Non-Traditional Barbie: Black Canary Barbie

The non-traditional Barbie that I chose to examine is the "Black Canary Barbie". I discovered the doll on TrendHunter.com, which can be found by clicking this link:

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/badass-superhero-barbies-black-canary-barbie

The idea of having a super hero Barbie doll seems initially to be a good and genuine effort by the manufacturer, Mattel, to create a doll that helps foster a positive self-image for the young girls playing with the toy. However, my initial positivity was diluted upon seeing the physical product that the genius minds at Mattel created. In my opinion Barbie is a toy that is notorious for enforcing gender roles. The doll has also historically been designed with unrealistic physical dimensions which is not a good thing for the developing minds that interact with these toys.

Probably the most significant problem I have with the doll is the choice of outfit. The good folks at TrendHunter.com state that the Black Canary Barbie doll was designed after the character "Black Canary" of DC Comics. Although this DC character is highly sexualized (I discovered after some research), there are many depictions of Black Canary where she is not so scantily clad. Taking the historical fabulousness of the Barbie brand, I can understand why they would choose this character: but why not choose a less promiscuous outfit for the doll.

For those of you who chose not to follow the link and read the article describing the abilities of the Black Canary Barbie Doll, I will give you a brief glimpse into the abilities and qualities of the character. She is most noted for her ability, "Canary Cry" which is a high-powered scream that can incapacitate villains and also shatter glass. I don't know about you but I feel like a woman superhero that is most known for her ability to yell really loudly was the Barbie brand continuing to be 'old fashioned'.