In recent years, Mattel has been reinventing Barbie, be it increasing the number of skin tones and hairstyles, giving Barbie different body types – curvy, tall and petite, or celebrating role models in history. Barbie has even been vlogging about how saying ‘sorry’ is a “learned reflex” that “takes away from our self-confidence.” Now, Mattel is looking into producing a same-sex Barbie wedding set.
Initially reported by CNN, the proposed idea actually came from Matt Jacobi and Nick Caprio, of Scottsdale, Arizona. The two plan to get married in May 2019 and were looking to gift one of their nieces, Natalie, a doll wedding set along with the news that she and her sister would be flower girls. “When we saw the toys in all the aisles, Nick and I looked at each other and had a moment,” said Jacobi. “We just didn’t feel connected to any of them.” So Jacobi and Caprio decided to purchase a Ken and Barbie wedding set, only to remove Barbie and replace her with another Ken.
Natalie liked the custom made set, which prompted Jacobi to post the creation on Instagram to inspire Mattel and others.
In the post, he tagged Mattel and wrote, “What a bummer you don’t make one with two grooms. Anyway, we had to get creative and make a couple purchases. I hope our custom gift inspires you to make a #GayWedding set!”
Mattel actually got in touch, as Jacobi posted days later, “@mattel got back to me and we are setting up a meeting to discuss more.” They will be meeting with Mattel and the head of Barbie’s design team in January, with Jacobi saying, “We are extremely excited, grateful and incredibly determined to make this happen,” The discussion could potentially see a same-sex Barbie set on the shelves in the future.
Originally published on MyM Buzz on 18 December 2018.
