Mattel released a new range of Barbie dolls this week honouring nine trailblazing women in sport. The recognised athletes include Matildas soccer star Mary Fowler, tennis champion Venus Williams and seven other record-breaking and world champion sports stars from across the globe.
But is this a genuine effort by a corporation to be gender progressive, or is it a marketing ploy that co-opts feminism in the pursuit of profit?
On face value, Mattel’s recent efforts to diversify its range of Barbies through embracing and promoting women’s sporting is positive. After all, women’s visibility in sport is a longstanding problem, plagued by issues of unequal pay, representation and participation. And you can’t be what you can’t see.
But what exactly are we seeing in the new Barbies? While the range promotes diversity in terms of skin colour and abilities, we’re once again confronted with a sameness of bodies. Each of the Barbies conforms to a prescriptive thin ideal and doesn’t convey the athleticism of their likeness.
For instance, Venus Williams’s muscularity – a feature that makes her a powerful tennis player – is missing in her replica.
The dolls in Barbie’s new range embody a combination of physical perfection and sporting prowess. As such, they communicate new levels of expectation and standards for young girls to “aspire” to.
Mattel’s new range suggests the company is willing to go only so far in its efforts to be “inclusive” – unable to break away from the rigid plastic mould of Barbie’s unrealistic contours.
Source: Mattel’s new athlete Barbies might seem like a win for feminists and young girls – but they’re not