What little girl’s Christmas would be complete without a Barbie doll to play with? Except unlike the Barbie of old, Mattel have created a new range of their iconic dolls with diverse ambitions, a can-do attitude and more drive than a brand new Jaguar.
The You Can be Anything collection sees Barbie inspire girls to pursue their career dreams, from Games Developer, Bee-Keeper and Pilot to Bakery Owner, firefighter and even President and VP. We got Dentist Barbie (RRP $19.99), who comes complete with a whole dental set-up, including a young patient and even a dental mould!
Wanting to further contextualise their new Barbie, it was luck that our own dental check-up was due so with doll in tow, we headed to our dentist’s office to find out what Dentist Barbie’s day would actually look like.
Denny (6.5) and Noah (3.5) were so excited to see Barbie’s apparatus in real life action, taking it in turns to sit on the chair, mouths wide to have their teeth inspected. While their sibling was in the chair the other listened to the dentist’s instruction, eager to be of assistance in pressing the required buttons to pour water into the cup, help raise the chair, and even use kid-friendly dental mirrors to take a look inside their own mouths.
They asked lots of questions, like how many teeth a person has, what fluoride is for and why it’s important to floss. So inspired were they by their new Barbie that they approached the entire appointment with a newfound interest and enthusiasm. This continued at home where they unpacked Barbie and re-enacted their dental experience, recalling all the facts they’d heard from the dentist and the things he had done to check and clean their teeth.
So no longer just a plaything to dress up and beautify, the You Can be Anything Barbie holds so much more for her young fans as they look to her as a role model for their future selves. Of course, her iconic and long-established status in the hearts and homes of children the world over gives her that added credibility as someone to look up to and be inspired by.
This is the Barbie of a new generation of girls who are learning that the world is full of opportunity, not only for their male counterparts. Barbie is a beacon of possibility, subverting the age-old gender divide when it comes to the careers women could and should aspire to.
When a girl plays with Barbie she imagines everything she could become.
A tag line to live by in my opinion, especially with two daughters under my wing. Artist, doctor, athlete, palaeontologist or fairy princess, I want my girls to know they can be anything they choose and thanks to Barbie I think they’re starting to get the idea!
The You Can Be Anything Barbie collection ranges from $13.99 to $30.99 and is available at Big W, Target and Myer.