Finally! A Barbie with no thigh gap
A round belly, full hips and curves that are actually proportional to the rest of her body.
This isn't how a Barbie is typically described, but Mattel has finally designed a new doll based on a body type many women can actually relate to.
As part of a collaboration to create dolls that are inclusive of women of all sizes and colours, Mattel replicated model and body activist Ashley Graham’s figure. When the 29-year-old was asked how she’d like for her Barbie to look, she responded with one non-negotiable request: “She had to have her thighs touch,” Graham told the Hollywood Reporter. “No ands, ifs or buts about it.”
Unfortunately the doll isn’t available to buy on the market, but Graham hopes that young girls who see the doll will realize “every girl does look like Barbie. It’s not an unattainable thing.”
Mattel has also created one-of-a-kind replica dolls for American gymnast Gabby Douglas and director Ava DuVernay. In January, it launched 33 new dolls with a variety of skin tones, body types, hair textures and outfits. It was lauded as the biggest change to the doll’s aesthetic since it launched in 1959.
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