In honor of International Day of the Girl, Mattel has announced that they will be releasing four new Barbies modeled after professional rugby players from around the world. These dolls are the first of their kind and aim to inspire young girls to be more confident and body positive.
US Olympic medalist Ilona Maher will be featured along with 2024 Player of the Year Ellie Kildunne from the United Kingdom, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe from New Zealand, and Nassira Konde from France. All four athletes have been having incredible performances that have contributed to the growing interest in women’s rugby in the last few years. Ilona Maher especially has popularized women’s rugby due to her large social media presence and her appearance on Dancing With the Stars last year. In what is widely considered to be a male dominated sport, all of these women have become huge role models to girls all over the world, which Mattel intends to honor with these dolls.
An important aspect of these dolls is that they are meant to promote body positivity. Ilona Maher has been an advocate for redefining beauty and body standards on social media, and she insisted that the Barbie dolls be made to look exactly like the athletes they are modeled after. The dolls were made with more athletic frames, broader shoulders, and defined muscles. Mattel hopes that they will inspire young girls to be confident in their bodies and to see the beauty of strong and athletic women. Maher stated, “Barbies are the ultimate image of beauty and femininity. And so that’s what we grew up seeing everyday. What I want is that when girls play with this, and they see my Barbie and the broad shoulders and the big arms, that can kind of shape their views of beauty as well.”
As these dolls share the stories of the women they are modelled after, many young girls will see these athletes as role models and be inspired by their confidence. Maher, Kildunne, Woodman-Wickliffe, and Konde continue to influence women’s rugby’s rising popularity and these dolls will hopefully encourage more young girls to join the sport as well.