2024 has brought us the first Barbie doll to have a career in mental health or therapy with Art Therapist Barbie.
Not only does the Barbie playset come with a variety of art tools, but the child doll's shirt has a changeable emoji on it so you can indicate different emotions that she is experiencing.
Naturally I'm pretty excited because Art Therapist Barbie is yet another Barbie depicted wearing glasses for (presumably) vision correction. And not only that - she is actually shown wearing them in the box, not simply holding them in her hand or propping them on top of her head as many other dolls do.
Although Barbie has of course had a great deal of other careers in the medical industry, this is the first that shows a direct addressing of mental health and emotions in a clinical setting. I suppose it's a natural emergence from the wellness and self-care Barbies from the past few years.
Honestly, Art Therapist Barbie is the first Barbie release I have genuinely been tempted to buy since I got back into Barbie.
I'm extremely surprised the new 65th Anniversary Astronaut Barbie isn't getting any love on the Internet. I can't even find her on any of the Mattel websites!!
ETA: I just over the Mattel site a little bit ago (Careers section) and this beauty is now there! But sadly no reviews at all!! (As of 1/29/24)
believe you can be ANYTHING- Barbie is all for being everything and anything you want so you have to believe you can too!
Confidence- Barbie is super confident anywhere and everywhere she goes!
FASHION-Barbie is a fashion icon so always try to dress nice and clean (only wear stuff you are comfortable wearing)
Be Inspiring- Barbie is inspiring to millions of little girls around the world. Now I'm not saying you have to have thousands of job occupations just try to be a good influence on people!
Be kind- Barbie is super kind and loving to everyone even if she doesn't have to be. You don't have to be friends with everyone but at least treat other people nicely.
Be passionate- Barbie is super passionate about her jobs and fashion. Try to find something you are super passionate about.
Give off a good vibe- Barbie has a super bubbly personality and it makes everyone want to be around her. I'm in NO WAY shape or form saying to change your personality but this kind of goes back to the being kind thing. You can't walk around with a nasty attitude all the time because that won't make people want to interact with you.
Recently, someone asked me if Barbie had ever been a teacher.
Actually, to be more precise, they said, "Barbie's been a teacher, right? She's been everything."
This is correct on all counts.
The oldest Barbie I could find who was a teacher by trade was 1995's Teacher Barbie.
She came with two child dolls as well as a playset featuring school accessories like a chalkboard.
A few years later in 1999, Barbie became specifically a sign language teacher.
This particular Barbie had custom hands, where her right hand was forming the ASL sign "I love you".
Barbie has relatively regularly been depicted as a teacher since in various career lines, such as this one from 2000 where she was teaching the children about dinosaurs.
Or this one, currently in stock in major toy retailers, where she appears with a toddler-sized child.
Or for that matter, this one from the "You Can Be Anything" line, featuring a laptop computer to help her teach.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the Silkstone Barbie, however, where Barbie was depicted as a very vintage-inspired schoolteacher.
Technically this depicts Barbie as a fashion model, modeling the fashions of a teacher, but I am going to count it regardless.
Bold. Brave. Record-breaking. 🪩 With a glittering career defined by constant reinvention, @KylieMinogue stands alone as a Barbie Role Model who pushes the limits of pop stardom, and whose story will continue to inspire generations of girls to reach for their dreams. #Barbie #Barbie65 #YouCanBeAnything