"Barbie's Got A New Body"

Time.com ^ | 2016 Jan. 28 | Eliana Dockterman

[hawaiianninja]

Quote: "MATTEL RELEASES THREE NEW BODY SHAPES FOR THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING DOLL. INSIDE THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN BARBIE'S 57-YEAR HISTORY--AND WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT AMERICAN BEAUTY IDEALS"

[hawaiianninja]

Mattel always tries to change with the times. Nothing really new here. I'm sure they'll eventually have a trans-gendered Barbie (Ken changes into Barbie, or numerous other genders?).

[JudyinCanada]

Wheat belly Barbie? Booty Barbie? Whatever.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

I’m all for the change.

But hey, I’m a guy.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Coming soon! Malibu Beach(ed whale) Barbie!

[TaMoDee]

I always thought “Ken” was a little light in the loafers.

[Dacula]

Do you have to pay more for the extra fat?

[Jim W N]

American beauty ideals haven’t changed although the women’s libber movement keeps trying.

[Still Thinking]

"MATTEL RELEASES THREE NEW BODY SHAPES FOR THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING DOLL. INSIDE THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN BARBIE'S 57-YEAR HISTORY--AND WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT AMERICAN BEAUTY IDEALS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS RUN AMOK"

The correct response to PC-Nazis is to be MORE un-PC, till they learn it's better to live and let live.

[DoughtyOne]

Free Republic Caucus 16 01/28
four days to Iowa

Vote

[VRWCmember]

Badonkadonk Barbie

[rjsimmon]

(Ken changes into Barbie, or numerous other genders?).

They can call it "Caitlyn"...

[Paisan]

I’m still partial to the “Eating-Disorder” Barbie.

Very slender, and likely to stay that way.

[JoeProBono]

[rlmorel]

"...The company hopes that the new dolls, with their diverse body types, along with the new skin tones and hair textures introduced last year, will more closely reflect their young owners' world. But the initiative could also backfire-if it's not too late altogether. Adding three new body types now is sure to irritate someone: just picking out the terms petite, tall and curvy, and translating them into dozens of languages without causing offense, took months. And like me, girls will strip curvy Barbie and try to put original Barbie's clothes on her or swap the skirts of petite and tall. Not everything will Velcro shut. Fits will be thrown, exasperated moms will call Mattel..."

Ah. Just preparing them for real life, I see.

[rlmorel]

Exactly. They can tug and pull and strain to pull red-blooded men to that trough of alternative body sites, but...they won't be able to make them drink.

Now, if they add some alcohol to that trough, the following math comes into play...

[livius]

Please, no transgender Barbies. I think that’s what Bruce Jenner wants to look like in any case - a really big ugly old-style Barbie.

When I read the article, I actually thought the new ones were rather nice. I hope the kids like them.

[BerryDingle]

The original 1959 Barbie didn’t sell well. Mattel put so much makeup on her, mothers thought she looked like a street walker. Mattel toned back the makeup and sales rocketed. A 59 Barbie can sell from $2500 to $8,000.

[trisham]

I don’t have a problem with this at all. I had a Barbie when I was a kid. I like the American Girl dolls much more, though. I sent one, with a horse and cowgirl outfit to one of my great nieces about six months ago. She loved it. :)

[Robert A Cook PE]

God!

Even their FIRST paragraph of the Time article shows their stupidity!

“Like every girl who has ever played with the most popular toy in history, I yank her clothes off and try to put on a new dress. It’s a blue summery frock, cinched tightly at the waist with a black ribbon. I try to tug it over her head, but the waistline gets stuck at her shoulders, her blond mane peeking out from the neckline. “Try going feet first,” the lead designer suggests, and I do. No good. Her plump bottom gets stuck in the same spot. Yes, plump. Barbie’s got a new body. Three new bodies, actually: petite, tall and curvy, in Mattel’s exhaustively debated lexicon, and beginning Jan. 28 they will be sold alongside the original busty, thin-waisted form on Barbie.com. “

So, the old clothes can’t fit ... And the designer - onsite! - looking at the person trying to put them on! - can’t help.

The ENTIRE rest of the article shows the Barbie “designers” and stylists ARE FIGHTING the girls who WANT TO PLAY with the doll. The designers are pushing the issue, and they are going to lose.

New Coke? This will be as bad for Mattel.

Sell. Sell now. Sell yesterday.