On Thursday, January 28, Mattel shared it's newest trend in the highly popular Barbie franchise- Fashionistas, Barbie dolls that come in curvy, petite and tall sizes, trending on social media with #TheDollEvolves.

While this new doll trend is certainly a big step for the 57-year-old company, who is often criticized for giving young girls unrealistic body expectations, have we as women come to a point where we need a doll to validate our body image?

Since her creation in 1959, Barbie has been an household name. She has aged and evolved right along with her target audience, becoming one of the most popular toys in America. But I can't help but wonder if Mattel is simply trying to backtrack the damage that they have already caused by releasing this new Barbie doll line.

For decades, women have gone out of their way to live up to the expectations that Barbie has set for them- slim figure, whitened smile, bright eyes, and a closet of endless options. Some have even gone so far as to result to plastic surgery in order to look like Barbie, which is the case with Anastasia Reskoss and Quentin Dehar. In October 2015, People Magazine shared reports of the Parisian couple who underwent enhancement surgery to look like Barbie and Ken.

While reports of Reskoss and Dehar seem to be on the absurd end of the spectrum, the fact remains true. Thousands of girls and boys try to live up to the expectation that dolls such as Barbie have set for them. A recent study showed that 91 percent of American women are unhappy with the way their bodies look.

All this being said, I do not want to belittle the effort that Mattel is making in trying to be all inclusive. Many companies are doing the same- the American Girl Dolls have recently released accessories such as wheelchairs and hearing aids to go with their Create-Your-Own dolls. I can appreciate the fact that Mattel is acknowledging that women come in all different shapes and sizes.

But is this what we need?

Is promoting a doll that has curves, or is petite or tall, really going to fix the issue that young girls and boys all over the world are looking to a doll for validation? I think this new line of Barbie dolls really broadcasts the bigger picture- that kids all over are the world are looking to an inanimate object to show that they are good enough. That's not what they need to hear.

What young boys and girls need to hear is that it doesn't matter if their doll looks like them or not. It doesn't matter if their doll has the same body shape or clothes as them. What matters is how they feel about themselves because of who they are. Because of how smart they are, how creative they are, how kind they are, and how determined they are.

I don't want my little sister to find comfort in a doll when other little girls make fun of her glasses or her braces or her height that may be just a bit shorter than other girls her age. I want her to find comfort in knowing that she is strong and beautiful and smart. Yeah, I want her to have fun and be able to play dolls with her friends, but I don't want her to base all of her self-worth on a $9.99 piece of plastic.

So while I applaud the efforts on Mattels behalf to bring Barbie into the new generation, I don't think Barbie is the standard we should be teaching young boys and girls to live up to.