Scheme to give Barbie dolls to primary school children

@NumberTheory ok. I accept what you are saying. Apologies for miss understanding.
Retailers will receive at least one of each of the Fashionista dolls because they will arrive in one box (I used to work retail so I know how stock is supplied). Maybe the reason the non blonde ones aren’t seen so much is because they sell out first- ie more popular.
The thing is the blonde hair Barbie is the traditional Barbie (“Stereotypical Barbie” as she is called in the film). She is the “main character” as such in the imaginary world of Barbie. It’s natural there will be more of her.
The same with - for example - a range of Spiderman toys will have more variety of actual Spiderman than the other characters.

I said I don’t think I’ve seen every doll of the Fashionista range available at the same time in any physical shop. How is that saying that the line is hard to get hold of?

And it was only a part of the point I was making about Barbie displays, which encompass much more than the Fashionista line, being still dominated by the white, blonde look. Which (again, as I said) you can see on the Argos website where the image of the Fashionista line was taken from.

And all of this is only because someone else up thread seemed to think that another poster’s perception that stores are dominated by the white, blonde look was a claim that there were no other Barbies out there. Again, for those who find it difficult to understand that not everything is an absolute, that is not what was claimed.

You might have a different perception when you go into a toy store, but I see what I see on the Argos website (though normally a little less diverse). Not a total lack of Barbies of other skin tones, but still more blonde than anything else.

@NumberTheory if I have miss interpreted what you meant I will happily apologise.

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn it says “I don’t think I’ve ever all of the Fashionistas anywhere” and “and that’s definitely what I see on the shelves…”
What have I misread?

You've misread that.

@NumberTheory I don’t know how to quote so this is a screenshot of one of your posts. Apologies if I read it wrong but you seem to be saying the Fashionista range isn’t available in most shops. Is that not what you meant?
And no need to swear….

I fucking well didn’t.

I posted my perspective on Barbies in schools a week ago way up the thread.

Here I was just responding to claims that the Barbie brand is super inclusive. They’ve diversified some offerings in some ways and I am glad about that, but their products are dominated by basically the same blonde, white look they have always had.

That's very interesting and helpful to hear @tryingtobeagoodhuman and we may well find ourselves in the same situation and it's not something I plan on making a big deal of if we are.
Coming from friends is one thing, but school would be another. This article is really helpful to get more into the detail of what Mattel have done:
https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1672

It is reception classes that they have targeted and their aim is to make schools and teachers "brand ambassadors". They have overstated some research they did with the University of Cardiff to try and get parents and teachers on board. And as previous posters have pointed out, the dolls come with branded lesson and classroom materials. The activities they suggest are not even the same as the ones in the research and the research compares solo play with dolls to solo play on a tablet. When the child has an adult with them the benefits disappear completely.
At the same time there's a quote from a teacher in the BMJ article and I can understand their position: free resources and the kids seem to benefit. But surely there's a way to do it without the possible downsides of Barbie?
I admit I still find it hard to see these ultra-thin dolls and get away from the feeling they are defined by a particular type of male gaze (the original inspiration was unknown to me before this thread but it isn't surprising). I'm off to check out the tv programme. I suspect I am not going to love it.

@NumberTheory many of the “basic” or “starter” Barbie dolls (single doll, no accessories) are pretty much always available in 3 types - white/blond, black/black hair and brunette/ slightly hispanic looking.
The “Made to Move Barbie” is available in all 3 too.
Every new “season” of Barbie released will have the trio of dolls available.

@NumberTheory you did. You said you don’t see them on the shelf in shops.

What is your point @NumberTheory ? That blonde Barbies shouldn't be available? I'm struggling to understand.

Who said they were hard to get?

@NumberTheory I saw a variety of different Fashionistas on the shelf in Tesco Surrey Quays literally half an hour ago. They are not hard to get.

I’m not saying there aren’t non-blonde Barbies available, though I don’t think I’ve ever seen all of the Fahionistas anywhere, I’m saying when you look at a shelf of Barbie dolls it’s still dominated by the traditional Barbie look. And the Argos website is a great example of this - the fashionistas range is there but it’s one listing, the majority of doll listings are for blonde Barbies. And that’s definitely what I see on the shelves at my local toy shop and in supermarkets.

We didn't buy any until my DD asked for them, which FWIW I was disheartened about to begin with. But it hasn't turned out to be The Bad Thing I thought it would be in this house, and some good has come from it.

Nor me. And since I think mine were all second hand, I get extra points . Because I'm cheap, rather than eco-friendly, if I'm honest.

And even the series DD used to watch wasn't as dreadful as I thought it would be. Barbie is a good friend, she makes good choices, is active and treats her relationship as an add on not a necessary. Honestly if more relationships in media were treated as Barbie and Ken's is, our girls would be better placed. Family and friends are central, not Ken. And she is hard-working. She also likes clothes and lives in a pink house. DD does neither of the last two so it can't have been that bad.

