New dolls include curvy Barbie, wheelchair Lego, and period pads
Posted January 28, 2016 12:32 pm.
Last Updated January 28, 2016 7:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Tired of the same old Barbie and Lego toys?
You’re in luck, as a range of new toys hopes to capture the attention of an increasingly savvy customer with increasingly diverse options.
Barbie, as she always does, made the biggest splash.
Mattel announced Thursday that a curvy, petite and tall Barbie would be joining the fold. The doll was inspired by the children who play with them, Mattel said in a video. Click here to view it, or watch it below.
“We’re saying that there isn’t this narrow standard of what a beautiful body looks like,” senior director of product design Robert Best says in the video.
Another Mattel employee said it was important for girls to see themselves reflected in their toys.
“It’s going to be so much fun for girls to pick out dolls that they can relate to, that they connect with,” hair designer Shirley Fujisaki said.
The curvy option made the cover of Time magazine. Check it out below or click here to view it.
Time also produced a video showing the doll’s evolution over 57 years. Click here to view it.
Meanwhile, over at Lego, the toymaker has included a figure that uses a wheelchair.
The figurine was spotted at toy fairs in Europe and posted on Lego fan blogs. According to a post on the PromoBricks Facebook page, the toy is part of the “Fun at the Park” set, the first official set to contains a child who uses a wheelchair.
The set will be available in June, according to the Independent newspaper.
Finally, a toymaker who was alternately praised and ridiculed for creating a “realistic” alternative to Barbie has made his doll even more lifelike.
The Lammily doll now gets her period too.
Unlike Barbie, Lammily is brunette, with a thicker waist and optional pimples. The “Period Party” option comes with reusable pads and liner stickers, sized to fit the doll’s underwear. It also includes an educational pamphlet and a calendar with stickers, so that young girls can learn how to track their menstrual cycle.
When it was launched in September, creator Nickolay Lamm said he hoped the doll would help parents talk to their daughters about menstruation.
Watch parents have the conversation in the deliberately awkward video below:
