lost, she is irrelevant now that we have Anna and Elsa.
Eh. I'd have to check the numbers, but anecdotally, Frozen fever tapered off by Christmas this past year. If you want something that holds its own against Barbie, I'd say maybe Monster High (but those dolls have even more ridiculous proportions).
posted by drezdn at 11:27 AM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Eh. I'd have to check the numbers, but anecdotally, Frozen fever tapered off by Christmas this past year. If you want something that holds its own against Barbie, I'd say maybe Monster High (but those dolls have even more ridiculous proportions).
posted by drezdn at 11:27 AM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Almost all of them still have scary thin arms and legs.
posted by serena15221 at 11:27 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by serena15221 at 11:27 AM on January 29, 2016
...but they keep falling down the a/c vent in the floor! by themselves!
Ha ha reminds of when my Dad was doing something to the furnace ducts in our old house. He came upstairs and handed my sister half a dozen barbie shoes. Oh that's where those disappeared to ten years ago....
posted by Jalliah at 11:27 AM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
Ha ha reminds of when my Dad was doing something to the furnace ducts in our old house. He came upstairs and handed my sister half a dozen barbie shoes. Oh that's where those disappeared to ten years ago....
posted by Jalliah at 11:27 AM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
I think this is neat and cool and a few decades overdue. Anything that broadens the 'norm' is good stuff, in my opinion, especially since I think most hate and/or fear is directed at things that fall outside that 'norm.'
...but they keep falling down the a/c vent in the floor! by themselves!
But if you have an A/C vent on the floor, you are adequately compensated by the fact that you can build a fort in any room with a sheet and a few shoes.
posted by Mooski at 11:30 AM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
...but they keep falling down the a/c vent in the floor! by themselves!
But if you have an A/C vent on the floor, you are adequately compensated by the fact that you can build a fort in any room with a sheet and a few shoes.
posted by Mooski at 11:30 AM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
I feel like, having complained about Barbie for something like 4 decades now, I need to support this initiative by buying some dolls. Still, this resonates with me:
Call me back when they introduce Fat Barbie and Totally Ripped Barbie.
posted by not that girl at 11:32 AM on January 29, 2016
Call me back when they introduce Fat Barbie and Totally Ripped Barbie.
posted by not that girl at 11:32 AM on January 29, 2016
Cite? (And is Anna that curvy one, or is Elsa?)
Well, neither, and maybe it's not Frozen that's doing it, but Mattel has been steadily losing ground since 2013. If you google "mattel barbie market share" (or "NASDAQ:MAT") you can find about a trillion articles about Mattel's continued decline, most of which do posit that the Frozen line has pretty much shifted the target demographic's attention way away from Barbie (but that's speculation). Given the time it takes to do R&D, I would think that this is a product change that is directly related to their falling stocks and not so much the long-desired feminist move that we've been waiting for.
"Mattel has struggled lately as its iconic Barbie doll has fallen out of favor with young girls, who prefer electronic today and dolls based on Disney’s hit animated movie “Frozen.” In defenestrating its CEO Monday, the toymaker named former PepsiCo executive Christopher Sinclair chairman and interim CEO, and took the opportunity to warn sales fell 6% in the holiday quarter."
I know that sounds curmudgeonly of me. It's just that people have been asking for this change for decades and the timing is suspicious.
posted by epanalepsis at 11:33 AM on January 29, 2016
Well, neither, and maybe it's not Frozen that's doing it, but Mattel has been steadily losing ground since 2013. If you google "mattel barbie market share" (or "NASDAQ:MAT") you can find about a trillion articles about Mattel's continued decline, most of which do posit that the Frozen line has pretty much shifted the target demographic's attention way away from Barbie (but that's speculation). Given the time it takes to do R&D, I would think that this is a product change that is directly related to their falling stocks and not so much the long-desired feminist move that we've been waiting for.
"Mattel has struggled lately as its iconic Barbie doll has fallen out of favor with young girls, who prefer electronic today and dolls based on Disney’s hit animated movie “Frozen.” In defenestrating its CEO Monday, the toymaker named former PepsiCo executive Christopher Sinclair chairman and interim CEO, and took the opportunity to warn sales fell 6% in the holiday quarter."
I know that sounds curmudgeonly of me. It's just that people have been asking for this change for decades and the timing is suspicious.
posted by epanalepsis at 11:33 AM on January 29, 2016
Peggy Hill is still waiting for Realistic Feet Barbie™
My ex-girlfriend got a new prosthetic foot while we were dating. It was adjustable so she could wear different heel heights. I couldn't help thinking of it as her "Barbie foot." She was not amused.
posted by not that girl at 11:36 AM on January 29, 2016 [12 favorites]
My ex-girlfriend got a new prosthetic foot while we were dating. It was adjustable so she could wear different heel heights. I couldn't help thinking of it as her "Barbie foot." She was not amused.
posted by not that girl at 11:36 AM on January 29, 2016 [12 favorites]
The article makes much of "girls will freak out when the clothes won't fit all of them" but I can tell you as a Former Little Girl that a pile of old clothes and some scissors (and hairbands and needles and thread) will get you far when you need costumes for your Barbie dramas. And Youtube is full of tutorials for this sort of thing, sewing and knitting and even doll-modding. Little girls will be fine.
(also, Ken ended up wearing a lot of the stretchier Barbie clothes sometimes. Elastic is your friend)
Also, obviously Mattel can sell you even more stuff so that you have clothes that fit all your Barbies.
If they are very clever, they could make dresses that are adjustable to different Barbie types; snap up for petite, down for tall, out for curvy, in for standard, and so on. Skirt for Tall Barbie=dress for Petite.
posted by emjaybee at 11:39 AM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
(also, Ken ended up wearing a lot of the stretchier Barbie clothes sometimes. Elastic is your friend)
Also, obviously Mattel can sell you even more stuff so that you have clothes that fit all your Barbies.