However, the only other toy range I liked was MLP who live in a matriarchal feminist utopia. MLP is definitely better as a feminist treatise.

@Needmorelego it's the same up north. No problem getting hold of them in store or via Argos (at least in my city).

I do agree though, @AndOnTheRiverFlows, there are many things to consider and I certainly don't think any of us are saying that Barbies are the perfect model of diversity and inclusion. But choice doesn't just come down to the parents - children will always be exposed to these kinds of toys as long as they have friends playing with them. We didn't buy any until my DD asked for them, which FWIW I was disheartened about to begin with. But it hasn't turned out to be The Bad Thing I thought it would be in this house, and some good has come from it.

There's plenty to get angry about without making an issue where there isn't one. In the grand scheme of things, a donation of toys to school kids probably isn't going to cause them a great deal of harm - and they might even get some enjoyment out of it.

@NumberTheory I don’t know where about in london you are but Smyths in Greenwich and Smyths in Croydon have the full fashionista range. As do every branch of The Entertainer I go in (several in SE London). Toy Barnhaus (Toymaster) in SE London also sell them.
The Argos range is currently reduced to clear because new designs are due out - that’s why the full selection may not be available (also why they were on special offer in Tesco).
The Fashionista range are not hard to get. Seriously they are not.

Websites may well show a much wider range but very few brick and mortar stores stock every model. When I look on the shelves there is some variety, but more of dolls are white and blonde than anything else. I’m in London so would have thought that shoppers would be more supportive of a wider range than most places.

Even the websites may only be showing the range but not stocking it. The Argos website pictures the fashionista range for their £6 doll, but if you buy you get one random doll so it’s unclear if they’re actually supplying that diversity. If you look at the Barbies they have where you can choose the individual doll, the majority of them are white and blonde.

When I get a chance I'll pop into a toy shop/supermarket for some physical world data (no idea when, I have sensory issues so usually avoid these places) to see what's available locally. I suspect that Mattel haven't done enough to make me personally think the benefits (e.g. roleplay, diversity) outweigh the negatives (e.g. body image, plastics, advertising promoting unsustainable overconsumption). Particularly as all the benefits can be gained from other places without the negatives (e.g. other types of dolls). It's not about purity spirals for me, it's more about choice based on individual perspective/circumstances.

Mattel's profits have been falling and they're naturally looking for ways to increase product sales. I disagree that taking advantage of underfunded schools is an acceptable way for them to do this. With the film they say they are hoping to create a sort of Mattel-verse to rival Marvel. To me they have jumped on the idea of "diversifying" the Barbie brand because it means children can then be encouraged to have more Barbies.
And fwiw I do love lego and do take issue with some of what they do. Interestingly, they have had huge success with the adult market and perhaps Mattel are looking to emulate that too now with the film and product tie-ins. And both companies fund research which discovers that their products are awesome for children.

Perfectly put @MrsTerryPratchett - far more articulate than I have managed!

I think this misrepresents what the majority of this discussion has been about. I haven't seen anybody describe Barbie as feminist, which is clearly ridiculous. However, it has been a useful tool for me to introduce some real world diversity and inclusion concepts into our role plays, in a way that my DD finds engaging. I'm not sure twigs and grass would have the same effect.

You know nothing about my parenting or how much outside natural play my daughter gets, which is as much as I can manage as a disabled mother. But thank you for your suggestion that I'm not doing enough, how very 'feminist' of you.

At one point all the dolls DD had were DoC (dolls of colour). She's a tall, skinny, blonde girl. It was a weird situation because the people I was getting all my second hand toys from were Black and Asian (family members and friends with children a few years older) and they probably had gone out of their way to look for representation. But it does happen.

The tone some posters are using on this thread is really patronising. 'I'm sorry you can't see that' for example. Which is interestingly indicative of a wider issue. Feminism needs to be a broader church. Less purity spirals and expectations of perfection. More acceptance of all women and the compromises we make to make life in the patriarchy easier. Women need to see themselves in feminism. If you only accept organic-fair-trade-pine-cone-sourcing feminists who abhor dolls, it will be a very small Judean People's Front.

No, Barbie isn't perfect, or even probably feminist in any real sense. And toys are made in the majority world in shit conditions. It is flawed. But Mattel have already moved on the first issue and we should all pressure companies on the second issue. But I'm writing this on an iPad and Apple are one of the shittiest tech companies. Unless you're living under a rock sending your posts to MN by carrier pigeon, you're probably not perfect either. At least Barbie can be President and a doctor. Unlike the vast majority of representations in the media of women.