We all have been fond of Barbie dolls since childhood. The craze has come a long way across decades becoming the favorite doll every kid wants to have.
Yet lately Barbie has been breaking the barriers of being the perfect blonde and adapting to the variety of women out there.
This time Barbie comes to the children with hearing aids. Maker of Barbie, Mattel has unveiled the first-ever doll in the world which uses hearing aids.
It has been done so that more children can “see themselves reflected in the product“, the company states. The new batch of dolls is the company’s “most diverse and inclusive yet. The new dolls in the collection include a Ken doll with vitiligo. This is a condition in which the skin loses its pigment cells and the skin looks blotchy. It further includes a doll with a prosthetic leg, a Barbie with a wheelchair. Also, the male dolls are less muscular than the original Ken doll,” said a spokesperson of the company in an official statement.
Also, read: Manasi Joshi Gets Featured As A Barbie Doll, Becomes Second Indian To Join The Select Club
Ready to make waves? 🌊🕶️ Dip into new #Barbie Fashion Dolls – our most diverse and inclusive doll line, offering a variety of skin tones, eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disabilities, and fashions, to inspire even more stories! https://t.co/k2mKw8VhG8 pic.twitter.com/voglMMZgvE
— Barbie (@Barbie) May 11, 2022
The collection will hit the stores in June 2022.
Check out the official launch tweet.
With the all–new wave of #Barbie Fashion Dolls, we are proud to introduce the first Barbie with behind-the-ear hearing aids, giving kids the chance to imagine even more amazing possibilities with dolls that reflect themselves & the world around them.💗
— Barbie (@Barbie) May 12, 2022
Coming to stores June 2022. pic.twitter.com/X4vjNZbNvQ
In a report by CBS News, Lisa McKnight, Mattel’s global head of Barbie Dolls said,
“It’s important for kids to see themselves reflected in the product and to encourage play with dolls that don’t resemble them to help them understand and celebrate the importance of inclusion,” said Lisa McKnight, Mattel’s global head of Barbie Dolls in an interview.
To ensure the precision of the doll’s hearing devices, the company further consulted with medical experts and Dr. Jen Richardson offered his support.
“As an educational audiologist with over 18 years of experience working in hearing loss advocacy, it’s inspiring to see those who experience hearing loss reflected in a doll. I’m beyond thrilled for my young patients to see and play with a doll that looks like them,” he said.
#Barbie is committed to giving all kids the chance to see themselves in the stories they play out & imagine. We’re celebrating Asian American & Pacific Islander women & role models to inspire a more inclusive world for the next generation. #AAPIHeritageMonth pic.twitter.com/mUQG0rEgOr
— Barbie (@Barbie) May 6, 2022
Barbie’s inclusive line
Barbie first announced the Fashionistas doll set back in January 2020 with eight body types, 35 skin tones, and 94 hairstyles, which were “designed to reflect the world girls see today”.
It later added a Barbie wearing a hijab — based on Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American Olympic athlete to wear a hijab during a competition — back in 2016.
Likewise in 2019, Mattel released the Creatable World line that included the world’s first gender-neutral dolls. The dolls came with multiple wardrobes, accessories, and wigs allowing children to create any character they want.
Mattel’s Fischer Price recently announced another new set of Little People toys based on RuPaul of Mama Ru’s “Drag Race” program. The toys are “styled in a different fabulous look from the iconic drag performer’s career“.