If they are very clever, they could make dresses that are adjustable to different Barbie types; snap up for petite, down for tall, out for curvy, in for standard, and so on. Skirt for Tall Barbie=dress for Petite.
posted by emjaybee at 11:39 AM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
Mattel is trying to market to parents, not kids, just as catfood companies market to cat owners, not cats. Cats are shown enthusiastically tucking into piles of gristle artfully heaped in crystal goblets because that's how to make it look like a treat to people. Little girls are shown tearing up and clutching their non-white, closer-to-human-shaped Barbies to their chests because that's how their parents wish they'd react. In fact they'll probably react by tearing newbarbie's limbs off and hurling her under the bed as my cousin and I did when presented with the unfortunate "Leggy," a Hasbro wannabe Barbie horror who was even more deformed than Barbie with legs half again as long as Barbie's and a weentzy lil torso. Shudder... I don't know what demographic they were trying to target with "Leggy." Maybe bodymod fetishist parents?
Do all Barbietypes still wear the same size shoe? I bet so: I can't imagine Mattel going for retrofitting a bunch of the tiny plastic shoe machines to make three new shoe sizes. That explains why all their arms and legs are standardbarbie arms and legs, too.
posted by Don Pepino at 11:43 AM on January 29, 2016
Do all Barbietypes still wear the same size shoe? I bet so: I can't imagine Mattel going for retrofitting a bunch of the tiny plastic shoe machines to make three new shoe sizes. That explains why all their arms and legs are standardbarbie arms and legs, too.
posted by Don Pepino at 11:43 AM on January 29, 2016
My nieces are Korean (adopted). Growing up we could never find dolls for them to play with. Closest were Pocahontas and Dora the Explorer.
I feel you. There are certainly more options than there used to be for cute asian dolls, but it's still fairly limited. I'm surprised to find that I actually really like the Curvy Barbie with the flowered skirt and the one with the blue dress - They have pretty faces and share features well enough with my half-asian daughter.
I was looking on the American Girl website just now. They do have a few There's one Asian boy Bitty Twin, but he doesn't come as a girl; the Bitty Baby with dark hair and almond shaped eyes is reasonably well done, but those eyes don't seem to come on any other doll.
But of course American Girl is super expensive. And I can't STAND a lot of the Asian dolls out there. It seems like toy makers can't figure out how to get the eyes right. Like, the Corolle Calin doll makes me cringe every time I see it. And I really like most of their dolls! My daughter has lovely almond-shaped eyes, which she is TOTALLY CAPABLE of opening wide enough to see out of.
posted by telepanda at 11:45 AM on January 29, 2016
I feel you. There are certainly more options than there used to be for cute asian dolls, but it's still fairly limited. I'm surprised to find that I actually really like the Curvy Barbie with the flowered skirt and the one with the blue dress - They have pretty faces and share features well enough with my half-asian daughter.
I was looking on the American Girl website just now. They do have a few There's one Asian boy Bitty Twin, but he doesn't come as a girl; the Bitty Baby with dark hair and almond shaped eyes is reasonably well done, but those eyes don't seem to come on any other doll.
But of course American Girl is super expensive. And I can't STAND a lot of the Asian dolls out there. It seems like toy makers can't figure out how to get the eyes right. Like, the Corolle Calin doll makes me cringe every time I see it. And I really like most of their dolls! My daughter has lovely almond-shaped eyes, which she is TOTALLY CAPABLE of opening wide enough to see out of.
posted by telepanda at 11:45 AM on January 29, 2016
Forgot to mention, Mattel was making Frozen dolls over the past year. Hasbro just started selling the new ones on Jan. 1st. The Frozen dolls were pretty close in shape to Barbies.
posted by drezdn at 11:48 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by drezdn at 11:48 AM on January 29, 2016
All Barbie types do not wear the same shoe size. There's one size for standard and petite, and one for tall and curvy. One size gets the 'B' logo on it and the other gets the Barbie head silhouette - because if they numbered them 1-2 that might imply one was better.
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 11:49 AM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 11:49 AM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
From the article: "There will now be two Barbie shoe sizes, one for curvy and tall and another for original and petite."
posted by jetlagaddict at 11:49 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by jetlagaddict at 11:49 AM on January 29, 2016
During one meeting, designers, marketers and researchers fixated on the shoe problem. There will now be two Barbie shoe sizes, one for curvy and tall and another for original and petite. “We can’t label them 1, 2, because someone will read into that as saying one’s better than the other,” Barbie designer and former Project Runway contestant Robert Best explains. “Plus, we have to put the Barbie branding on every single object, and the shoes are so tiny.” They finally land on a B for one shoe size and Barbie’s face on the other. Moms will have to puzzle out which is which when they find a miniature stiletto jammed between their couch cushions.posted by aniola at 11:50 AM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I am going to get that blue-haired curvy Barbie for myself and make clothes for her. She can join Merida and Tiana in their fairy tale castle which doubles as a feminist bookstore and cafe.
posted by trunk muffins at 11:52 AM on January 29, 2016 [30 favorites]
posted by trunk muffins at 11:52 AM on January 29, 2016 [30 favorites]
I know that sounds curmudgeonly of me. It's just that people have been asking for this change for decades and the timing is suspicious.
I mean, I expect you’re right that Mattel is doing this as a marketing ploy because they want America’s cashbuxxx. I just also think that that’s how the system is supposed to work: the market decides. Not a great thing, necessarily, but that’s how change happens.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:55 AM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
I mean, I expect you’re right that Mattel is doing this as a marketing ploy because they want America’s cashbuxxx. I just also think that that’s how the system is supposed to work: the market decides. Not a great thing, necessarily, but that’s how change happens.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:55 AM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
I feel the need to qualify that my favorites shouldn't obscure the fact that I am actually still totally pumped about this change and the body types they're offering now, but I am also gonna sit here hoping for the day when Totally Ripped Barbie gets released.
posted by suddenly, and without warning, at 11:56 AM on January 29, 2016
posted by suddenly, and without warning, at 11:56 AM on January 29, 2016
I'm glad this is happening and it looks like a lot of people working on the design were genuinely invested in it as the right thing to do. But it is worth observing that this has the effect of quadrupaling the opportunities* for monetization of Barbie products. I would be surprised if that didn't make it into the pitch at several points.
