Research findings by Harriger et al. (2019) indicate that merely making body-diverse dolls available might not be sufficient to effectively counter the harmful attitudes towards weight. In this study, 84 girls aged between 3 and 10 have been asked to assign characteristics to Barbie dolls varying in sizes and shapes (Harringer et al., 2019). The results show that there were more negative characteristics assigned to the curvy Barbie doll compared to the thinner body sizes. Additionally, the girls who reported a higher level of body dissatisfaction showed less negative sentiments towards the original (Stereotypical) Barbie. Generally, there seemed to be a preference towards thinner body types and a tendency to avoid larger body types (Harriger et al., 2019). The authors suggest that it is important to make ongoing efforts to promote exposure to and acceptance of these diverse body types amongst young children (Harriger et al., 2019).
Similar to the criticism for Stereotypical Barbie, the Curvy Barbie doll’s proportions still continue to reflect the societal beauty standards and fail to represent an average female body (Jarman, 2016). The real-life physique of Curvy Barbie has a UK size of 6-8 waist with size 8 hips. This is three sizes smaller than the average British woman (Jarman, 2016). Additionally, by assigning these names such as Curvy Barbie, Mattel is reinforcing the old stereotypes that women are defined by the way they look. Despite Curvy Barbie still being thinner than the average woman, it is important to note that this is nevertheless a better representation of a woman and it gives hope for future improvement in the Barbie franchise (Jarman, 2016).