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barbie

Beauty + Style

He Got Dap: For His 60th Birthday, the Ken Doll Gets a New Wardrobe by Dapper Dan

Some things get better with age…like the now 76-year-old designer and renaissance man Dapper Dan of Harlem, N.Y. (also the inaugural recipient of The Glow Up 50’s “Dap Award,” a lifetime achievement honor we named for the fashion legend). But another male cultural icon recently hit a major milestone—Mattel’s Ken doll. The Stedman to Barbie’s…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

March 11, 2021
Beauty + Style

And Still She Rises: Dr. Maya Angelou Is One of Barbie's 'Inspiring Women'

When writer, author, activist and educator Maya Angelou published the first of her seven autobiographies, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, in 1969, she was reclaiming her own coming-of-age story, a girlhood interrupted by abandonment, displacement, abuse and assault amid Jim Crow-era racism in the South. The still-inspiring narrative was nominated for a National…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

January 14, 2021
Beauty + Style

Could Barbie Be the White Ally Capable of Helping Kids Better Understand Racism?

One of the more unfortunate but often obligatory aspects of raising Black children is “The Talk”—that painful yet often inevitable moment when Black parents and caregivers feel compelled to kill a little of their children’s innocence for the sake of their own protection. But how do well-meaning white parents prepare their children to recognize racism…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

October 7, 2020
Beauty + Style

She Should Run: Barbie's Campaign May Be the One We're Most Excited About in 2020

We may still be speculating about who presidential candidate Joe Biden will ultimately pick for his running mate, but Mattel’s latest release already has our vote. On Tuesday, the beloved toy brand announced its Campaign Team Set, created “to expose girls to public leadership roles and pique their interest in shaping the future,” according to…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

July 28, 2020
Beauty + Style

A-Tisket, A-Tasket, A-Barbie: Ella Fitzgerald Is One of Barbie's Newest 'Inspiring Women'

In life, she was known as the “First Lady of Song” and the “Queen of Jazz.” And though the world lost legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald in 1996, her legacy has, for the most part, survived through her incredible musical catalog, which includes her inimitable interpretations of the Great American Songbook (much of which this…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

February 20, 2020
Beauty + Style

Living Dolls: Mattel Continues Barbie's Evolution With Even More Diverse Options for 2020

It’s not hyperbole to say that for most of the now-60-plus years that Barbie has been a household name, the fashion doll represented a prototypically feminine, Eurocentric beauty standard that was largely unattainable for its increasingly diverse, predominantly young female fanbase. But in recent years, parent company Mattel has steadily been working to make Barbie’s…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

January 30, 2020
Beauty + Style

Barbie's Got a Brand New Bag—Judge!

If only our Supreme Court were this colorful… As it attempts to close the Dream Gap—the self-limiting beliefs many girls develop as early as 5 years old—the brand famously known as Barbie is taking a stand, now imagining its iconic doll as a judge—somewhere we rarely see ourselves, according to the American Constitution Society, and…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

October 7, 2019
Beauty + Style

On Women’s Equality Day, Mattel Honors the ‘Mother of the Modern Civil Rights Movement’ With the Rosa Parks Barbie

In 1955, Rosa Parks became a symbol of civil disobedience when her refusal to relinquish her seat sparked the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott, a major turning point in the American civil rights movement. Now, Parks is being honored as the icon she is by another iconic brand, as a Barbie created in her likeness makes…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

August 26, 2019
Beauty + Style

Breaking Boundaries and Closing the Dream Gap: Naomi Osaka, Yara Shahidi and More are New Barbie 'Sheroes'

As Women’s Equal Pay Day approaches on April 2, we’ll hear powerful research findings about the wage gap and other persistent disadvantages to women’s equality and earning power. But few are aware of the research that revealed the Dream Gap, which suggests girls can be affected by limiting self-beliefs at as young as five years…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

March 6, 2019
Beauty + Style

Barbie Just Got a New Career: Robotics Engineer!

The world’s most famous doll just got a little more ambitious. Answering the increased push to interest girls in STEM-related fields, on Tuesday, Mattel introduced Robotics Engineer Barbie—complete with her own movable robot and laptop. As Lisa McKnight, general manager and senior vice president of the Barbie brand, told Glamour magazine: We wanted to shine…

By

Maiysha Kai

Published

June 27, 2018