--
*Note, opportunities. It also multiplies the opportunities to screw up the marketing.
posted by lodurr at 12:03 PM on January 29, 2016
--
*Note, opportunities. It also multiplies the opportunities to screw up the marketing.
posted by lodurr at 12:03 PM on January 29, 2016
I am also gonna sit here hoping for the day when Totally Ripped Barbie gets released
god i hope she comes with a trap bar activity set
posted by poffin boffin at 12:04 PM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
god i hope she comes with a trap bar activity set
posted by poffin boffin at 12:04 PM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
I think it's great - it looks like a baby step from here, because in the Blue we've (or rather, others have and I have happily supported when possible) marched so far beyond where Mattel has been for the last few decades that any movement is foreshortened into invisibility. But to them this is a HUGE risk with one of their biggest properties (even if it is sinking like a stone) and they're moving in the right direction rather than regressing or doubling down on the wrong one.
Is there room for improvement? Hell yeah. But the bare idea that there's a Barbie (and not 'Barbie's big friend, Martha' or something, as others pointed out, but Barbie) that isn't whip-thin and platinum blonde (I know, there have been variations, but these are far beyond those) I think will be powerful for a lot of girls. What's next? Veteran Barbie? Trans man Ken? Let's hope so! What if Barbie ended up going from what it is to the toy that tries best to represent the huge variety of people in this world? Wouldn't that be the ultimate mindfuck, and the most desirable one possible?
(And yeah, bring on Totally Ripped Barbie.)
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:05 PM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
Is there room for improvement? Hell yeah. But the bare idea that there's a Barbie (and not 'Barbie's big friend, Martha' or something, as others pointed out, but Barbie) that isn't whip-thin and platinum blonde (I know, there have been variations, but these are far beyond those) I think will be powerful for a lot of girls. What's next? Veteran Barbie? Trans man Ken? Let's hope so! What if Barbie ended up going from what it is to the toy that tries best to represent the huge variety of people in this world? Wouldn't that be the ultimate mindfuck, and the most desirable one possible?
(And yeah, bring on Totally Ripped Barbie.)
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:05 PM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
My terrible, tfa-not-reading attitude is all because my mother wouldn't buy me the giant Barbie head with the make-up because she knew I was going to put the make-up on myself and run outside and make Marilyn Monroe kiss faces at passing vehicles, rendering her the laughing stock of the 1970s.
posted by Don Pepino at 12:12 PM on January 29, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by Don Pepino at 12:12 PM on January 29, 2016 [10 favorites]
Eh. I'd have to check the numbers, but anecdotally, Frozen fever tapered off by Christmas this past year.
That's pretty much the trajectory of all the modern Princesses, isn't it?
They hit a huge peak, then taper off into (Disney hopes) a nice steady income stream.
Every girl has "their" princess, the one that was huge when they were at that magic age and the girls younger/older have theirs.
As far as Barbie goes, I've been around girls of the appropriate age for the last 6 years or so, and I've never seen one playing with Barbie.
I've seen them play Ice Queen, Ninja Turtles, Star Wars (the big thing now).
They've played house, restaurant, and hot wheels.
I've been asked for robotic birds, one of those battery car things, a spaceship and a banjo.
But never a Barbie.
posted by madajb at 12:22 PM on January 29, 2016
That's pretty much the trajectory of all the modern Princesses, isn't it?
They hit a huge peak, then taper off into (Disney hopes) a nice steady income stream.
Every girl has "their" princess, the one that was huge when they were at that magic age and the girls younger/older have theirs.
As far as Barbie goes, I've been around girls of the appropriate age for the last 6 years or so, and I've never seen one playing with Barbie.
I've seen them play Ice Queen, Ninja Turtles, Star Wars (the big thing now).
They've played house, restaurant, and hot wheels.
I've been asked for robotic birds, one of those battery car things, a spaceship and a banjo.
But never a Barbie.
posted by madajb at 12:22 PM on January 29, 2016
Trans man Ken?
A serious question: how would Trans man Ken differ from Cis man Ken?
posted by Going To Maine at 12:33 PM on January 29, 2016 [12 favorites]
A serious question: how would Trans man Ken differ from Cis man Ken?
posted by Going To Maine at 12:33 PM on January 29, 2016 [12 favorites]
Every girl has "their" princess, the one that was huge when they were at that magic age and the girls younger/older have theirs.
Or, if they are not lucky enough to be blonde, the only one who vaguely looks like them. I mean, we have how many blonde, blue eyed white-as-snow princesses and how many non-white princesses? Hell, even brown/black haired white princesses are thin on the ground (Snow White, Belle), but there are four blondes now--five if you count Anna and not just Elsa. My experience as a little girl was that it was at least as much about who looked sort of like you as it was about when the given movie came out.
Mulan also does double duty as the princess for a hell of a lot of baby lgbtq folk, if my college lambda alliance was anything to go by.
posted by sciatrix at 12:34 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Or, if they are not lucky enough to be blonde, the only one who vaguely looks like them. I mean, we have how many blonde, blue eyed white-as-snow princesses and how many non-white princesses? Hell, even brown/black haired white princesses are thin on the ground (Snow White, Belle), but there are four blondes now--five if you count Anna and not just Elsa. My experience as a little girl was that it was at least as much about who looked sort of like you as it was about when the given movie came out.
Mulan also does double duty as the princess for a hell of a lot of baby lgbtq folk, if my college lambda alliance was anything to go by.
posted by sciatrix at 12:34 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
god i hope she comes with a trap bar activity set
Or even just a squat rack and barbell set.
posted by Kurichina at 12:41 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Or even just a squat rack and barbell set.
posted by Kurichina at 12:41 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Totally Ripped Barbie
I'd advocate for prioritizing Rotund Barbie before Totally Ripped Barbie. Not many preteens are going to the gym to get ripped, and greater acceptance for the variety of body types present in your average third grade class would be great.
posted by Existential Dread at 12:46 PM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'd advocate for prioritizing Rotund Barbie before Totally Ripped Barbie. Not many preteens are going to the gym to get ripped, and greater acceptance for the variety of body types present in your average third grade class would be great.
posted by Existential Dread at 12:46 PM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
Ancient Roman classic, curvy, tall and petite.
posted by bonobothegreat at 12:47 PM on January 29, 2016 [12 favorites]
.jpg/682px-Articulated_Roman_ivory_doll,_Museo_Nazionale_Romano,_Palazzo_Massimo_alle_Terme,_Rome_(10171693465).jpg){kind=link}
posted by bonobothegreat at 12:47 PM on January 29, 2016 [12 favorites]
> Every girl has "their" princess...
