Barbie’s reinvention includes dolls with vitiligo and alopecia
Written by olucapri on January 31, 2020
A bald barbie, another with a prosthetic limb and a third one with clear signs of vitiligo, a condition that causes patches of skin to lose melanin. These are Barbie’s latest doll additions in an attempt to diversify.
Introducing the first Barbie doll back in 1959, Mattel is still reinventing itself, redefining what it means to “look like Barbie”. This can be seen in their new collection, which the American company has been referring to as its “most diverse doll line” as it includes “more skin tones, hair types and body shapes than ever before.”
When someone hears ‘Barbie’ they think of the beautiful and thin blonde icon, which has long been blamed for causing insecurity among little girls, as it distorted their understanding of beauty, body shape and skin tone. However.
Speaking of Barbie, it is worth noting that we will soon be getting a live-action movie of the iconic doll, played by Margot Robbie. The film will follow Barbie, a doll expelled from ‘Barbieland’ for not being perfect enough and who decides to explore the ‘real world’. Not only that, but award-winning Lady Bird director Greta Gerwig will be directing this flick, with her husband Noah Baumbach penning the script.
