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A Venus Williams Barbie is coming soon.
The Mattel Group, the makers of the popular Barbie doll, has announced that it will make a special Venus Williams Barbie doll to honour the trailblazing athlete.
The Venus Williams Barbie is one of nine Barbie dolls that Mattel will be adding to its collection in celebration of its 65th anniversary.
The 65th anniversary collection will focus on honouring role models in sports, and Venus Williams being the ultimate role model, is more than fitting.
Cool Stats about Venus Williams, The Newest Barbie
Venus Williams has been ranked WTA World No. 1 on three occasions. She has seven Grand Slam singles titles, fourteen Grand Slam doubles with her sister Serena, and two Grand Slams mixed. Venus has four Olympic gold medals and a silver Olympic medal.
She is the most decorated tennis player in Olympic history.
These are just a few of her on-the-court achievements which do not begin the scratch the surface of her amazing career and trailblazing career.
Off the court, Venus is equally a force to be reckoned with.
She was the driving force working with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to achieve gender equality which led to the equal prize money at Wimbledon.
Speaking about Mattel honouring her with the Venus Williams Barbie doll, she said, “Throughout my career, I’ve always been driven by the idea of shattering glass ceilings and staying true to myself, and Barbie’s mission couldn’t resonate more deeply with that ethos,”.
The Barbie Role Model continued, “I’m honored to be recognized as a sports role model and join forces with Team Barbie to continue empowering the next generation of young girls to never stop believing in their dreams.”
Other Women in the Barbie Collection
The Barbie Role Model collection honours nine women including Venus Williams. These women were chosen because “Barbie is thrilled to continue the brand’s 65th-anniversary celebration by recognizing the impact of sports in fostering self-confidence, ambition, and empowerment among the next generation,” said Krista Berger, Senior Vice President of Barbie and Global Head of Dolls, Mattel.
She continued by saying, “The sports one-of-a-kind role model dolls serve as an embodiment of our shared values of passion, empowerment and individuality. By shining a light on these inspirational athletes and their stories, we hope to champion the belief that every young girl deserves the opportunity to pursue her passions and turn her dreams into reality.”
Here are some of the other sports role models in the collection:
Mary Flower from Australia – Footballer
Mary is 21 years old and has become a key player for the Matildas and Manchester City football teams. She was selected for the FIFA World Cup in 2019 and became the team’s youngest player at 16 years old. Since then, she has been to two FIFA World Cups and the 2020 Olympic Games.
Estelle Mossely from France – Boxer
Estelle was crowned Olympic champion in 2016 and has won numerous professional and world amateur boxing titles.
Rebeca Andrade from Brazil – Gymnast
Rebeca is an Olympic gold and silver medallist and is regarded as one of the best gymnasts of all time. She is a two-time World Championship champion and has won more than ten medals in World Cups.
Why is This New Barbie Collection Important?
For years, Barbie has been criticised for its unattainable image of women and being a bad influence on young girls.
Barbie went through a rough patch with discussions raging on whether or not Barbie was a feminist icon.
The release of the globally successful Barbie movie re-centred Barbie into the conversation with many acknowledging Barbie’s underlining feminist agenda as she has represented the professional woman for decades now.
The Barbie 65th anniversary sports role models dolls collection is important because Barbie is “bringing together these inspiring stories that are shaping the future to show girls that anything is possible if you relentlessly pursue your passions.”
Additionally, the Mattel Group noted that through its initiatives like the Barbie Dream Gap Project, “Barbie is committed to leveling the playing field for girls globally, in sports and beyond, to close the gap that comes between girls and their full potential.”
It is also important to note that the new Barbie dolls represent women from all over the world and from all backgrounds. This is a great representation of what women from all walks of life can achieve and is a reminder to little girls everywhere what they are capable of doing.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Barbie 65th anniversary is a year-long celebration and, so in partnership with many retailers. You can find the Barbie 65th anniversary celebration dolls on Amazon in the Barbie 65th Celebration store.
2 Comments
Anonymous
Love this. This needs to become the norm.
Margo Morrison
Great, thanks for the feedback!
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