In promising news for young girls and feminists (and, let’s be honest, pretty much everybody else), major toy company Mattel ousted its chief executive officer this week, partly because its Barbie products just aren’t cutting it anymore.
For a doll that was inspired by a German sex toy, we’re not sure why it took over 50 years for society to realize Barbie sends children negative messages (i.e. directly encouraging them to aspire to the impossible standards of one man’s pinup-era fantasy.)
Half a century after its inception, Barbie is still as unnatural looking as ever: just check out how ridiculous her proportions are when put on a life-size doll. Not to mention, the company fails pretty miserably at representing women of color (remember this Nigerian entrepreneur’s counterproject? You go, guy.) The truth is, Barbie is just too unrealistic looking to be relatable for young girls, and we are so happy a decrease in the doll’s sales proves that this fact is no longer acceptable.
Mattel also came under fire last year when attention was drawn to the sexist language of its book Barbie: I Can Be A Computer Engineer. The plot showed that Barbie could figure out computers, as long as her male pals were around to mansplain them to her. We say ‘no, thanks’ to your misogynistic messages, Mattel. Until you create some empowering and inclusive products, we’ll stick with Legos.
Image via Flickr
