Barbie Forever

Everyone (or almost everyone) loves Barbies. It was created to inspire generations and generations of girls. Barbie has “made a career” in more than 200 professions and has lived an infamous number of stories: from astronaut to surgeon and even was a presidential candidate. This lucky woman had all the rights and all the possibilities even before they appeared in real women. With this doll in hand, little girls could dream about anything and imagine themselves in any role and in any circumstance.

However, Barbie was often attacked, especially related to how she looks. From the very first day, her figure became an object of criticism and a symbol of a “purely masculine” and very consumerist view of a woman. Parents were worried lest such a toy would give their children the wrong idea that a woman should look like this and only that way.

However, it must be said that the creators of Barbie never had such a goal. When Ruth Marianne Hendler first introduced Barbie to the world in 1959, the toy industry was dominated by "male types." The golden-haired beauty became the first "fashionable" doll with three distinct sex characteristics of an adult woman (read also: "Tales for adults: 9 magical films that you can watch without children"). This in itself was already a bomb. According to Carol Spencer, the designer who sewed clothes for Barbie the longest (from 1963 to 1998), everything was thought out and worked out to the smallest detail in the doll's sensual forms. “I would not say that it went beyond the boundaries of some proportions designated by society. It just looked strange on a smaller scale. In addition, it was a toy, and toys should awaken imagination. That Barbie, in fact,and did."

Perhaps many then did not understand such a "design", but it cannot be denied that these proportions eventually became to some extent a standard of "feminine sensuality". For years, Barbie has been characterized by long, slender legs, rounded hips, a slender waist, and a playful bust. According to the parents' calculations, if a real “full-size” woman had such proportions, it would be a 99-centimeter bust, 46-centimeter waist and 84-centimeter hips. In a word, it is simply impossible to imagine such a figure in life.

But nothing stands still. Our perception of beauty is constantly changing and evolving. Barbie, too, develops along with society. In 2016, Mattel Inc (the home and even the parental home of Barbie) presented miniature, tall and curvy versions of the dolls. At the same time, the company added 7 new skin tones and 24 new hairstyles, further diversifying the choices. A year later, as part of the Shero (she + hero) collection, Mattel Inc introduced the hijab-wearing Barbie, modeled on the Muslim American saber fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad. The purpose of all these innovations was to enable each girl to find her own doll, "which will speak the same language with her" (read also: "Wooden toys: what the children of kings play"). Well, and at the same time, to increase the declining popularity of the brand:between 2012 and 2014, the company's sales decreased by 20 percent.

Although these changes seemed obvious and logical, modifying the doll and presenting it with a new design was not easy at all. The re-equipment of production areas required colossal investments. “A lot of people see a product on the shelf and think, 'Just change it!” Says Kim Kalmon, VP of Design for Barbie at Mattel. “But this is a colossal event. After all, we are talking about a whole game system that has existed for 56 years. The children had a doll that was placed in a car, in an elevator, in an airplane. Moreover, the doll had a perfectly fitting wardrobe. But as soon as the volumes and dimensions changed, it became necessary to change the entire scheme of the game and redo many of the attributes associated with it."

But, despite all the difficulties, a shift has occurred: and at the moment, the brand has presented a fourth version of the doll - with small breasts and less rounded hips. And that's not all! More recently, a Barbie in a wheelchair appeared (by the way, this option has become mega popular and in demand), as well as a Barbie with a prosthesis instead of a leg. The design team worked with UCLMattel Children's Hospital and consulted with wheelchair specialists to make everything as accurate and realistic as possible. “The new dolls are beautiful, and they are beautiful in their special beauty,” says Carol Spencer. "They have become more realistic, and this trend is the future."

Mattel INC approaches the 60th anniversary with the most diverse barbie menu, which includes dolls with different skin tones, eye color, hair texture. Very soon there will be 20 more new heroines aged 19 to 85. Among them will be Naomi Osaka, Japanese tennis champion; Yara Shahid, American actress; Adwoa Aboah, British supermodel and founder of Girls Talk; Deepa Karmakar, gymnast from India and many, many others.

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