More than 44,000 Facebook fans of a group called
Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let's see if we can get it made petition Mattel to create a Barbie specifically to help young girls cope with disease.
CBS reports the company made a unique, hairless doll for a 4-year-old stricken with cancer earlier this year. This philanthropic move just piles more steam onto the FB group's mission. The specific goal reads on
their page:
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 petitioners also aim to include accessories with the Barbie including scarves and hats.
If possible, group members said they'd like the proceeds from the theoretical doll to benefit
Saint Jude's Children's Hospital. [via
Huffington Post]
Any of this spark your interest? Learn more and join up
Beautiful and Bald Barbie's campaign on Facebook or
email the main organizer for more info.
Do you think this Barbie is a good idea? Do you think Mattel will go for it? What other types of Barbies should be sold?
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Comments (19)
I think it's a great idea. :) I've seen that going around on Facebook. It would be great if Matel actually did make that barbie.
I think it is an awesome idea. It would be even better if Mattel donated part of the profits to a cancer research foundation, especially if it benefits children
This is a fantastic idea! I really hope it happens :)
Not sure how successful it would be. One of my favourite things with the dolls was to change the hair. I would even give them hair cuts and thought it would grow back lol. But who knows.
Having Trichotillomania, I find this intriguing.
It would be great if they made it and proceeds could go to St. Jude's.I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. I'm not totally against it, but still....I don't know. I'd think it be easier to just chop the hair off of the Barbies that a young girl already has rather than spend money unnecessarily.
great idea :)
I think this is an amazing idea!
I agree that the proceeds should go to St. Judes.
What a wonderful idea though - I hope this helps break the idea of "perfect" barbie girls and those who have cancer (or know someone who does) cope a little easier.
I think this is a great idea.
My mom is part of a group who started something like this about a year ago and they are in the patent pending part of the whole thing.
It would be amazing if these dolls could become something known worldwide.
I think that's a great idea especially if the proceeds went to St. Jude's.
@not3000@xanga - Your mom rules!
this is an amazing idea, I totally support this!
i think it's a good idea but i'm not sure how kids would react to it. we see it as an empowering thing to have a hairless barbie but i can see a lot of children not going for the barbie because it doesn't have hair to play with. children, especially younger children, tend to look at barbie dolls for vanity. i think that you could sell a lot to childrens hospitals, though.
Maybe they can make fun wigs with all that extra hair that Barbie donated to Locks of Love.
I absolutely love the idea of helping children deal with hair loss due to disease. I remember a girl at my school when I was younger and she didn't have hair, and she was often teased. I didn't understand it though, I thought her hats were cool!
On the other hand, aren't we trying to steer away from Barbie as a physical role model for young girls?
mh, the problem I see is that it screams for barbies with other diseases. Over long or short, I don't know if that suits their concept, and then people with other diseases might feel disrimnitaed. But personally I think it's a good idea.
When I was young, my friend went through chemo and when I went to visit in the hospital, we played with her dolls. When she fell asleep for a nap, I cut the hair off of my favorite doll and gave it to her mom to give to her. I moved a few states away 3 months after that. We kept in contact through Facebook and other social sites. She got sick again. She died not too long ago. When her mom called to tell me, she mentioned the doll. She told me that it was her favorite thing in the world, and when she was was last in the hospital, she left it there for her story to be told, and for the little girls to have hope beyond the hospital walls.
So yes, I think it is an amazing idea! However, the success of the barbie would be determined by, well... cancer stricken young girls/ or young girls with a disease to cause hair loss. I think it wouldn't do well as Mattel, for a public use, but if hospitals would pick up the idea and sell through there, then I think it would do much better. But it is still an amazing idea to help young girls feel safe.
That's so thoughtful!! :)