Barbie's Expanding Inclusivity

Writing two smaller reviews in one week didn't work out as well as I'd hoped.  Some family stuff came up, and everything always takes longer than I expect.  Another part of the problem was that I kept adding dolls to this review, and the dolls were too much fun!  I had a really great time with them and didn't want to stop playing.  That's been a bit of a theme for Barbie Month as a whole, though, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise.  But I managed to get everything ready for you before the opening night of the Barbie movie, and that was my goal, so it's all good.  Once I've seen the movie, I can start talking about the dolls that it inspired.

The idea for today's post was not to review anything in-depth, but rather to showcase and celebrate Barbie's growing acknowledgement of diversity, equity, and inclusivity over the years.  And for this, I decided to focus most of my attention on the Fashionistas--a group of dolls that I seldom talk about on this blog.  It's a pretty wonderful group:

A collection of inclusive Barbie dolls.

Barbie Becky "I'm the School Photographer" and Fin Fun Mermaid Tails--A Joint Review!

I think this is surely the most unusual combination of reviews that I have ever posted together, but there's a neat connection--you'll see.  First, I'm delighted to welcome my friend Feerie B. Wolfie from France who offered to review a rare wheelchair doll for the blog: Barbie's Becky, "I'm the School Photographer" (from 1998).  Feerie is a blogger, toy collector and doll customization artist.  Her site (with the awesome name Dollzenstein) reviews old toys from her childhood.  The blog is posted in both French and English, which is really helpful.

I was thrilled to get Feerie's review offer for several reasons.  First, I love working with doll enthusiasts from other parts of the world.  In my opinion, these collaborations are one of the best things about the internet.  Also, it's nice to see a character with a disability incorporated into the Barbie empire.  The other neat thing about Feerie's review is that it's quite rare to see a wheelchair in this scale.  From what I've read, most collectors looking for an accurate 1:6 wheelchair use one of Becky's chairs, the chair from Drastic Plastic's Franklin D. Roosevelt figure...or simply make their own.  I'm particularly fond of this version of Becky's wheelchair because it isn't pink and it's quite realistic:

Barbie Becky "I'm the School Photographer," 1998.