Bald Barbie rendering created for Beautiful and Bald Barbie
Jane Bingham and Beckie Sypin were inspired when they heard that a young cancer patient had a custom bald Barbie doll created for them by Mattel. In response, they started a petition and Facebook page asking Mattel to create a line of “Beautiful and Bald Barbie” dolls. Mattel recently announced that they will be creating a bald friend of Barbie for children who suffer from hair loss due to cancer treatments, Alopecia or Trichotillomania. Mattel says the doll will come with “hats, scarves and other fashion accessories to provide girls with a traditional fashion play experience” and though not available in stores it will be distributed to children in U.S. and Canada hospitals. According to Yahoo, Bratz is also coming out with a bald doll line.
The statement from Mattel’s Facebook page:
Play is vital for children, especially during difficult times. We are pleased to share with our community that next year we will be producing a fashion doll, that will be a friend of Barbie, which will include wigs, hats, scarves and other fashion accessories to provide girls with a traditional fashion play experience. For those girls who choose, the wigs and head coverings can be interchanged or completely removed. We will work with our longstanding partner, the Children’s Hospital Association, to donate and distribute the dolls exclusively to children’s hospitals directly reaching girls who are most affected by hair loss. A limited number of dolls and monetary donations will also be made to CureSearch for Children’s Cancer and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.
Through a thoughtful approach, we made the decision not to sell these dolls at retail stores, but rather get the dolls directly into the hands of children who can most benefit from the unique play experience, demonstrating Mattel’s ongoing commitment to encourage play as a respite for children in the hospital and to bring joy to children who need it most.
