Mattel releases gender-neutral toy doll to counter Barbie, Ken

The company behind Barbie has launched a series of children’s dolls “designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in”

When you think of Mattel dolls it’s hard not to conjure up images of blonde Barbie and Ken.

But now children will be able to create any doll they want with the iconic doll brand launching a gender neutral range “designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in”.

Today Mattel launched itts range of Creatable World dolls — a toy with no identifiable gender features.

The dolls have short hair but come with a long wig and a wide-ranging wardrobe featuring clothes like hoodies and tutus.

The new range of dolls have launched n the US.

Retailing for $44.99 Mattel says its new doll is based on testing with 250 different families, a number which included 15 children that identified either as trans or gender fluid, Time magazine reported.

According to Mattel’s head of consumer insights Monica Dreger, the Creatable World range was about making a toy that was accessible to every child.

3/ There are no Barbie-like breasts or broad Ken-like shoulders. Each doll in the Creatable World series looks like a slender seven-year-old with short hair, but each also comes with a wig of long, lustrous locks and a wardrobe befitting any fashion-conscious kid pic.twitter.com/5UJCPs8fgs

— TIME (@TIME) September 25, 2019

“There were a couple of gender-creative kids who told us that they dreaded Christmas Day because they knew whatever they got under the Christmas tree, it wasn’t made for them,” she told the publication.

“This is the first doll that you can find under the tree and see is for them because it can be for anyone.”

Despite gender neutral and trans children being a hot-button issue politically Mattel president Richard Dickson says the doll isn’t supposed to be a statement.

The dolls come with a wig and range of clothing.

“We’re not in the business of politics,” he told Time. “And we respect the decision any parent makes around how they raise their kids.

“Our job is to stimulate imaginations. Our toys are ultimately canvases for cultural conversation, but it’s your conversation, not ours; your opinion, not ours.”

Since it was first launched back in 1959 Barbie has been accused of promoting gender stereotypes as well as impossible beauty standards thanks to the doll’s unrealistic body dimensions.

But in recent years Mattel has attempted to rectify this by making its doll range more inclusive.

Back in 2017 Mattel released its first Barbie doll with a hijab, based on US Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad.

While one of the world’s most popular and enduring toys, Mattel’s Barbie has been criticised for its lack of inclusivity.

In February this year Mattel released a doll with a prosthetic leg and another in a wheelchair as pair of its 2019 Barbie Fashionistas line.

“Over the years the Barbie Fashionistas line has evolved to be more reflective of the world girls see around them,” Barbie said on its Instagram page alongside a photo of the seven new dolls.

“She has evolved to be more reflective of the young people who play with her and more representative of the world around her.

“We’re excited to expand our offerings as the most diverse and inclusive doll line in the world.”

Barbie manufacturer Mattel collaborated with Jordan Reeves, a 13-year-old disability activist born without a left forearm, to create the doll with the prosthetic limb and UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and wheelchair experts to design the doll with a wheelchair.

The company said the wheelchair has been one of the most requested accessories from Barbie fans, CNN reported.

“While there are many types of wheelchairs, this chair is modelled after one that is designed for an individual who has a permanent physical disability,” Mattel said in a statement.

The new additions which will be introduced in June are part of a recent effort by Barbie to incorporate more diversity by offering dolls with different skin shades, eye colours, hairstyles and clothing.

The Creatable World doll can be purchased at Target.com.au