Barbie is one of the most iconic dolls globally – and she’s most famously known as having white skin and blonde hair.

Barbie creator Ruth Handler, who brought the doll to the world in 1959, once said “my whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be”. But this mantra can be hard for children to follow if dolls aren’t representative of what they look like.Progress is definitely being made though, with more ethnically diverse dolls being added to Mattel’s Barbie lines over the years.

As Barbie celebrates her 63rd birthday on March 9 –  the anniversary of her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York –  let’s take a look at some key racial diversity milestones over the doll’s history.

Introduction of non-white dolls to the line

The first black doll introduced into the line by Mattel was called Talking Christie (1968), shortly followed by Julia in 1969, who was inspired by Diahann Carroll’s TV character Julia Baker.

A few years later – in 1980 – the Dolls of the World line launched, which featured Barbie dolls from all over the globe.

Why is diversity in dolls important?

The importance of ethnic diversity in dolls was first highlighted in a seminal study from the Forties by black psychologists Dr Kenneth Clark and Dr Mamie Clark, who discovered in their research that black children had a preference for white dolls.

“This study has been replicated almost every decade with the same findings. Children learn early on that whiteness is better,” says  Dr Nilufar Ahmed, a psychologist at University of Bristol. “There has been a lack of representation across the toy industry for children to see toys that look like them. To have representative toys will really make a difference to children’s sense of self esteem and belonging.”

Meanwhile Olivia Thompson, the founder of Akila Dolls, an organisation which makes diverse and disability baby dolls, says it is important for toy brands to include the communities that the dolls are meant to represent in the design process.

“When I was designing these dolls, it was a big thing of having my community behind me. So the community, myself, my daughter, we all got behind each other and we designed these dolls. When I would get designs back, I would share them with my wider community and asked them for feedback.”

Inclusion of inspirational black females

Over the years, Barbies have been created to represent females with successful careers across sectors including sport, modelling and radio.

These include a doll of activist Rosa Parks, who was honoured in 2019, and Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, which was unveiled in July 2021, complete with a racket, ball and a Nike tennis dress. Most recently, they honoured Dame Pat McGrath for her impact on the beauty industry with her brand Pat McGrath Labs – as part of their 2022 ‘Female Founders’ theme.

The company recognises the importance of having representative dolls, with 86% of mums responding to a 2018 survey commissioned by Mattel saying they were worried about the kind of role models their daughters are exposed to.

The importance of seeing representative dolls is paramount to females of colour believing that they can be successful, says Thompson.

She was inspired to start her doll business because of her daughter Amira who has ADHD and autism. Whilst on a shopping trip, Thompson says her daughter got upset at the fact that all the dolls seemed to look alike – and nothing like her.

So Akila Dolls was born, with the first prototype being a doll called Bessie – based on the first female aviation pilot, Bessie Coleman.

“The dolls are not just a play toy, they’re also an educational toy. I always say you can’t be what you don’t see. If I don’t see somebody that looks kind of like myself, doing inspirational things, how can I want to achieve greatness in life?

“When I see people that look like me, whether that’s a toy on the shop floor or somebody in a book that I read, it’s inspiring. It gives you that drive. It gives you that fire. It makes you believe that you can achieve anything you put your mind to,” she adds.

Anti-racism vlog

In October 2020, Barbie released a vlog called Barbie and Nikki Discuss Racism, which included her ‘best friend’ Nikki who discussed her experiences with racism. The blog was set against the backdrop of the George Floyd protests and has been well received by many consumers.

“[A] key message of the anti-racism movement is that silence equals being complicit with structural racism that hurts people of colour,” says Ahmed. “This vlog communicated Barbie’s position on racism and the video can be used as an educational tool for discussing racism with children.

“However, toy brands should continue to ask themselves questions such as are they being a real ally or a performative one and, ‘How can we continue to ensure the message of equality across our [products?]'”

Lisa McKnight, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls, Mattel, says: “Representation is core to the Barbie brand and we know there are many positive benefits to exposing children to dolls with different skin tones, hair types, abilities and more.

“We are proud to offer a wide range of choices in the Barbie Fashionistas and Careers lines so that more kids see themselves reflected in our doll line and we look forward to expanding our offerings even more.”