When we got a press release about "Mad Men" Barbies, we were cautiously excited. Sure, Barbies are the worst, but maybe Joan Holloway's unbelievable curves would be the perfect opportunity for Mattel to shake up the shape of its bizarrely proportioned little effigy of ladyhood. But, um, as you can see at left, opportunity missed.
In fact, the Joan doll is pin-thin, proportioned exactly the same as the Betty Draper doll (see below). We get that Barbie is one-size -- but this would have been the perfect opportunity for her not to be. Christina Hendricks' ridonkulous body breaks the mold -- so why couldn't Mattel have?
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Thursday 11 March
By storeysound
Why not redesign Barbie to more closely match Christina Hendricks' actual proportions? Perhaps the cost to retool in order to make a doll that will probably be purchased mostly by gay men - how many little girls watch 'Mad Men'? If they sell more than a couple thousand of this model I would be really surprised.
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Thursday 11 March
By Amanda
It's a doll, who cares?!
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Friday 12 March
By jb
I do for one
Thursday 11 March
By Cindy
I, for one, care too!! I'am 46 years old, and stilll have all of my Barbies!! Barbie is supposed to be nice and fun, not mean and hateful!! HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!!
Thursday 11 March
By J A
WHY WHY WHY do people continue to bash Barbie. It's a doll folks. A doll. Something you play with or put on display. MAKE BELIEVE. I want to scream everytime someone says "Barbie is sending out the wrong message to our kids. Making them have eating disorders."
I suffered from an eating disorder for years. It did not have a damn thing to do with Barbie. Raise your kids to eat healthy, give them love, teach them that ALL people are beautiful and most of all that BARBIE IS A TOY!
And one last thing. Some girls ARE thin. They really are. Not all girls are athletes, overweight or just have a "normal, average" body (whatever that is).
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Thursday 11 March
By Amanda
J A, you are exactly right! Some people are thin, some are heavy, and some are in-between, but a heavier woman is no more a woman than a thin woman! I'm 22, 5'10, 125 lbs and I EAT and EAT and EAT and I STILL cannot gain weight. And you know what, heavy people come up to me all the time and say "Why don't you eat something,?" "Once you have kids you'll be fat like me!" or "Why don't you put some meat on your bones?" Do I come up to them and criticize them for their weight? No! There is NOTHING wrong with being thin and there's nothing wrong with people curvy, but it seems as though any time the media or the doll industry, etc has anyone under the "average woman" size of 16 it's unacceptable. But you know what I think is unacceptable? The fact that America has a huge obesity problem but we are supposed to "embrace" the average woman's weight! The average woman should be healthy, and she's not, and that's an even bigger problem!
Thursday 11 March
By deniseg
I collect Barbie and it would be too difficult to completely redo the mold. This particular doll has the mold you see. And as someone else said, it's a doll!
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Thursday 11 March
By Tracie Smith
WHO CARES?!!!! It's a DOLL....GROW UP, PEOPLE!!!!
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Thursday 11 March
By Derrel
"tracy" and all you other idiots that think it is simply a doll issue and to "grow up"
...it is way more than that . It is FAT, UGLY, ABNORMAL people wanting to be seen and accepted like everyone else.
Let me guess... You are FAT? THICK? HUSKY? FULL FIGURED?
Thursday 11 March
By katie
Then why did you read the story? DUH! Obviously some people are passionate about things like this. Remember what your momma told ya-if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. Maybe you are the one that needs to grow up.
Thursday 11 March
By LadyWiccan
good grief what next
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Thursday 11 March
By Danny Orago
Gansta Bitch Barbie, Goth Barbie,
Thursday 11 March
By eveosphere
Calm down! no body wants to buy a fat barbie doll ! this PC bullsh** is getting redonkulouis !
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Friday 12 March
By JB
Joan Holloway is NOT even FAT!!! She is curvy like a real woman. You're either a painfully thin woman or a stupid man who thinks that the"closer to the bone the sweeter the meat" ugh! ass clown
Thursday 11 March
By ashavaught
This is ridiculous. As a little girl I played with barbie dolls and I never even THOUGHT to wonder about the proportions. All I cared about was playing with the barbie dolls and my imagination! The only thing about barbies that honestly bothered me as a child was that there was only one Ken doll!
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Thursday 11 March
By just my thoughts
Oh my gosh that's so funny, I thought the same thing, The only other thing that bothered me was barbies hair. mine has always been thin and stringy and I always wanted barbie hair
Saturday 13 March
By manuela
STFU! OMG WHO WANTS TO SEE A FAT BARBIE! thats the whole point, shes barbie! shes perfect and beautiful and in shape. who watns to play with obese dolls!?!?! its good mattel didnt make her fat or it would be sending the message its ok to be fat and its not! its unhealthy! go away fatties and deal with skinny will ALWAYS be in!
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Thursday 11 March
By Naty
The super thin figure is out. More and more women are embracing their curves. We are even beggining to see full size models on runways. For Mattel to shrink the proportions it's a step backwards, not to mention takes away from Mad Men actress.
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Thursday 11 March
By Cassie
Naty yes we are excepting different sizes more so now but we shoulcnt be promoting kids to be overweight either not to say that there is anything rong with being curvy it really doesnt matter ats just a doll.
Thursday 11 March
By Terry
The best ones' yet, are the new Bratz "Lil Black Ho's", and the Bend over Barbie, with black pimp LeShawn boxxed sets.
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