Opinion: Why the idea of a bald Barbie is beautiful

Opinion: Why the idea of a bald Barbie is beautiful

Being an only child of parents who were told they could never have children I was pampered. Super pampered. That is how I ended up owning over 70 Barbie dolls and a handful of Kens. As much as I loved to play with all of them, I often asked my mom why none of the dolls looked like me.

Back in the late 80s, Barbies were either blondes with blue eyes (Malibu Barbie) or black (Christie, Barbie’s friend). I was neither. Being half-Italian, half-Spanish I longed for a doll that would have curly brown hair and olive skin, just like me. Instead I was stuck dreaming that one day I was going to be blonde and tall just like my dolls.

So when I read that there was a group on Facebook pushing Mattel to create a bald Barbie so that children suffering from cancer and alopecia could have a doll they felt represented them, I fell in love with the idea. The group also calls for part of the profit from this doll to be donated to childhood cancer research and treatment. By the time this was written, the group was growing by the second, with over 138,000 ‘Likes’, the envy of many brand managers. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those that blames Mattel for brainwashing girls into beauty standards that are not real, but I do believe that it’s important to have a doll that you can relate to. 

Apparently not everyone thinks like me. 
 
Andrew Becker, a director of media relations for the American Cancer Society, posted a controversial note on the American Cancer Society’s website called  ”Bald Barbie Demand Is an Over-Reach.”  In the post, which has now been deleted from the ACS website, Becker said the Bald Barbie movement could “do more harm than good for kids and parents.”

“If they are mass marketed, many of these dolls will end up in the hands of girls who luckily aren’t likely to be touched by cancer in themselves or their mothers. But could they end up being terrorized by the prospect of it in a far outsized proportion to their realistic chances? There is no reason to create this sort of fear,” Becker wrote.

The outrage Becker’s post created amongst parents who have sick children caused the director to apologize. 

“I did not mean to imply that I or the American Cancer Society believe that sick children are not important. Indeed I wrote that each of these cases is tragic, and that the children and their families deserve both sympathy and support. That is what I believe,” Becker wrote. 

Still, the question is whether Mattel will pay attention to social media and the request of the growing group. So far their response has been very un-2012: ignoring the Facebook group and petition and telling the creators that they receive many petitions and theirs will be added to the queue of ideas. 

“Mattel appreciates and respects the passion that has been built up for the request for a bald Barbie doll. As you might imagine, we receive hundreds of passionate requests for various dolls to be added to our collection.  We take all of them seriously and are constantly exploring new and different dolls to be added to our line,” the company said in a statement.

Mattel has done it before, when they created a one-of-a-kind bald Barbie for Genesis Reyes when she lost her hair to chemeotherapy, and that is why I believe people expect them to do it again. The company is also known for launching limited edition dolls like the tattoo-covered punk Barbie, so why not make the bald Barbie part of this off-mainstream collection?

In 2012 there’s finally a Barbie that looks like me, but it came out 23 years too late. Hopefully the bald Barbie won’t take as long to be created. And hopefully when the doll comes out, she’ll be able to play with Bald and Brave GI Joe.