England ladies’s rugby union facet will turn out to be the primary UK sports activities crew to accomplice with Barbie – however the deal has been launched with none of the model’s well-known dolls.
Athlete Dina Asher-Smith and boxer Nicola Adams have beforehand been immortalised in plastic, however the Pink Roses’ vary is initially restricted to t-shirts, hoodies and duplicate balls.
“The collaboration goals to encourage the subsequent technology of feminine rugby gamers via grassroots initiatives, funding, merchandise and highly effective storytelling,” stated the Rugby Soccer Union.
Toy maker Mattel, the corporate behind Barbie, will make a £20,000 donation to the RFU as a part of the deal to extend ladies’ entry to golf equipment and training in England.
Mattel has recreated a number of sporting figures as Barbie dolls, together with American Olympic champion gymnast Gabby Douglas, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, snowboarder Chloe Kim and golfer Lorena Ochoa.
London 2012 Olympic champion Adams, world champion sprinter Asher-Smith and skateboarder Sky Brown are among the many Britons who’ve additionally been commemorated.
The partnership might but broaden, with England scorching favourites for the Rugby World Cup on dwelling soil. Their marketing campaign begins on Friday, 22 August towards america in Sunderland.
Barbie has beforehand been criticised for selling unrealistic physique varieties.
In her 2000 ebook Physique Wars, psychologist Margo Maine wrote that, external if Barbie had been scaled as much as grownup peak, she would have a determine inside the pointers for diagnosing anorexia.
The model introduced different body, hair and skin types to its range in 2016 and the 2023 film Barbie, licensed by Mattel, confronted the gender norms and physique picture the doll had beforehand been related to.
When her doll was launched in 2020, Asher-Smith was happy it precisely depicted her physique.
“Most significantly for me there was the muscle tone, as a result of I believe it’s actually, actually essential the younger ladies see all points of femininity,” she stated.
