Trending Today: Barbie Reimagined

This is What’s Trending Today. The Barbie doll has been a part of American culture for more than 50 years. Tall, blond and blue-eyed, the doll became a symbol of the “all-American girl.” But in recent years, critics targeted the doll. Social commentators said Barbie was not a good representation of what women do or should look like. The toy company that makes Barbie made some changes over the years. For example, it widened Barbie’s waist in more realistic proportion to the rest of her body. But that apparently was not enough for consumers or critics. So on Thursday, the manufacturer announced three new Barbie body types. Time magazine reported the story. Mattel describes the new dolls as tall, petite and curvy. The dolls will also represent different ethnicities, with a range of skin colors and hair styles. Lots of people commented about the news on Twitter and Facebook. Some people were excited to see the changes. Geek Girl Diva tweeted, “The curves are cool. I’m way more stoked about the hair color.” Another Twitterer, Maura Brannigan, posted: “Welcome to the 21st Century, Barbie.” But others were not as excited about the news. They say people should not get so worked up about a toy. Facebook user Michon Martin posted: “I never saw anything negative about her body or standards … she’s a fictitious piece of plastic.” And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.   What do you think of the new Barbie dolls? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.   ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   symbol – n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality curvy – adj. a term used to describe the shape of a woman’s body, a smooth, rounded line petite – adj. having a small and thin body — usually used to describe a woman or girl range – n. a group or collection of different things or people that are usually similar in some way stoked – adj. very excited worked up – adj. very angry, excited, or upset about something fictitious – adj. not true or real

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