News
The Evolution of Barbie
PAGE 3
Sarah Chen
Staff Writer
Children come in all
different skin tones and
body types; however for
its 57-year history, kids
captured their youthful
imagination through Barbie dolls with solely one
body and skin kind.
But on Jan. 28, 2015,
Mattel unveiled three
new body shapes—
curvy, tall, and petite—
to its iconic Barbie line.
Following the nation’s
shift in the demograhics
and beauty ideals, the
new Barbie doll collection
more accurately reflects
real-life girls. The new dolls
include seven different
skin tones, 24 hair styles,
and 22 eye colors, allowing more kids to find a
doll that speaks to them.
“From the ages four to
eight, I have been a Barbie doll enthusiast,” said
junior Sydney Dardis (CV).
“Barbie dolls made me
feel like I could accomplish anything I put my
mind to! I would take my
Barbie doll everywhere I
went.”
Seventh grader Zola
Franchi (IA) remarked,
“I started playing with
Barbie dolls when I was
three, and I was really into them. I stopped
around seven when I got
into other types of dolls
because none of the
[Barbie] dolls looked like
us. I like dressing up dolls
that look like me more
than just Barbie.”
Many OCSA students
supported the new face
of Barbie and the company’s vision for the Barbie collection.
Spring 2016
Super Bold
Hayden Lyskoski
Staff Writer
“I feel the new Barbie
dolls are definitely a step
in the right direction for
female beauty ideals,”
explained Dardis. “I
believe the new Barbie
dolls will increase young
girls’ self-esteem as they
are more likely to accept
themselves for who they
are without the unrealistic
beauty standards set by
the old Barbie.”
Although the new
Barbie collection seems
to move towards a positive direction in terms of
beauty ideals, some say
Mattel could expand
their consumers to more
than simply young girls.
Senior Jason Risdana
(CV) shared his view on
the new Barbie dolls. “I’ve
always had a problem
with beauty ideals and
the demographic Barbie
dolls are marketed to. I
personally enjoyed my
doll,” said Risdana. “I’m
perfectly aware that
society’s constructed this
collective hallucination
of what manhood is,
and I don’t think any kid
should feel bad, weird, or
not ‘manly’ for having a
Barbie Doll. I think Barbie
shouldn’t gender clothing
and should market their
pro