New Barbie Bodies on Ellen and Hasbro/Mattel Merger?

The new Barbies with new bodies were discussed on "Ellen" today, while the evening news talked about a possible merger between Hasbro [Disney Princesses/Star Wars] and Mattel.  Ellen de Generes also spoofed various makeovers for Ken to make him more realistic as well.  Read my other post on collectdolls.about.com, but the new bodies are available on Mattel.com.  I ordered Curvy Barbie, but she is on backorder.  "Time" featured Barbie on its cover this week as well, along with an indepth timeline on the history of Barbie and the protests against her.

Despite my critics, I would just like to say, it's just a little toy, folks.  Anatomically correct dolls, far more graphic than our girl, are not new.  Even our sainted and beloved French fashions had bodies that emulated the realistic curves of 19th century women, and if we call theirs, and the glazes on other porcelain dolls, pink luster, pink tinted, or pink floyd, the fact remains that they were reflections of the real women of their day.

I gained a Barbie knock off doll for my collection one one year, because someone at work decided she was "too sexy" for the Toys for Tots box.  She came to me with a postit note that she still wears that read, "Free to a Good Home."  I was floored.

To me, Barbie looked like my Mom, my aunts, and my cousins, who were into 60s fashion, and were always dressing up.  They were like dressmakers dummies where I could try out my own designs.  Nothing less, and nothing more.  Go Barbie, and Go Mattel.