This Monday, at Glamour’s Women of the Year Live Summit, the first Barbie that will be wearing a hijab was announced! This Barbie doll will be the newest doll to Barbie’s “Shero” line, which features dolls modeled after prominent female figures in the media like Ashley Graham, Zendaya and Gabby Douglas. (“Shero” = she + hero = female hero). So who is this Muslim doll modeled after? Ibtihaj Muhammad. Who is she? A member of the United States fencing team who was the first U.S Olympian to compete wearing a hijab, when she competed at the Rio Olympic games in 2016. She received an abundance of positive feedback and gratitude for her bravery and boldness. In an interview with PeopleStyle, she exclaims that she’s “excited to just partner with a brand that I know honors powerful women who are breaking barriers and whose sole goal is to impact the future leaders of tomorrow…To be included in this conversation is very humbling and I’m over the moon about this whole thing.” Representation matters and I’m glad that little girls who don’t look like the “typical Barbie”, can have one that looks like them! Ibtihaj Muhammad’s barbie will be on shelves next year!
Barbie dolls are a go to for lots of little girls growing up, as they definitely were mine! I remember luring my mom into the Barbie aisle every chance I got, not necessarily to beg for one, but to just look and admire the unrealistic standards of beauty that millions of small girls were exposed to from their first Barbie. Obviously young girls are oblivious to this, but they sure do internalize it, hence the “plastic pressure” to look “picture perfect”. As a child, I would spend hours on end playing with my Barbie dolls. Most of my dolls looked the same; white, tall, runway model thin, with the variety of being blonde or brunette. Although this did not bother me, I was confused at why my mother wouldn’t let me play with the couple of “African Collective” Barbies that I have received as gifts? The reason being is that diversity wasn’t as visibly shown compared to today in the toy industry, so these dolls were looked at as exotic and rare. And why did the black dolls that I was allowed to play with have silky straight hair?? Who would want a black doll with BLACK natural hair?? Oh I know, perhaps a black little girl.
Throughout the years Barbie has recognized these problems and has approached them head on with the goal of spreading acceptance and appreciation to all. They have introduced a vast array of dolls with different body shapes, heights, cultures, races, etc. It has been an uplifting movement and an enlightening thing to see.