In January, toy company Mattel unveiled its newest line of Barbie products, the Barbie Wellness Collection. The latest iteration of the company’s 60-year-old iconic product, in a press release the company described the new collection as, “[teaching] girls daily routines that promote emotional well-being and includes three key themes: meditation, physical well-being, and self-care; because Barbie knows to be one’s best is to give yourself the best care.”
Some are frustrated at the new products, and say that it promotes a narrow concept of self-care onto young girls. Sue O’Connell, co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, said that she thinks the criticism is hyperbolic.
During an interview with Boston Public Radio Friday, she said that she’s seen so many iterations of Barbie that it’s hard to tell what will make a lasting impression on children.
“I’m not as worked up about it as [others are],” O’Connell said. “If you want to have a wellness Barbie, that’s fine with me. I sign off on it.”
O’Connell is a co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News and NECN's political commentator and Explainer-in-Chief.
