Barbie Launches New Dolls With No Hair, Vitiligo, Prosthetic Leg To Promote Inclusivity

To think about it, most dolls we played with as kids were slim, fair, had long hair and rosy cheeks. Even boys had dolls which were muscular and had sharp features. The thing is, when all kids are given specific looking dolls to play with, their idea of external appearance and beauty becomes restricted. The more kids are exposed to different looking dolls, or different coloured clothes, or even books with a diverse range of characters, the more will they become inclusive of other people.

Taking a step towards inclusivity, ‘Barbie’ recently launched its new collection of “diverse” dolls. The collection includes Barbie dolls with no hair, vitiligo, darker complexions, prosthetic legs, and Ken dolls with longer hair, reports India Today.

Earlier, the company manufactured Barbie dolls in wheelchairs and received much praise for representing people with disabilities.

According to Mail Online, the company which manufactures the dolls, Mattel, claimed that they wanted to promote a “multi-dimensional view of beauty and fashion” and “represent global diversity and inclusivity”.

Mattel now has Barbie dolls that come in five body types, 22 skin tones, 76 hairstyles, 94 hair colours, and 13 eye colours. The Ken dolls, on the other hand, are available in four body types, 18 sculpts, 13 skin tones, 9 eye colours and 22 hair colours.

The new range also has an Asian prototype!

“I have always thought dolls are a really good way for kids to learn about disabilities. Kids have a chance to grow up learning about limb differences and amputees while they play,” said teen activist Jordan Reeves who collaborated with Barbie last year.

The younger generations will surely grow up to be more accepting of different cultures, races, and people with disabilities and will reject traditional ideas of beauty which have troubled so many of us in the past.