attel has recently come out with a whole new look to the Barbie brand. The platinum blonde Barbie is now a toy of the past as the new dolls have a wide variety of hair color, skin color, body types and even physical disabilities. Children all over the world can now be playing with a Barbie that represents them.

According to parents.com, if a real person were to have the original Barbie’s proportions, they would have a 39 inch bust, 18 inch waist and 33 inch hips, which is not quite how everyone is built. Short or tall, skinny or curvy, Barbie’s got it. The new dolls support every type of body, making people feel more included by having a doll that resembles them.

Having only one hair and skin color to choose from in these dolls is limiting to a lot of people in society. One can now purchase dolls from a variety of races like African American, Asian and Hispanic, opening it up to a whole new group of people. A doll wearing a hijab can also be bought in stores. Not everyone has long, bleached blonde hair, so the company also offers dolls with red, brown, black and even purple and blue hair. Expressing one’s self through their hair is typical, so it is good to have a doll be able to do the same.

In June of 2019, Barbie will debut a new line of dolls that come with a prosthetic leg and a wheelchair. According to cnn.com, a 13-year-old disability activist, Jordan Reeves helped design these new models to give the most realistic play experience. A wheelchair has been one of Barbie’s most highly requested accessories, and this new one is actually usable in the Barbie Dreamhouse, unlike their first attempt over 20 years earlier. There are over 1 million people in the United States with a disability, and these new looks are a hit. This makes people feel more comfortable in their own skin, playing with a doll that looks just like them.

“With the newer generations starting to have kids, I think the sales will go up,” junior Kayla Osborne said. “They are more open to new things.”

Now that Barbie is more diverse with different physical features, kids can play with dolls that are more practical and more like the real world. As it has been in the past, the goal has been to look just like Barbie, and now everyone can feel like their own Barbie doll.

“I think this will normalize differences to kids and everyone,” Osborne said.