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Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,498
Registered: ‎03-26-2010

I adored my barbies, geez I think I played with them until I was almost 13...of course by then I introduced her to kenMan Wink  good memories. I would've loved all of these new barbies, how fun!

Take time every day to enjoy where you are without a need to fix it
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Registered: ‎05-22-2016

@PilatesLover wrote:

Barbie has taken on some new shapes, colors and themes including vitiligo and baldness.  I confess to not being sure if Ken has a new rocker look or if it is a transgender Barbie. It is Ken.  I particularly appreciate the wheelchair, prosthesis and bald Barbie.  1 in 4 Barbies sold have been the wheelchair version.  Right on Mattel!

 

Mattel's new line of Barbies. MUST CREDIT: Mattel handout photo


 

 

 

 

A perfect example of tokenism.

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Posts: 17,517
Registered: ‎06-17-2015

You can purchase stickers from Lammily to accessorize your Barbie and Barbie-like dolls. 

 

The stickers include Cellulite, Stretch marks, Freckles, Acne, Glasses, Blushing, Adhesive bandages, Moles, Temporary Tattoo, Stitches, Scrapes & Scratches, Bruises, Cast, Scars, Mosquito Bites, Grass and Dirt Stains

 

These came out a few years ago, I think.  I'm not sure if they are still available.  Lammily actually manufactured its own dolls, including flat-footed dolls to reflect "real" feet instead of the feet on Barbie which are ready for high-heels.

 

Image result for gasping cat gif

 

 

"" Compassion is a verb."-Thich Nhat Hanh
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@Cakers3 @talk about getting real.

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Oh how I long for the 1959 Barbie!!!!

"Pure Michigan"
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Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: New Barbies for 2020

[ Edited ]

@FLGranny wrote:

Please don’t flame me but I have to disagree what is being done to Barbie. I am over 65. I grew up with Barbie, got my first one with the long blonde ponytail in 1960(I think). I never felt body shamed by the doll. She was beautiful and fun. She had beautiful clothes and if you ever read her books and magazines she had fun adventures and great friends. I think it’s great to make a line of all inclusive dolls but why not make them not Barbie? Same goes for Ken. Just my opinion. Thank you.


@FLGranny  I think your point is well taken... As far as I'm concerned, no one should look to a doll as a role model or measure of self worth... Barbie need not fill every conceivable niche. Of course, not all of the dolls in the Barbie line are named 'Barbie' or 'Ken', which I think is as it should be.


In my pantry with my cupcakes...
Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎02-19-2014

It's not like the regular or original "Barbie" Barbies are going away. The "Barbie" Barbies are still the vast majority. And anyone who doesn't want a Barbie or Barbie friend with a prosthetic leg etc, can still buy their fully able Barbie. They can even maintain a resolutely noninclusive collection or secretly or loudly discriminate as much as they like in their selections when buying for a child in their life.

 

But if it might make someone else's child happy to receive a doll that had certain aspects, such as skin tone or disability etc that mirrored their own, why would anyone have a problem with that?

 

 

 

Now the man bun Ken thing, I kind of understood the uproar about that...

When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010
Thank you, @porcelain
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Registered: ‎06-17-2015

Does anybody ever stop to think that children who have lost their hair to chemo or a leg to cancer or are wheelchair-bound or have a skin condition that nobody else seems to have do feel "not the same" as others?

 

Or perhaps mom lost a leg serving over seas or is in a wheelchair. (Or even Dad for that matter.)

 

No matter how inclusive the world tries to be, there will always be unkindness about disability or looks, especially to school age children.

 

My Barbie was the same as everyone else from the 50's and 60's.  Dressing her up was the big thing-never thought I was supposed to look like her or be her or any other nonsense.  

 

And whoever said "tokenism"-shame on you.

"" Compassion is a verb."-Thich Nhat Hanh
Honored Contributor
Posts: 65,680
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Oh, I don't know... I think the man-bun Ken is pretty cute, myself... As for the need for diversity among dolls, I'm all for it, though I see no reason why they all need share the 'Barbie' moniker... Afterall, just as many of us look different, have different attributes, challenges and so on, we also don't all have the same name...


In my pantry with my cupcakes...