I was never into princesses when I was a girl, and I'm still not. I also never dreamed of being a bride, which I've been told every little girl is supposed to do.
As far as Barbie goes, I've been around girls of the appropriate age for the last 6 years or so, and I've never seen one playing with Barbie
My daughter has a few, and she plays with them with some of her friends. Admittedly one of the dolls is now Zombie Barbie and was worked into our Halloween decorations, but it's still playing. She saw the photo of the Barbies in the paper today and was enthusiastic, because she wanted more variety in the way her Barbies look -- not from a political or cultural standpoint, but because it's nice to have your characters not be clones of each other.
Stuffed animals are more popular than dolls with the girls I know.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:51 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I was never into princesses when I was a girl, and I'm still not. I also never dreamed of being a bride, which I've been told every little girl is supposed to do.
As far as Barbie goes, I've been around girls of the appropriate age for the last 6 years or so, and I've never seen one playing with Barbie
My daughter has a few, and she plays with them with some of her friends. Admittedly one of the dolls is now Zombie Barbie and was worked into our Halloween decorations, but it's still playing. She saw the photo of the Barbies in the paper today and was enthusiastic, because she wanted more variety in the way her Barbies look -- not from a political or cultural standpoint, but because it's nice to have your characters not be clones of each other.
Stuffed animals are more popular than dolls with the girls I know.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:51 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Now I want Etruscan Underworld Skipper with snakes for legs and a vulture's beak
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:52 PM on January 29, 2016 [17 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:52 PM on January 29, 2016 [17 favorites]
Not many preteens are going to the gym to get ripped, and greater acceptance for the variety of body types present in your average third grade class would be great.
But many are athletic and are sometimes discouraged from participating in activity based on the myth they'll get "big" or "bulky". Even little girls can be mesomorphs. I was.
posted by Kurichina at 12:53 PM on January 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
But many are athletic and are sometimes discouraged from participating in activity based on the myth they'll get "big" or "bulky". Even little girls can be mesomorphs. I was.
posted by Kurichina at 12:53 PM on January 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
Hell, even brown/black haired white princesses are thin on the ground (Snow White, Belle), but there are four blondes now--five if you count Anna and not just Elsa
Does Mulan count as a Princess officially? She is the favourite in our house by far.
posted by madajb at 12:54 PM on January 29, 2016
Does Mulan count as a Princess officially? She is the favourite in our house by far.
posted by madajb at 12:54 PM on January 29, 2016
Somewhere, a collector just signed a third mortgage to keep up.
As soon as I heard this I whipped out the calculator and found out there are 29,568 different combinations. And breathed a sigh of relief that my daughter is not into dolls.
posted by TedW at 12:56 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
As soon as I heard this I whipped out the calculator and found out there are 29,568 different combinations. And breathed a sigh of relief that my daughter is not into dolls.
posted by TedW at 12:56 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Now I want Etruscan Underworld Skipper with snakes for legs and a vulture's beak
shut up and take my money
bonus: sweet new dream car
posted by jetlagaddict at 12:57 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
shut up and take my money
bonus: sweet new dream car
posted by jetlagaddict at 12:57 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Aaaand we have What About Teh Men already.
posted by emjaybee at 12:58 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by emjaybee at 12:58 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Does Mulan count as a Princess officially? She is the favourite in our house by far.
She's marketed like one, so I was lumping her in there (as Disney seems to).
posted by sciatrix at 1:03 PM on January 29, 2016
She's marketed like one, so I was lumping her in there (as Disney seems to).
posted by sciatrix at 1:03 PM on January 29, 2016
I've never really understood Barbie as a toy for kids. I'm not sure what kids do with them. At least with a baby doll you can treat it like a baby, I guess.
The way my sister and I played Barbies, which was obsessively for years and years, it was the kid dolls that had all the fun, not the Barbies. (In my day, the kid dolls were Annie and Molly dolls from the Annie movie in 1982, and Strawberry Shortcake dolls, who fit in fine until an argument erupted between one of them and Annie doll, which would inevitably end with the Annie doll shouting, "Yeah? Well, your head is too big!")
Barbie dolls existed in our universe as mother, teacher, or stranger dolls. The mother dolls generally sat in the houses (the houses my sister built using washcloths for carpets and books for walls, and various pieces of doll house furniture to furnish) and had coffee with each other while the kid dolls went off and did cool things. To this day my dad is upset that the Ken dolls went off to work at the beginning of the game, and we would throw them out of the room.
Sometimes Barbies were some kind of evil adult with a nefarious scheme to ruin the lives of the kid dolls. The most evil character in any story was played by our Farrah Fawcett doll, which was terrifyingly severe-looking, so she was obviously evil.
While I appreciate all this effort going into making adult dolls more diverse, I feel like it would be more helpful for the imaginative play of young girls to have a very diverse range of kid dolls.
The best way to play with barbies is to use them as role playing figures in a shared imaginary world, I find. Kids need kid dolls for that. Preferably with proportionally-sized heads.
posted by Hildegarde at 1:06 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
The way my sister and I played Barbies, which was obsessively for years and years, it was the kid dolls that had all the fun, not the Barbies. (In my day, the kid dolls were Annie and Molly dolls from the Annie movie in 1982, and Strawberry Shortcake dolls, who fit in fine until an argument erupted between one of them and Annie doll, which would inevitably end with the Annie doll shouting, "Yeah? Well, your head is too big!")
Barbie dolls existed in our universe as mother, teacher, or stranger dolls. The mother dolls generally sat in the houses (the houses my sister built using washcloths for carpets and books for walls, and various pieces of doll house furniture to furnish) and had coffee with each other while the kid dolls went off and did cool things. To this day my dad is upset that the Ken dolls went off to work at the beginning of the game, and we would throw them out of the room.
Sometimes Barbies were some kind of evil adult with a nefarious scheme to ruin the lives of the kid dolls. The most evil character in any story was played by our Farrah Fawcett doll, which was terrifyingly severe-looking, so she was obviously evil.
While I appreciate all this effort going into making adult dolls more diverse, I feel like it would be more helpful for the imaginative play of young girls to have a very diverse range of kid dolls.
