Mattel debuts three new Barbie body shapes: Tall, petite, and curvy
Barbie's body proportions just got a little more realistic. On Thursday, toymaker Mattel introduced three new body shapes for its iconic doll after facing backlash and dropping sales for inaccurately reflecting women's bodies. Now, alongside the original Barbie, there's a curvy Barbie, a tall Barbie, and a petite Barbie. Time reports in its latest cover story:
The dolls will initially sell exclusively online, Time reports, until Mattel negotiates the extra shelf space needed for the new variety of body shapes, skin tones, hair types. Mattel also plans on setting up a separate helpline to deal with complaints related to the new dolls — such as when kids try to put original Barbie's clothes on curvy Barbie and get frustrated when "not everything will Velcro shut," Time reports.
"Yes, some people will say we are late to the game,” Evelyn Mazzocco, head of the Barbie brand, told Time. "But changes at a huge corporation take time."
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