G1 had its high points with its widely multicultural cast, wheelchair-using Finnegan Wake, and even conjoined twins Peri and Pearl.but I found a lot of MH's non-American cast to border on stereotypical and for diversity overall to be too cute with the representation, such that the diversity was hidden under a monster concept rather than being more open and neutrally unrelated. My eye on doll diversity is anchored around my collection/review focal point of Monster High, and it's interesting to see progress there, too. I love seeing these unique Barbies showcased! Even when they don't really get it right, it still feels like they're trying their actual best. I have so much respect for Mattel's recent efforts at diversity and inclusivity, which feel truly celebratory and earnest in a way lots of modern diverse representation fails to. Barbie was introduced as an astronaut for the first time in 1965, and Sally Ride made her first flight in 1983. The 35th Anniversary Barbie's pamphlet boasted that Barbie was an astronaut decades before Sally Ride, and this is true. But in 1961 Barbie was hired as both a flight attendant and a nurse:ġ961 Barbie Registered Nurse doll (Mattel). The career expansion started off modestly, with occupations like fashion designer, singer, and ballerina. The first appearance of equity in Barbie's world was the introduction of new careers-sometimes careers that were not common for women at the time. The very first Barbie dolls were all white, they all had idealized bodies, and they all had the same job: fashion model. It's a pretty wonderful group:īarbie didn't start out as an inclusive or diverse doll line, though. And for this, I decided to focus most of my attention on the Fashionistas-a group of dolls that I seldom talk about on this blog. ![]() The idea for today's post was not to review anything in-depth, but rather to showcase and celebrate Barbie's growing acknowledgement of diversity, equity, and inclusivity over the years. ![]() Once I've seen the movie, I can start talking about the dolls that it inspired. But I managed to get everything ready for you before the opening night of the Barbie movie, and that was my goal, so it's all good. That's been a bit of a theme for Barbie Month as a whole, though, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Another part of the problem was that I kept adding dolls to this review, and the dolls were too much fun! I had a really great time with them and didn't want to stop playing. Some family stuff came up, and everything always takes longer than I expect. Writing two smaller reviews in one week didn't work out as well as I'd hoped.
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