Mattel Just Released Their Most Diverse Lineup Including Afro Barbie And Man-Bun Ken
With 40 new dolls, 7 body types, 11 skin tones and 28 hairstyles, it seems Mattel has caught on and created the most diverse lineup of Barbie and Ken dolls ever. They brought dark skin tones, cornrows and afros in the mix and even threw a hipster with a man-bun in there for good measure. Time and time again, many of us yearn to see ourselves represented in pop culture. With these new dolls, your children may now have Barbies and Kens that look like them.
The new diverse dolls made their world debut on “Good Morning America.”
WATCH: Mattel introduces a new line of diverse Ken dolls (INCLUDING MAN BUN KEN): https://t.co/rF9l5l71fz pic.twitter.com/MuM5fujcNo
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 20, 2017
The focus was on the diversity of the Ken doll, probably because… man-bun.
Having the man-bun as an option for a doll seems pretty cool, even if the style itself does seem a little played out by now.
MAN BUN KEN DOLL. pic.twitter.com/Wk9Z3aagFy
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 20, 2017
The man-bun may be over the top, but I would definitely rock that shirt, though.
It wasn’t just Ken that got a make over, it was the whole crew.
Our new Fashionistas feature even more skin tones, eye colors, and hairstyles. ? https://t.co/aZAerR32nU #TheDollEvolves pic.twitter.com/axw26k12Ch
— Barbie (@Barbie) June 20, 2017
Fine, maybe they look like a bunch of hipster millennials, but look around, we’re everywhere. And that fro is gorgeous.
Some Twitter users freaked out, but mostly in a good way.
But in all seriousness, @Barbie finally has dolls that more than one type of child can relate to and that is amazing. pic.twitter.com/paUG1EGgcf
— Emily A. Cummins (@emilyacummins) June 20, 2017
It really does sound like a move in the right direction to introduce more representation in the brand. Blonde and blue-eyed doesn’t represent everyone.
All Barbie and Ken dolls have been reimagined with new body types, hair and skin color.
A post shared by Barbie (@barbie) on
Word, a “Soul Train” line? That’s not, like, pushing it?
The folks at GQ made a video all about the new Ken dolls.
There's a Ken doll for everyone now. pic.twitter.com/BjTSg8nqAy
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) June 20, 2017
Credit: GQ
It may feel a little too gimmicky — well, it probably is — but if black and brown children are going to play with these dolls, it’s good that they have a choice of getting something that at least feels like a representation of them. At the end of the day, we all want to be seen.
[H/T] GQ
