As I was searching for an article topic this week, our editor in chief sent out some suggestions. One of these suggestions was to discuss the new Barbie bodies. If I’m being honest, I have seen a photoshopped doll with the headline, “New Curvy Barbie!” so many times before that I thought it was simply an Internet scam that our poor editor had fallen for. So I quickly looked up “new Barbie bodies” and was pleasantly surprised to find that the company really is releasing not just one but three new body types, “petite,” “curvy,” and “tall.” I immediately thought back to probably a month ago, when I was in a very similar situation. A friend with type one diabetes posted about American Girl Doll’s new diabetes doll care kits. Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but, despite my undying love for American Girl, I thought this product also just had to be a scam. After visiting the American Girl website, however, I found out that it was not! With new found hope in the doll industry, I decided to write this article to discuss the importance of what both of these wonderful companies have done.

Part of the reason that I didn’t believe the Barbie story at first was a single question. If Barbie was really going to change the bodies of their dolls, wouldn’t they have already done it? I mean, their bodies have been one of the biggest controversies the toy industry has ever seen and nothing has changed. What would be the need? Barbie teaches girls that they can “be who they wanna be,” whether that be a mother or an astronaut, regardless of their bodies. Still, I was ecstatic when I read the news. Why? I grew up with a genetic disorder, and I am extremely short (4’8’’ at age 18). Now, I won’t lie and say I spent my childhood thinking “Why don’t they have a doll that’s short like me?” Dolls being average height was just something I accepted. It never offended me or made me feel any more abnormal than I already did. I will say, however, that if I had seen a doll that was short like me, it would have immediately been the one I picked out, I would have proudly flaunted it to my friends, and it would have made me feel much more normal.

There are plenty of young girls out there who feel overweight, and, much like my experience, skinny dolls are just something they’ve accepted. I guess the thing about equal representation is that it is entirely possible for a group of people not to realize the importance of their representation until they get it, and Barbie is about to give it to thousands of beautiful young girls. Even more excitingly, the new Barbie body types will be produced in all skin and hair colors, and I absolutely cannot wait for little girls of every race and origin to have these new dolls that will make them feel proud of their height and weight!

While Barbie has remained (somewhat understandably) controversial over the years, American Girl is a company that I, along with most people, have always appreciated the values of. I especially have appreciated the fact that one of the things they value most is the representation of all girls in their dolls. Besides their famous time period dolls that teach young girls about history while they play, American girls also offer modern day dolls that girls can buy in a huge variety of skin colors and hair colors/styles/textures to look just like them. Of course, what good is a look alike doll if you can’t make them like you in every other way? My doll had gymnastics equipment because I did gymnastics, a baking set because I loved to cook with my mom, a dog just like my dog, and everything else I could possibly buy her to make her more like me. But what if your doll couldn’t be completely like you? What if a huge part of you was an illness you were fighting every day that your doll couldn’t have? When I finally visited the American Girl store for the first time a couple years ago, I saw a doll on display wearing hearing aids, and immediately almost cried. What an incredible thing for a little girl who has to grow up in a world without sound to be able to have a doll just like her to reassure her how normal (yet special) she truly is! I had a very similar reaction when I found out about American Girl’s new diabetes care kits that I mentioned. Imagine growing up with an insulin pump that kids ask you about every day at recess. Imagine going to the doctor way more than the other kids and having to go to the nurse after you eat lunch so that your mom doesn’t worry about you. But your doll has an insulin pump too. Your doll has a hospital bracelet because she goes to the doctor a lot too. Maybe she even she calls her mom after lunch just like you. Young girls with diabetes might not have otherwise grown up thinking, “I wish my doll could have diabetes too,” but I promise you that now that the option is there, they will sell like hotcakes because there’s not a lot that is more important to young girls than feeling like they are normal.

With both American Girl and Barbie stepping up to the plate, I have a feeling we will see an increase in doll sales very soon. So for the girl who towers over all her friends and the girl who gets towered over, for the girl who feels like she’s overweight, and for the girl fighting diabetes every day, these dolls are for you. May you all grow up knowing that your differences are what makes you who you are and that you don’t need to change a thing.