Barbie, the doll that has long symbolized an impractical and unattainable standard of beauty for young girls, was invented by one of America's foremost businesswomen of her day. This came as a surprise for the director of a new Hulu documentary, "Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie," that was to have its debut at the TriBeCa film festival this week. The documentary, directed by Andrea Nevins, goes behind the scenes of Mattel as Barbie undergoes a major transformation to better reflect diverse characteristics and more reasonable notions of beauty. "Multiculturalism as well as many different shapes, I think is part of the next step that we as women are allowed, in part because we have more power than we've ever had before and I think we can start to control the narrative and start to control female gaze as well as male gaze," said Nevins in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar. She said that executives at Mattel, the toy company that's manufactured Barbie since 1959, decided now was the time to make a change because public awareness ー and backlash ー had gone mainstream. "I think there was a lot of noise in culture and I think that they have had an antenna up since 1959 about what the noise in culture is and they heard loud and clear that women were no longer accepting that one form," she said. For full article, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/in-a-barbie-world).

Share:
More In Culture
The World of Working Dogs
Sheila Goffe, VP of Government Relations of the American Kennel Club, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the efficacy of police, military, and other working dogs, and how they're trained.
The World of Working Dogs; Importance of Service Dogs
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Sheila Goffe, VP of Government Relations of the American Kennel Club, discusses the efficacy of police, military, and other working dogs, and how they're trained. Paul Mundell, Executive Director of the American Service Dog Access Coalition, breaks down why emotional support, therapy, and service dogs are important; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Secrets of a Dog's Nose.'
Why Women Should Stop Saying Sorry; How to Close the Exhaustion Gap
On this episode of ChedHER; Amanda Carlson Phillips, Senior Vice President of Exos' performance team, breaks down how wellness programs can fight burnout; Deena LaMarque Piquion, Chief Marketing Officer at Xerox, explains why and how women should stop saying 'sorry' so often; Marylyn Harris, President of Harrland Healthcare Consulting, talks about how her experience in the military prepared her for a cybersecurity career, and how she's paving the way for women of color in the industry.
Innovation in Prosthetics; New Drug for Anti-Aging
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Atom Limbs CEO breaks down how the Atom Touch prosthetic is different from other prosthetics on the market; CEO & Chief Scientific Officer of MyMD explains how the MYMD-1 is on track to be the first FDA-approved drug to treat aging and age-related diseases; A look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Future of Warfare.'
The Psychology of Nostalgia; Nostalgia Driving Hollywood's Decisions
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals Clay Routledge, Professor of Business and author of "Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource", discusses the psychology of nostalgia: why we have it, and why it may be good for our mental health; Patrick Metzger, Writer and Technologist, breaks down how nostalgia has influenced pop culture, why it remains in a trend loop for every generation, and why that trend is likely never going to end; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Year That Rocked the World.'
State of Lactation Support in the U.S.; Perks of Having a Business Mentor
On this episode of ChedHER: CEO of The Lactation Network breaks down how they are expanding access to lactation support for families nationwide; CEO of Vanta explains the importance of a security team for startups; Midwest Divison Area Manager at JPMorgan Chase discusses the perks of having a business mentor.
Growing Activism Responds to School Book Bans
Activism is growing around the country in response to school boards banning books from shelves that focus on sexuality, gender, identity, or race. Jen Cousins, co-founder of The Florida Freedom to Read Project, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Load More