Forget Barbie, can a ‘girl power’ focus bring girls back to Mattel?
Batgirl, Poison Ivy, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and Bubblebee, coming to a toy store near you as 12″ posable dolls. (Photo: Mattel)
My three-year-old daughter is a little young for Barbie, and I’m happy to shield her from the adult-shaped doll for as long as I can, even though I enjoyed playing with the dolls as a child.
Barbie, Mattel’s iconic toy since 1959 when she was unveiled at the New York Toy Fair, has gotten a bad rap over the years. Critics say she presents an unrealistic sexualized image, and that her out-of-proportion figure can contribute to body image problems for teens. With Barbie’s focus on everything pink and frilly, and the infamous “Math class is tough!” doll, the critics might have a point, despite an effort to broaden her career prospects.
Mattel’s financial struggles show that I’m probably not the only parent who would rather have her child play with more educational, gender-neutral toys. The company fired its CEO earlier this year after reporting a 59 per cent drop in profits.
In an effort to boost sales, Mattel has just introduced a new line of action figures called DC SuperHero Girls for girls aged six to 12. More active and athletic looking than Barbie, they have brightly-coloured costumes and more sensible shoes, but the dolls still look uniformly slim and shapely with long flowing hair and tight clothes.
The toy line will include comic book characters Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Catwoman and Batgirl, says DC Comics on its website, adding that this is a world where girls can “be inspired to discover their full super power potential.”
6-inch Wonder Woman action figure from the new DC SuperHero Girls line, compared to the currently-available Wonder Woman action figure. (Photo: Mattel)
Warner Bros., DC Entertainment and Mattel have partnered to create a website with animated content including games, quizzes, character photos and bios and webisodes. Mattel created a high school story for the characters, softening them for a younger audience, says Bloomberg.
“DC Super Hero Girls represents the embodiment of our long-term strategy to harness the power of our diverse female characters. I am so pleased that we are able to offer relatable and strong role models in a unique way, just for girls,” said said Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment, in a release.
The dolls will premiere at this weekend’s New York Comic Con. The company says its “first-ever 6-inch action figures designed for girls and 12-inch scale action dolls featuring strong, athletic bodies that stand on their own in heroic poses” will be sold in 2016.
Real world opinion
When asked for their opinion on a parenting Facebook group, these moms said:
“Could the proportions be anymore ridiculous? Im not sure the Victoria’s Secret angels even have that much of a thigh gap…. Glad to see some girl supers but can’t they look like real women instead?”
“I love them! Thigh gap or not I think they’re great and can’t wait to see them on the shelves! They are super heroes after all and made in resemblance of the live action characters who were fit and healthy. I’m a 14+ size my girl myself and I don’t see an issue with these at all.”
“I see your point but male superheros don’t look like real males. Superheroess aren’t supposed to be realistic, Diana is a mythical amazonian princess. My [little one] is only 4 so not an issues i’m grappling with currently, just want to point this out. I like them better than princessess if that’s worth anything.”
The verdict?
As a parent I like the new toys. Even though they’re doing it to boost their bottom line, these companies are responding to parents who would rather have their girls play with toys that focus on girl power and athleticism rather than skimpy clothes, sparkly bras and hooker heels.
