Yeah, what about us guys? Does no one care? Yes, thank goodness, Newsweek (still around?) does.
"In late January, Mattel announced the expansion of its Barbie Fashionistas line with three new body types for America’s favorite doll—tall, curvy and petite—as well as a variety of skin tones. The Internet was overjoyed, and even celebrities, such as Queen Latifah, tweeted about the win for body positivity. But while Mattel has updated Barbie’s look, her boyfriend, Ken, remains the same: blond, tan and chiseled. It's a reflection, experts say, of how boys are being left out of the movement for realistic body representation and diversity.
According to Mattel, the 2016 Barbie Fashionistas line offers four body types (including the original), seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles, as well as countless on-trend fashions and accessories. This is a continuation of the journey that the company started in 2015, when it added 23 Barbie dolls with new skin tones, hair colors and flat feet. Many see this as a huge step toward sending young girls in the most influential part of their lives more positive messages. Although Mattel told USA Today it is looking at body-type and ethnic diversity for Ken, for now girls are still playing with male dolls that reinforce unrealistic body standards. And for male dolls that are actually marketed toward boys, such as the WWE Elite Collection, Batman V Superman and G.I. Joe action figures, there remains a major lack of diversity.
When scrolling through Mattel’s or any toy company’s website under the boys section, the screen is flooded with big, muscular action figures that have biceps and calves bigger than their head. According to Mirror-Mirror.org, a G.I. Joe toy, if extrapolated into human size, would be taller than the average man and have bigger biceps than any bodybuilder.
It’s clear that action figures targeted toward boys have become increasingly lean and muscular in the past 20 years, and much like Barbie’s, they are now no longer even representative of the human form,” says Tom Wooldridge, co-director at the National Association for Males with Eating Disorders and an assistant professor at Golden Gate University. “And we certainly know that exposure to idealized images increases body dissatisfaction in males.”
Thomas Hildebrandt, director of the Eating and Weight Disorders Program and an associate professor of Psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, agrees. “The more exaggerated they’ve become, particularly to people who developmentally can’t determine if it’s real or not real, achievable or not achievable, is unfair. You set them up for failure and disappointment that way.”
Hildebrandt says there's a key difference between human dolls and those made to represent fantastical creatures. When kids who play with unicorn toys learn that unicorns don't exist, they aren't invested in the assumption that all horses should ideally have a long magical horn protruding from their head.
“But when those figures are shaped like, and look like, and act like real people, the expectations are different,” he says. “You start laying
It’s clear that action figures targeted toward boys have become increasingly lean and muscular in the past 20 years, and much like Barbie’s, they are now no longer even representative of the human form,” says Tom Wooldridge, co-director at the National Association for Males with Eating Disorders and an assistant professor at Golden Gate University. “And we certainly know that exposure to idealized images increases body dissatisfaction in males.”
http://www.newsweek.com/wheres-ken-abandonment-men-body-positivity-430416
