Why I Love Barbie

Hello lovelies!

 Barbie dolls have always gotten a lot of flack for numerous different reasons- they're not realistic. They're teaching girls to be too revealing. They're teaching girls not to love themselves. The company & dolls are doing this... and this... and this...

 But Barbie has come so far, you guys! I'm 16, so I may a bit old to be playing with toys, but I love to collect them, and Barbie dolls are some of my favorites. Barbie is doing some really cool stuff, I've got to say; there's so many different skin tones, eye colors, face molds, hair colors/styles/types, and even body types now! It may be a late start but Mattel is going full-throttle into this new, super positive spin on Barbie.

 One thing I'm especially happy about is the Barbie channel on YouTube. Barbie now "hosts" a vlog of her very own, an animated web series that is sometimes funny, sometimes inspiring, and a lot of times really positive.
 She talks about how people say sorry too much. She talks about being yourself. She talks about bullying. She talks about 'feeling blue' and mental health, in a way that younger kids will understand, but it's really relatable for older teens and adults as well.
 Barbie is truly changing and is becoming a whole new person- er, doll- for the next generation of not only girls, but boys, too- the Barbie vlogs are encouraging to girls & boys alike, so little brothers can enjoy watching it with their sister(s).

 Even in the newest Barbie web-series/tv show, Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, which you can find on Netflix, things are rapidly progressing. The show is still comical and light-hearted, but isn't so heavily comedy-based like Life in the Dreamhouse or as cheesy as some of the previous Barbie-brand movies released along the years.
 There's a wide, diverse cast of characters, and it focuses on Barbie's relationship with her sisters a lot which is so great to see, because so often siblings are presented as fighting like cats and dogs, when in reality, some families actually enjoy spending time with their siblings.
 Ken and Barbie either aren't dating, or it's extremely lessened (he is the Roberts' [Barbie's family] next-door neighbor in this spin on Barbie) to a point where it's all in good fun and not as heavily saturated in romantic stuff (of course, there's nothing wrong with that, but the show is geared for 5-11 year olds who have far more important things to worry about).

 I just really appreciate where they're taking the Barbie brand. There's such a wide range of dolls and personalities and careers and movies, and it just keeps getting better & better. Barbie is truly a classic doll that is shaping up to be a truly classic role model, too.

Ciao,
Hannah