What would Ruth think?
That was my first thought when the news broke Thursday morning that Barbie would be available in three new body types: curvy, tall and petite, in addition to the classic Barbie. And Ruth was Ruth Handler, the daughter of Polish Jewish immigrants, and the mother of the most iconic doll in the world. She created Barbie when she noticed her daughter, Barbara, pretending her paper dolls were adults. Barbie wasn’t born to represent anything but a play pattern of young girls wanting to act like young women.
I’m 46 now, and still a big fan of Barbie. Despite all the push-back she’s been getting for not being a realistic body type, I’m a traditionalist who never felt Barbie was supposed to represent me: Barbie represented whomever I wanted her to be.
She could be anyone I imagined — a banker, a doctor, a fashion model, a bride, a sister. Petite brunette though I was, Barbie never made me feel short or “curvy” or less beautiful. I was in charge of how Barbie made me feel. And she made me feel as if I could take my imagination anywhere.
My love for Barbie runs deep. Growing up, I probably had a dozen Barbie dolls. My first came from my cousin Janet, who was like an aunt to me. Over the years, I returned the favor — I bought my niece her first Barbie when, at age 4, she reached for one in the doll aisle at Toys R Us.
And as founder of savvyauntie.com, I became a fan of many of the innovations Mattel brought to Barbie in recent years. I lauded Mattel for their launch last year of the multicultural Barbie Fashionistas. I even gave the doll line a Savvy Auntie coolest toy award for being one of the 25 coolest toys of 2015.
But now, with the three new body types, will girls feel they have to choose the model that fits their body type? Will blond, blue-eyed girls feel they have to pick a version of Barbie that makes them seem more open to diversity? Is it possible, with all the well-intentioned new, more “realistic” Barbie body types, that the classic Barbie will be bullied for not being multicultural enough?
In the end, the consumer gets to decide who Barbie is. And Barbie can be whomever a child imagines her to be. And whatever her body type, that child’s version of her Barbie, on any given day, will be just right.
Melanie Notkin serves on the Toy Industry Association “Toy of the Year” nominating committee and is the founder of the lifestyle brand Savvy Auntie and author of “Otherhood.”