{Barbie's "Inspiring Women" Series}

Mattel, the company that owns the Barbie brand, has created an “Inspiring Women” series of Barbie dolls....honoring historic female icons. (I have mixed feelings about this! What do you think?)

Alanna Vagianos wrote an article for HuffPost reporting that the company recently announced that two dolls―honoring Rosa Parks and Sally Ride―were being added to their collection. “Parks, a famed civil rights activist, and Ride, the first American woman and youngest American to travel to space, both come with educational information about their historic contributions so that children can learn while playing.”

“These historical women broke boundaries that made the world a better place for future generations of girls,” a press release from Barbie read.

“The Inspiring Women series, which debuted on International Women’s Day last year, includes dolls based on other legendary figures, including artist Frida Kahlo, aviator Amelia Earhart and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.”

“As a brand that is dedicated to inspiring the limitless potential in every girl, Barbie is shining a spotlight on role models, historical and modern, to show them they can be anything,” Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and global head of Barbie, told HuffPost. “Both Sally Ride and Rosa Parks are change-makers, so these dolls celebrate their achievements, while also encouraging girls to challenge the status quo.”

“Barbie has historically been criticized for portraying a singular and unattainable body type. If Barbie were a human woman, she would be 5 feet, 9 inches and have a 39-inch bust, an 18-inch waist and wear a Size 3 shoe, according to the book Body Wars by Margo Maine, a clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders. While it’s valuable and important for Mattel to make Barbie dolls in the likeness of powerful women, some critics have pointed out that their body types also need to be as diverse and inclusive as the women they are fashioned after.”

Another criticism from writer and professor of history Angela Johnson relates to the inaccuracies Mattel used to describe Rosa Parks who had been a bold and passionate civil rights activist for many years. Read more here.

There are other historic and current trailblazing women being made into Barbie dolls. If Mattel truly wants to honor women in this way, then be sure to tell their real, deeper story. ~