You no doubt know by now that some new Barbies hit the market last week. The iconic dolls now come in petite, curvy, and tall shapes and also have a whole bunch of new skin tones and hair styles. As a lover of body diversity, I’m stoked on the new Barbie. But I’ve also been bracing myself for the inevitable backlash that happens whenever there’s a public conversation about women and weight.
Photo: Mattel
Believe it or not, this time it hasn’t come.
Sure, there were the usual fat-shamers mouthing off, and Twitter trolls lambasting those “stupid SJWs” (as in, social justice warriors). But my deep dive into the social media chatter and press coverage found that an overwhelming majority of the reactions to the new dolls have been good, if not straight up effusive. So imagine my surprise at seeing in The Sun that “Barbie’s New Makeover Sparks Social Media Backlash.” Oh, wait, it hasn’t: The British tabloid had simply cobbled together a handful of pissy, random tweets looking for those sweet, sweet controversy clicks. In fact, a few media outlets are trying their damndest to find something negative to say about the new Barbie line. The Daily Mail had its own version of the “soci…