The best way to play with barbies is to use them as role playing figures in a shared imaginary world, I find. Kids need kid dolls for that. Preferably with proportionally-sized heads.
posted by Hildegarde at 1:06 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I never played with Barbies in public. But when I was alone (or alone with a friend, sometimes), HOO BOY. They were everyone. They were an avatar for any story. Princess, sure, but also, detective, cannon fodder, scientist, monster snacks, monsters eating other Barbies, terrified villagers, fearless explorers, thing to throw in the pool-- whatever.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 1:22 PM on January 29, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by a fiendish thingy at 1:22 PM on January 29, 2016 [9 favorites]
In the early 2000s, I bought the "Teresa" barbie because she was the only one dark skinned enough and dark haired enough, so I could plausibly believe that she was Asian. I knew that she was "Hispanic" but I was so fucking desperate for representation that I bought her anyways. I was like, what, 7-8 years old? I already knew when people didn't look like me.
And no, I was not happy with a "Mulan doll" because that's Mulan. She is a single character. I wanted ANOTHER Asian doll, not a token one, so I could continue to make up stories with her, rather than having to do doll fanfiction of my Mulan ones, where it would fit into her canon story.
This quote is also relevant:
“You guys know about vampires? … You know, vampires have no reflections in a mirror? There’s this idea that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. And what I’ve always thought isn’t that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. It’s that if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves. And growing up, I felt like a monster in some ways. I didn’t see myself reflected at all. I was like, “Yo, is something wrong with me? That the whole society seems to think that people like me don’t exist?" And part of what inspired me, was this deep desire that before I died, I would make a couple of mirrors. That I would make some mirrors so that kids like me might see themselves reflected back and might not feel so monstrous for it.” ― Junot Díaz
posted by yueliang at 1:30 PM on January 29, 2016 [34 favorites]
And no, I was not happy with a "Mulan doll" because that's Mulan. She is a single character. I wanted ANOTHER Asian doll, not a token one, so I could continue to make up stories with her, rather than having to do doll fanfiction of my Mulan ones, where it would fit into her canon story.
This quote is also relevant:
“You guys know about vampires? … You know, vampires have no reflections in a mirror? There’s this idea that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. And what I’ve always thought isn’t that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. It’s that if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves. And growing up, I felt like a monster in some ways. I didn’t see myself reflected at all. I was like, “Yo, is something wrong with me? That the whole society seems to think that people like me don’t exist?" And part of what inspired me, was this deep desire that before I died, I would make a couple of mirrors. That I would make some mirrors so that kids like me might see themselves reflected back and might not feel so monstrous for it.” ― Junot Díaz
posted by yueliang at 1:30 PM on January 29, 2016 [34 favorites]
This is a nice step, I guess? And the "curvy" version is legitimately kinda-sorta new and different, and the broader palettes for skin and eye colour are cool. But the "petite" and "tall" models are...still not that reflective of what most women look like? At least 60% of American women are a size 12 or over. 75% of these available Barbie shapes are (if I'm being generous) maybe at most a size 6 or so*. Like, where's the "me" shaped Barbie that has no boobs and big hips and thighs and is awkwardly tall but not at all willowy because I have a weirdly long torso ? Or the "my sister" Barbie that is short but by no means petite but also not Kim Kardashian shaped? What would be super cool/revolutionary/impossible, methinks, is to make an aspirational fashion doll where the fashion is the aspirational part, not the body. Like, Imaginary Little Girl Dorinda could conceivably one day grow up to buy or create some pretty baddass outfits and rock some awesome haircuts and colours without too much trouble or self-loathing...but Little Girl Dorinda is not going to have ANY of those bodies without some serious body modifications or eating disorders. Is more variety of unattainable still better than one variety of unattainable?? I guess so, but it feels like a pretty damn pyhrric victory.
*Yes, my math is likely terrible and my numbers are basically made up from the internet and I'm probably/definitely using statistics wrong and clothing sizes are meaningless and obviously Mattel can't manufacture dolls in every possible body configuration because obviously.....but basically what I'm saying is that two of these "new" body shapes are still pretty much the same old Barbie.
posted by Dorinda at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
*Yes, my math is likely terrible and my numbers are basically made up from the internet and I'm probably/definitely using statistics wrong and clothing sizes are meaningless and obviously Mattel can't manufacture dolls in every possible body configuration because obviously.....but basically what I'm saying is that two of these "new" body shapes are still pretty much the same old Barbie.
posted by Dorinda at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
as a kid I played with barbies a lot, and they were a stand-in for my future self. I wasn't much into being a kid, like I wanted independence, and to be able to choose my life or myself. I couldn't wait to grow up and live on my own, where not everyone got to tell me what to do. So I guess what sort of stories you wanted to make up as a kid determined what role they played for you.
also, being curvy, blue-haired Barb who mostly wears black with a few brightly-colured accessories, I think this is pretty hilarious!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:32 PM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
also, being curvy, blue-haired Barb who mostly wears black with a few brightly-colured accessories, I think this is pretty hilarious!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:32 PM on January 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
oh man she's even wearing ankle-strap wedge shoes! they have been spying on me
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:37 PM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:37 PM on January 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
I think the blue-haired curvy doll is getting all the attention. She's awesome and I'm snapping up one if I see it, and I have never liked Barbie.
(Because of unbending arms and legs and those horrible shiny, cheap-looking clothes. Ugh)
posted by sukeban at 1:44 PM on January 29, 2016
(Because of unbending arms and legs and those horrible shiny, cheap-looking clothes. Ugh)
posted by sukeban at 1:44 PM on January 29, 2016
The #1 selling pre-sales doll across the new range is this one. This is the African American doll previously available.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:54 PM on January 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 1:54 PM on January 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
Aaaand we have What About Teh Men already.
