Last year, Mattel created a one-of-a-kind bald Barbie doll for a four-year-old girl who lost her hair due to cancer. An online campaign has now started urging the toy maker to mass produce the doll for girls who suffer from hair loss.
The Facebook Group, “Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let’s see if we can get it made,” has more than 13,000 likes. The group writes:
“We would like to see a Beautiful and Bald Barbie made to help young girls who suffer from hair loss due to cancer treatments, Alopecia or Trichotillomania . Also, for young girls who are having trouble coping with their mother’s hair loss from chemo. Many children have some difficulty accepting their mother, sister, aunt, grandparent or friend going from a long haired to a bald.”
The group says that in addition to the bald Barbie, Mattel could also offer accessories like head scarves and hats.
Tracey Kidd, whose four-year-old daughter Ruby is being treated for cancer, told the Digital Journal :
“There’s so much emphasis, especially on little girls, on their hair and how they (cancer kids) look. It’s important for them to feel good, especially in hospital.”
Mattel recently created a Katy Perry barbie doll and a Nicki Minaj barbie doll to benefit various charities. The toy company also created a tattoo barbie doll to appeal to a new generation of more progressive girls. Asking for a bald barbie doesn’t seem to be asking all that much.
Do you think Mattel will create a bald barbie? Should they?