Barbie [1] has a whole new group of friends, and it's more inclusive than it's ever been. Mattel announced on Feb. 11 that the Barbie Fashionistas [2] collection — which includes dolls with deeper skin tones, different hair textures, and more realistic body types — is set to expand this year. The line will include a doll with a smaller bust, a doll with a braided hair texture, and two more dolls reflective of people with disabilities [3]. Of the latter two dolls, one Barbie will be in a wheelchair and the other will come with a prosthetic leg.
The past few years have seen Barbie working incredibly hard to make their dolls more representative of all people [4]. The brand announced back in 2016 that it was making the move to add three new body types [5] to its line of dolls that had already previously been expanded.
According to a rep from Mattel, the Barbie team collaborated with partners at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital and wheelchair experts to create a toy that is modeled after a real wheelchair. In addition to that, Barbie created the doll with a prosthetic limb, which "incorporated a key design feature to remove the prosthetic leg for a more realistic experience," with some assistance from 12-year-old Jordan Reeves [7] and her doctor. Reeves is the cofounder of Born Just Right [8], a non-profit organization focused on "creating creative solutions to help kids born with differences live a more enjoyable life," and she requested that the prosthetic leg be removable to appear more realistic. The new dolls will be available for purchase in Fall 2019.