Barbie gets ‘realistic’ in petite, tall, curvy body shapes

Barbie gets ‘realistic’ in petite, tall, curvy body shapes. January. 30, 2016 07:59. by 뉴욕=부형권특파원 bookum90@donga.com. When the Barbie doll first came out in the world in 1959, she had blue eyes, blond hair and a skinny body. The colors of the hair, eyes and skin changed over time, with the black Barbie in the late 1960s and the Asian Barbie in the 80s. However, the body proportions that many claimed existed only in imaginations remained unchaged.

Mattel, the maker of Barbie, announced Thursday the iconic doll will now be available online in three new body shapes – petite, tall and curvy. The company said that the dolls to be put on sale from now on will be out in combinations of four body types, seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles.

“Barbie reflects the world girls see around them,” Mattel President and CEO Richard Dickson said in a statement. Barbie has been criticized for portraying an unrealistic body image to girls. ABC TV reported that Mattel’s decision to diversify the doll is a measure to overcome its sales decline that had continued for the third consecutive year in 2015.