Barbie Dolls (Fashionista series)

History

2022: Release of the Hearing Aid Doll

In mid-May 2022, Mattel released the first Barbie doll with a hearing aid. Children's was created as part of the inclusive Fashionista series, which also includes dolls with vitiligo and a prosthetic leg.

Lisa McKnight, head of the global Barbie doll division from Mattel, said that it is important for children to see their reflection in products and encourage the game with dolls that do not look like them to help them understand and note the importance of inclusiveness in real life.

Released the first Barbie doll with a hearing aid

The company collaborated with specialist in educational audiology Dr. Jen Richardson during the development of the doll. Joint work consisted in accurate modeling of ear devices for the doll. Dolls have slightly changed their general appearance. The manufacturer responded to a general claim in the unreality of the bodies of Barbie and Ken and from May 2022, the girls had less breasts and a wider waist, and men had less pronounced muscles in children's dolls.

Mattel management described its upcoming 175-doll collection as the most diverse and inclusive doll line, offering a variety of skin shades, eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disability and fashion to inspire even more stories and diverse scenarios.

In 2017, Barbie released a hijab doll created in honor of Ibtihaj Muhammad, a fencer who became the first American to compete and win an Olympic medal in this dress. In 2019, the company already produced a series of inclusive Barbie, among which were dolls on a wheelchair and with a prosthetic leg. And in 2020, Barbie with alopecia and black Barbie with vitiligo were released, which in 2021, according to the company, became a bestseller. In 2021, the company released a set of dolls dedicated to COVID-19 workers, including vaccinologists, nurses and paramedics.^[1]

Notes