The Student News Site of Lake Central High School

Lake Central News

The Student News Site of Lake Central High School

Lake Central News

The Student News Site of Lake Central High School

Lake Central News

Breaking down Barbie’s beauty standards

Graphic+showing+the+new+Barbie+lineup.+%28Used+with+limited+license%3A+Los+Angeles+Times%29
Graphic showing the new Barbie lineup. (Used with limited license: Los Angeles Times)

Thursday, Jan. 28, Mattel Inc. unleashed a whole new world of the iconic doll, Barbie.

After receiving criticisms, the company decided to redesign the doll. Now, Barbie can be purchased in seven different shades and has three body shapes: curvy, petite and tall. Features are also different; some have different sized noses, moles, freckles and eye shape.

“I think [the new Barbie is] a good thing so that girls realize they don’t have to be tall and skinny all the time. I think it’ll have a good effect on body image so that girls aren’t self conscious growing up. [When I was younger,] I thought you always had to look like her,” Devon Kelly (11) said.

With feminism growing and equal opportunities being demanded, 2016 was thought of as a good year to introduce the newest features.

“I think now is a good time because society is now focused on being equal with body weight. It’s more relevant now than it was before with people being in shape,” Hope Martens (11) said.

Although Mattel’s decision was considered necessary to certain people, some believe that it was too long delayed.

“I feel like they should have [made new Barbies] earlier so that becoming skinny wasn’t the image girls had to look up to,” Joelle Kelley (11) said.

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Cami Wallace, Author