As part of their ongoing commitment to more realistic and varied representation in their line of iconic dolls, Mattel has announced that Barbies will now have razor burn on their bikini line.
“It’s something that’s been long overdue,” says spokesperson Emmeline Daniels. “But I’m proud to be a part of the team announcing this change.”
“At Mattel, we’re always asking ourselves: How do we make Barbies that we’d be proud for our own daughters to aspire to?” Daniels adds. “Barbies that embody the complexity and strength of a modern woman without perpetuating unrealistic and harmful standards?”
“And once we followed that line of questioning, we all quickly agreed the 2020 Barbie needs to have some really grisly, inflamed razor burn around her crotch.”
Parents agree that the new feature will help their daughters prepare for the actual results of trying to obtain a patriarchal beauty standard based on erasing signs of physical maturation and adulthood.
“I just want to live in a world where my child knows that it’s okay to have red and itchy evidence of removing your pubes,” says one such parent, Robin Townson. “After all, no woman’s body is completely hairless; what matters is that you’re trying.”
Mattel has made it clear they value this type of consumer feedback and are working toward a more inclusive, socially conscious product.
“We always strive to show a multi-dimensional view of beauty, and it’s important to demonstrate that bumps, stubble, and infected ingrowns are a part of that.”
When asked if the new development means future Barbies will have pubic hair, Daniels’s answer is resolute.
“Of course not,” she says. “That would be completely inappropriate.”