Oh for the love of god. Hey, guys? If you want to petition for a variety of Ken doll bodies that are more representative of your actual bodies, I'm all for it. I think that's a great idea and I think most women would support it and would probably sign your petition and teach you a lot about how to drum up support for your cause, since we're pretty well-versed in having to fight for our causes all the goddamn time. All that Twitter grousing that no one is changing anything to protect your feelings is a pretty stupid argument when you're only making the argument in order to underscore your larger point that SJW bitches be whinin' too much.
posted by palomar at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
Oh for the love of god. Hey, guys? If you want to petition for a variety of Ken doll bodies that are more representative of your actual bodies, I'm all for it. I think that's a great idea and I think most women would support it and would probably sign your petition and teach you a lot about how to drum up support for your cause, since we're pretty well-versed in having to fight for our causes all the goddamn time. All that Twitter grousing that no one is changing anything to protect your feelings is a pretty stupid argument when you're only making the argument in order to underscore your larger point that SJW bitches be whinin' too much.
posted by palomar at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2016 [6 favorites]
oh man she's even wearing ankle-strap wedge shoes! they have been spying on me
She's awesome and I'm snapping up one if I see it, and I have never liked Barbie.
OMG, wait up, my catfood-to-catowners marketing theory is wrong. This Barbie is people food! I think they're selling newBarbie to grown women who grew up baffled and thwarted by oldBarbie. Like, "We're sorry, we were mistaken: you are a princess after all. You have Barbie hair and a Barbie butt and you wear BARBIE SHOES." In the 70s I didn't want to be like Barbie, because she always ended up commingled with other Barbies in a smudged, naked, frowsy, unseemly pile in a shoebox. I did want to wear Barbie's go-go boots, though. I would absolutely wear those wedges we see on Barbie blue-hair, and I think she looks sharp and unlike a dumbass, unlike every Barbie in my memory.
posted by Don Pepino at 2:09 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
She's awesome and I'm snapping up one if I see it, and I have never liked Barbie.
OMG, wait up, my catfood-to-catowners marketing theory is wrong. This Barbie is people food! I think they're selling newBarbie to grown women who grew up baffled and thwarted by oldBarbie. Like, "We're sorry, we were mistaken: you are a princess after all. You have Barbie hair and a Barbie butt and you wear BARBIE SHOES." In the 70s I didn't want to be like Barbie, because she always ended up commingled with other Barbies in a smudged, naked, frowsy, unseemly pile in a shoebox. I did want to wear Barbie's go-go boots, though. I would absolutely wear those wedges we see on Barbie blue-hair, and I think she looks sharp and unlike a dumbass, unlike every Barbie in my memory.
posted by Don Pepino at 2:09 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I think all the female scientist Lego sets were bought by grownups. I was very, very sad that I wasn't able to get one for my office. So yes, I bet a lot of the buyers will be adult women.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2016
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2016
Nah, when I was a girl I used to be interested in books, not dolls. But I might put that Barbie right next to my Sparkling 80s Momoko doll on one of my shelves.
posted by sukeban at 2:47 PM on January 29, 2016
posted by sukeban at 2:47 PM on January 29, 2016
also i mean if they come out with the barbie styling head with blue hair i am probably going to have to buy that for myself...that was one of my favorite things in the world as a kid)
I loved this too, but I had the Cher version because I idolized Cher when I was a little kid. There are many reasons to love Cher, but one main reason I was drawn to her is that in the 70s blonde hair was almost required to be portrayed as conventionally pretty, and this was a message I absorbed at the youngest ages, with peak awareness somewhere between Charlie's Angeles and Three's Company. Not that Kate Jackson, Jacqueline Smith and Joyce DeWitt aren't beautiful (obvs) but you weren't supposed to like-like them, they were the just friends or sidekicks. But Cher! Cher was all of it, she was the smart one and the funny one and the pretty one and the talented one and the one in charge and the one who took no shit from anyone. And she had dark hair!
Early in her career, Whoopie Goldberg had a character she would do in her show, a little black girl who wears a pillow case on her head because she wanted to have blonde hair. I also wore a pillowcase on my head and pretended to have blonde hair. I'm not at all saying that my experience was remotely like that of a PoC. What I am saying is that it is important for everyone to see themselves in the world, even today that is still a very small segment of the population. Even though I was always a tomboy and didn't care about make up or dressing up, eventually seeing Janice Dickenson and Lauren Hutton (I had a huge gap in my teeth that I was self-conscious of) on magazine covers definitely sent a positive message to me.
So when I see people wondering what the point of all this is, I wonder if they ever had that kind of experience growing up. I totally get the pessimism and cynicism, but to me it is obvious why this would be a good step.
almostmanda: I think it's pretty cool that these are all "Barbie" and not Barbie's black friend or her short sister or her "curvy" friend.
Yup.
posted by Room 641-A at 2:54 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I loved this too, but I had the Cher version because I idolized Cher when I was a little kid. There are many reasons to love Cher, but one main reason I was drawn to her is that in the 70s blonde hair was almost required to be portrayed as conventionally pretty, and this was a message I absorbed at the youngest ages, with peak awareness somewhere between Charlie's Angeles and Three's Company. Not that Kate Jackson, Jacqueline Smith and Joyce DeWitt aren't beautiful (obvs) but you weren't supposed to like-like them, they were the just friends or sidekicks. But Cher! Cher was all of it, she was the smart one and the funny one and the pretty one and the talented one and the one in charge and the one who took no shit from anyone. And she had dark hair!
Early in her career, Whoopie Goldberg had a character she would do in her show, a little black girl who wears a pillow case on her head because she wanted to have blonde hair. I also wore a pillowcase on my head and pretended to have blonde hair. I'm not at all saying that my experience was remotely like that of a PoC. What I am saying is that it is important for everyone to see themselves in the world, even today that is still a very small segment of the population. Even though I was always a tomboy and didn't care about make up or dressing up, eventually seeing Janice Dickenson and Lauren Hutton (I had a huge gap in my teeth that I was self-conscious of) on magazine covers definitely sent a positive message to me.
So when I see people wondering what the point of all this is, I wonder if they ever had that kind of experience growing up. I totally get the pessimism and cynicism, but to me it is obvious why this would be a good step.
almostmanda: I think it's pretty cool that these are all "Barbie" and not Barbie's black friend or her short sister or her "curvy" friend.
Yup.
posted by Room 641-A at 2:54 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have weirdly complicated feelings about this! I'm glad that they have a "curvy" doll, but at the same time..it's still a white body, even if they put a Hispanic face on it, and its curves are not the curves I know.
