Barbie is turning 60 and since her release Barbie has been a controversy, she was subjected to criticism because of the impact that she had on the young girls. Barbie’s famous tagline “You can be anything” positions the brand as a believer in the potential of both men and women to overcome any hurdles and live a life of their own. Long before the feminist movement gained attention, Barbie figurines were perfected to portray an apparently flawless image of the women. Due to the falling sales, new Barbie dolls were released with new body types, hairstyle and different eye color which impacted the sales by going up. The new dolls have brought a key success to the company.
The iconic toy brand was reimagined and four new body types were introduced- petite, tall, curvy and the original, in order to propagate body positivity. Barbie in Hijab is a part of “Sheroes” series designed after the Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad. Audiences across cultures greeted the doll as a sign of inclusion and diversity. Barbie in Hijab had a major cultural diversification. “Yay Barbie! One step closer to equality! We have to normalize diversity!” were the words of Miley Cyrus. Barbie can now be found with four new body types, 22 eye color and 24 hairstyles. However, few studies found that barbie has the least impact on what girls perceive to be the ideal figure. “The power to change the world has been inside you all along.” That’s what Barbie believed in and changed their destiny from a regressive and misleading toy brand to a 21st century and modern toy brand. There is still more work to be done explains the global head of barbie. They are trying to not to focus so much what Barbie is, rather what she inspires.
