What Does Self-Care Barbie Stand For?
Mattel recently released their new Barbie Wellness collection. The company stated that this collection is meant to teach about the benefits of self-care through play. The collection does so by teaching girls self-care routines such as meditation, self-care, and physical wellbeing. This collection will include a meditation doll that guides you through five stages of meditation, a fitness doll in a sporty outfit with a protein bar, and a spa doll. The playsets that come with this collection include bubble baths, manicures, facials, and similar items. Cute, thematic, and probably very well-intentioned, but perhaps confused about what wellness means.
Does It Send the Right Message?
Even if this new collection isn’t supposed to imply that young girls should start spending their allowance on this type of self-care right now, it is implying that spa days and beauty treatments are what it takes to be a well-adjusted, functioning grownup. If the goal was to actually show young girls what physical and mental wellness are really about, there are far more important values to focus on, like timely doctor’s checkups, healthy lifestyles, and the value of psychological self-care.
Although it is clear that the company had good intentions behind this collection, which is an effort that should certainly be applauded, it proves once more that we are all a bit confused about what proper wellness and self-care are. What’s certain is that these words have become an excellent marketing tool for a generation eager to lead healthier lives.