And I know I should be more excited, but I'm just like - if you're already doing this why not make her have something specially beautiful that maybe thin Barbie doesn't get, like maybe curvy Barbie gets to have the biggest breasts and hips which is realistic anyway. And maybe tall Barbie gets awesome legs. Like not just "eh they're dolls" but more "hey everybody has a body shape that had some awesome features."
I don't know. I guess they're doing a good thing, but I find myself mostly unmoved by it.
posted by corb at 2:58 PM on January 29, 2016
And I know I should be more excited, but I'm just like - if you're already doing this why not make her have something specially beautiful that maybe thin Barbie doesn't get, like maybe curvy Barbie gets to have the biggest breasts and hips which is realistic anyway. And maybe tall Barbie gets awesome legs. Like not just "eh they're dolls" but more "hey everybody has a body shape that had some awesome features."
I don't know. I guess they're doing a good thing, but I find myself mostly unmoved by it.
posted by corb at 2:58 PM on January 29, 2016
Where is the barbie with no butt, and a belly???
I mean its just like - now butts are in so of course curvy barbie has a totally appropriately 2016 hot butt. WHY IS THE NEW BARBIE CALLED CURVY AND NOT JUST BARBIE????? Why are these dolls for little girls being defined by their body types????? Why does the short barbie have to be a size zero???
I'll just continue being grumpy over here.
posted by goneill at 2:59 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I mean its just like - now butts are in so of course curvy barbie has a totally appropriately 2016 hot butt. WHY IS THE NEW BARBIE CALLED CURVY AND NOT JUST BARBIE????? Why are these dolls for little girls being defined by their body types????? Why does the short barbie have to be a size zero???
I'll just continue being grumpy over here.
posted by goneill at 2:59 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Clearly what's needed for body type representation is a forward age-projection of the individual child's early-20s self, followed by just-in-time manufacturing of a custom doll tailored to the anticipated proportions.
When the child grows up she will then know precisely who to blame for how she turned out and why she feels bad about it. Subscribers will receive a special pack of Barbie-branded hatpins on their 21st birthday accompanied by a card encouraging them to have at it. Of course, since the Barbie will be an exact representation of the owner, this should become aversive very quickly.
posted by tel3path at 2:59 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
When the child grows up she will then know precisely who to blame for how she turned out and why she feels bad about it. Subscribers will receive a special pack of Barbie-branded hatpins on their 21st birthday accompanied by a card encouraging them to have at it. Of course, since the Barbie will be an exact representation of the owner, this should become aversive very quickly.
posted by tel3path at 2:59 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Clearly what's needed for body type representation is a forward age-projection of the individual child's early-20s self, followed by just-in-time manufacturing of a custom doll tailored to the anticipated proportions
There are already 3D custom printed dolls, although they all have the same body and only the head is printed to order. But I fully expect that as 3D printing gets more and more mainstream we *will* see doll bodies printed to order in the next 5-10 years.
posted by sukeban at 3:04 PM on January 29, 2016
There are already 3D custom printed dolls, although they all have the same body and only the head is printed to order. But I fully expect that as 3D printing gets more and more mainstream we *will* see doll bodies printed to order in the next 5-10 years.
posted by sukeban at 3:04 PM on January 29, 2016
Oh yeah, I wasn't joking. This should already be within the state of the art and it's only the state of the market that has to catch up.
I am looking forward to all the "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Barbie made me fat/skinny/unhappy about same" against Mattel in the decades to come.
posted by tel3path at 3:14 PM on January 29, 2016
I am looking forward to all the "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Barbie made me fat/skinny/unhappy about same" against Mattel in the decades to come.
posted by tel3path at 3:14 PM on January 29, 2016
What's the point of the curvy barbie?
I'm almost certain the point is: To see if it sells.
Any other supposed motives are highly suspect.
posted by Twang at 3:15 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm almost certain the point is: To see if it sells.
Any other supposed motives are highly suspect.
posted by Twang at 3:15 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
When the child grows up she will then know precisely who to blame for how she turned out and why she feels bad about it.
Her parents, I presume.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:17 PM on January 29, 2016
Her parents, I presume.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:17 PM on January 29, 2016
WHY IS THE NEW BARBIE CALLED CURVY AND NOT JUST BARBIE?????
I mean, she’s being a called a “curvy Barbie”. If this weren’t the branding, you’d be pretty much guaranteed that people would choose their own adjective in order to differentiate it, and I suspect that the go-to term would be “fat”.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:20 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I mean, she’s being a called a “curvy Barbie”. If this weren’t the branding, you’d be pretty much guaranteed that people would choose their own adjective in order to differentiate it, and I suspect that the go-to term would be “fat”.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:20 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
tall barbie is just regular barbie elongated. she's barbie slenderman.
posted by poffin boffin at 3:27 PM on January 29, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 3:27 PM on January 29, 2016 [12 favorites]
Here is an assertion that Barbie is a rip-off of a German call-girl doll, Lilli. Oddly, I stumbled on this just earlier today.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:53 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by j_curiouser at 3:53 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Even the curvy one still has no arm muscles whatsoever though.... :-( I want strong Barbie.
My niece used to swap the heads of one of her Barbies with, I think, a HeMan doll. So we bought her a SheRa Doll. Did the same thing.
"Everybody swap heads!" she used to delight in saying.
posted by innocentsabored at 3:57 PM on January 29, 2016 [8 favorites]
My niece used to swap the heads of one of her Barbies with, I think, a HeMan doll. So we bought her a SheRa Doll. Did the same thing.
"Everybody swap heads!" she used to delight in saying.
posted by innocentsabored at 3:57 PM on January 29, 2016 [8 favorites]
Now release an African American Bride and Groom!
Almost.
posted by fuse theorem at 4:11 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Almost.
posted by fuse theorem at 4:11 PM on January 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
On this site you will often find me saying "now let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good." I am saying it again now. I kinda like it, and this is coming from someone who has raged against barbie, supported arguments about her importance and impact, and snarked on mattel. I like it. And I can absolutely see Mattel making insane bank now that someone with multiple body types will find their barbie clothes not interchangeable - this is not a bad thing, it encourages them to make more!
