Clara Amfo made into Barbie doll ahead of International Women’s Day
‘I am honoured to be named a Barbie role model’ says the Radio 1 presenter
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Radio 1 presenter Clara Amfo has just unveiled a new Barbie doll in the image of her.
Known for fighting racial inequality and championing women’s rights, Amfo released her Barbie figure ahead of International Women’s Day.
The mini plastic version of the Radio 1 DJ has her undercut hairstyle and nose piercing, plus a pair of headphones. She’s dressed in a leather jacket and gold chain, plus an orange top and trainers.
“To say that I am honoured to be named a Barbie role model would be an understatement," said Amfo.
Barbie and Mattel run a campaign named The Dream Gap Project, in which they state that "research shows that starting at age five, many girls develop self-limiting beliefs and begin to think they're not as smart and capable as boys. They stop believing their gender can do or be anything. This is called the Dream Gap".
The project aims to give "girls the resources and support they need to continue believing in themselves".
Clara and Barbie have both partnered with Milk Honey Bees, a London organisation that offers young black women a safe space to express themselves through creative projects.
Along with former Strictly Come Dancing star Amfo, Barbie has also just released an Eleanor Roosevelt doll for International Women's Day 2021, the late ex-First Lady promoted women's political engagement.
She joined the League of Women Voters and the Women’s Trade Union League, which fought to improve working conditions for women between 1903 and 1950.
"There is so much power in being able to see yourself reflected positively in the world as an adult and it’s even more potent as a child," said Amfo. "That power and the confidence that comes with it should only be protected and amplified. For me, having this doll represents the infinite possibility that I believe we all have a right to and my only wish is that it will do the same for anyone who sees her."
Barbie has a tumultuous history with women's rights, the brand has previously been criticised for promoting unrealistic beauty standards due to early incarnations of the doll, with unrealistic proportional measurements, at full-size Barbie was estimated to be 5'9 tall, weigh around 7.8 stone, with stick-thin legs and arms, a miniature waist and F-cup breasts. The original 1950s doll was white and blonde.
Parent company Mattel had a 20 per cent sales dip between 2012 and 2014, and responded by diversifying its Barbie range. It released Barbies with different body shapes, hair textures and skin tones. In 2016, a plus-sized barbie was unveiled. In 2019, the toy company added Barbies with disabilities, including a Barbie in a wheelchair.
“We are on the path of continual evolution for the brand in the aesthetic delivery of the doll,” senior vice president at Barbie Design, Kim Culmone, to The Independent at the time.
Other notable figures with Barbies in their images include world champion boxer Nicola Adams, painter Frida Kahlo, chef Hélène Darroze, NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, pilot Amelia Earhart, sprinter Dina Asher-Smit and model and activist Adwoa Aboah.
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