Barbie’s New Look

Recently, the original Barbie, created by Ruth Handler, has gotten a permanent makeover. Once tall, very thin, and every girls dream look, Barbie is now very short, curvy, and muscular. This is a big change from the original doll. Now, it looks as if she has no neck and she works out 24/7. According to the blog OnAir, this new look is “an artist’s interpretation of what Barbie would look like as an average 19-year-old girl.”

            Although Handler died at the age of 85 in 2002, she more than likely did not have anything to do with the making of the new Barbie. This new doll was created by Nickolay Lamm. The Barbie some of us remember had bendable knees and an upper body who could twist and move. She then transformed to a doll that couldn’t move any parts of her body, with feet shaped to leave her in a permanent tippy-toe stance (mainly so she could be dressed in high heels). Now, the new Barbie is standing flat on her feet and people classify her as “having a booty” and “having no neck.”

            From watching an interview about the new Barbie, it seems as they tried to make Barbie more like a real woman. Referring to the old doll, CNN said, “If Barbie was a real woman she would not be able to function.” This is because the original Barbie’s neck was twice as long and six inches thinner than the average; she had a 16 inch waist, which was enough room for half a liver and a few inches of intestine. Also, because the ankles made on her were six inches, she would  be a size three in shoes. She would have to walk on all fours! Lamm’s new creation was to show her if she were an average human being. Lamm says, “I created normal Barbie because I want to show that average is beautiful.”

What are your thoughts? Is this new Barbie the one you would have played with?

By: Diamond Burton, Sophomore, Lindblom