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 8:25 PM on January 29, 2016 [9 favorites]
While I totally understand how these new designs are still really problematic in a number of ways, they are TOTALLY making me reconsider my decision to postpone an aspirational hobby until old-ladydom: making Barbie clothes
(seriously though, leagues cheaper and with much more creative potential than making my own clothing)
The bodies, the skin tones, the new hair, the fresh faces, the clothing…these aren’t perfect, but they’re a lot more refreshing than any dolls I’ve seen recently. I think the styling is very tasteful and the designers seem to have actually put a considerable amount of thought into these. I agree with the critical sentiment though...it's unfortunate it took this long for the company to change even a little and, of course, it all boiled down to economics in the end.
posted by giizhik at 9:42 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
(seriously though, leagues cheaper and with much more creative potential than making my own clothing)
The bodies, the skin tones, the new hair, the fresh faces, the clothing…these aren’t perfect, but they’re a lot more refreshing than any dolls I’ve seen recently. I think the styling is very tasteful and the designers seem to have actually put a considerable amount of thought into these. I agree with the critical sentiment though...it's unfortunate it took this long for the company to change even a little and, of course, it all boiled down to economics in the end.
posted by giizhik at 9:42 PM on January 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Clearly anticipating some on MeFi:
The company hopes that the new dolls, with their diverse body types, along with the new skin tones and hair textures introduced last year, will more closely reflect their young owners’ world. But the initiative could also backfire—if it’s not too late altogether. Adding three new body types now is sure to irritate someone: just picking out the terms petite, tall and curvy, and translating them into dozens of languages without causing offense, took months.
posted by modernnomad at 3:45 AM on January 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
The company hopes that the new dolls, with their diverse body types, along with the new skin tones and hair textures introduced last year, will more closely reflect their young owners’ world. But the initiative could also backfire—if it’s not too late altogether. Adding three new body types now is sure to irritate someone: just picking out the terms petite, tall and curvy, and translating them into dozens of languages without causing offense, took months.
posted by modernnomad at 3:45 AM on January 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Here is an assertion that Barbie is a rip-off of a German call-girl doll, Lilli. Oddly, I stumbled on this just earlier today.
It's not just an assertion - it's quite well documented, and Ruth Handler talked about it in interviews. I have what was then the major big book of barbie scholarship (came out in the early nineties, would require actually getting up to get the title) and there's a chapter about it. I had never seen the Lilli cartoons in your link, though. I mean, IIRC there were other angles - Handler wanted to create a doll that was an adult woman and had breasts, on the theory that little girls often wanted to pretend to be adults in their imaginative play, and there really wasn't much else on the market of this kind. One might feel that Barbie was not totally the best approach to this particular concern, but it wasn't just some morally bankrupt "oh let's socialize little girls to think they should look this way" idea.
posted by Frowner at 5:50 AM on January 30, 2016
It's not just an assertion - it's quite well documented, and Ruth Handler talked about it in interviews. I have what was then the major big book of barbie scholarship (came out in the early nineties, would require actually getting up to get the title) and there's a chapter about it. I had never seen the Lilli cartoons in your link, though. I mean, IIRC there were other angles - Handler wanted to create a doll that was an adult woman and had breasts, on the theory that little girls often wanted to pretend to be adults in their imaginative play, and there really wasn't much else on the market of this kind. One might feel that Barbie was not totally the best approach to this particular concern, but it wasn't just some morally bankrupt "oh let's socialize little girls to think they should look this way" idea.
posted by Frowner at 5:50 AM on January 30, 2016
A serious question: how would Trans man Ken differ from Cis man Ken?
There's a joke to be made about those oddly blank-slate genital areas all Barbies have, but it is an interesting question and does make me wonder if any of the old or new Barbie models particularly lend themselves to kids who have trans questions, or if the gender presentation of the dolls is just too severely binary and inflexible.
I like the idea of having the dolls come closer to reflecting reality, though they are still obviously far from the real diversity in the world. It's a move for the good even if it is crassly commercial, and I hope the market rewards it and that future versions are even more diverse.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:03 AM on January 30, 2016
There's a joke to be made about those oddly blank-slate genital areas all Barbies have, but it is an interesting question and does make me wonder if any of the old or new Barbie models particularly lend themselves to kids who have trans questions, or if the gender presentation of the dolls is just too severely binary and inflexible.
I like the idea of having the dolls come closer to reflecting reality, though they are still obviously far from the real diversity in the world. It's a move for the good even if it is crassly commercial, and I hope the market rewards it and that future versions are even more diverse.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:03 AM on January 30, 2016
A serious question: how would Trans man Ken differ from Cis man Ken?
You're right, of course; I didn't think that through.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2016
You're right, of course; I didn't think that through.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2016
Kenner tried this in 1974 with Dusty and Skye with middling success. I had one of these as a kid, and I also had a bride Barbie who lost her veil and became Supreme Empress of the Universe Barbie with a boyfriend harem of Ken, Donny Osmond, Superman, and Ronald McDonald. Dusty was her cosmic army space general.
The rest of my dolls, regardless of their figures, ended up in my Barbie baseball pile...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 11:33 AM on January 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
The rest of my dolls, regardless of their figures, ended up in my Barbie baseball pile...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 11:33 AM on January 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
A serious question: how would Trans man Ken differ from Cis man Ken?
You're right, of course; I didn't think that through.
Oh no - to be clear: I really wasn’t certain if there was somethin trans folks would want to see in Ken that wasn’t there. Just wanted to know.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:16 PM on January 30, 2016
You're right, of course; I didn't think that through.
Oh no - to be clear: I really wasn’t certain if there was somethin trans folks would want to see in Ken that wasn’t there. Just wanted to know.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:16 PM on January 30, 2016
I've looked over the new Barbies at work. One thing I wonder is what the casepacks for the different Barbies are. The dolls we had in stock in the line are ones that look more like every other Barbie doll. It's possible the other Barbies are selling out right away, or might not be being made in the same numbers.
posted by drezdn at 11:06 PM on February 4, 2016
posted by drezdn at 11:06 PM on February 4, 2016
There are rumors on toy sites that Mattel and Hasbro are talking about merging.
posted by drezdn at 6:15 AM on February 5, 2016
posted by drezdn at 6:15 AM on February 5, 2016
Empowering: Mattel Just Released An Interim CEO Barbie!
Onion style site.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:28 AM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Onion style site.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:28 AM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
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