For years, Barbie has taught young girls that thin was the only standard for beauty, and, now, to counteract that, there’s a new addition to the collection: curvy Barbie. I know I should just shut up and be grateful that a brand as big as Barbie has decided to make Barbie much more than white, blonde, thin and beautiful. But I can’t help but dwell on the word “curvy.”
First off, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy that Barbie isn’t just one color because, as a child, I often had to play with white Barbie dolls. Sure, it’s great that every decade or so we get a new addition to the collection that will broaden the physical appearance associated with Barbie. However, when producers label these new additions black, tall or even curvy, they place emphasis on what makes them different and separate them from a certain standard of beauty. Instead, these new additions should be a representation of how everyone is uniquely beautiful. Furthermore, it only makes me wonder when the negative connotation of “unconventional beauty” will disappear — beauty is beauty.
The word “curvy” makes me think of Jenny from the Block and “bootylicious” Beyoncé, and who could forget Jennifer Love Hewitt. To see if my automatic visual association with the word “curvy” was incorrect, I googled it. I typed in “curvy” and instantly saw several lists of the most famous curvy people. Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Upton, Kim Kardashian and Salma Hayek all seemed to make the cut.
Apparently, “curvy” is short for big breasts, a small waist and wide hips. The doll referred to as “curvy Barbie” is short, with wide hips, a big rear end and a narrow waist. How often do little girls fit this description, and, furthermore, why is there an unnecessary association between the word curvy and hourglass shape when it comes to dolls?
As a child, I was never referred to as curvy, more so chunky and chubby, which I would like to believe is common among young children. Many can relate to that chunky chipmunk phase. So I played with Barbie dolls and made believe that they were the skinny, blonde versions of me.
The creation of curvy Barbie reminds me of plus size modeling. My mother is plus-sized and is still the most the beautiful woman I know. I see beautiful full-figured women all around me, and none of them look like the models in the Lane Bryant advertisements. Society is constantly half-stepping. Barbie can only be labeled a superstar if she has big blonde hair and a slim physique, Barbie can be black, but there’s emphasis on the fact that she’s a black Barbie, and Barbie can be full figured but has to still be shapely and referred to as curvy.
Barbie has strong impact on the lives of little girls. They watch her shop, have friends, drive cars, explore different careers, date and get married. But what about the little girl who doesn’t look like Barbie? Is the message that she will not be able to do these things? This may be unrealistic, but what children need is for someone to tell them that being bigger than Barbie is OK.
Imagine if a Barbie doll with a realistic size and body type did the same exact things as Barbie, but there was no distinction between the two, there was no clarification that she wasn’t a regular Barbie doll — she’s just Barbie. That is the exact opposite of what curvy Barbie is. Not only is curvy Barbie a false representation of body image, but “curvy” also suggests that if one doesn’t look like this, she can’t just be a Barbie and needs her own separate title.
I know progress is a game of patience, and I am hopeful that this will not be the last step in Barbie’s journey. I hope that one day we will have Barbie dolls of all shapes, sizes, heights and skin complexions and that they won’t be referred to as tall, black or curvy. Instead, they will all just be more fabulous Barbie dolls.
