Friday, April 24, 2015

Shero Dolls by Mattel

Do you recognize any of these names?

Ava DuVernay

 Emmy Rossum

Eva Chen

Kristin Chenoweth

Sydney “Mayhem” Keiser

Trisha Yearwood

Mattel recognizes them. These "female heroes" or "sheroes" provide inspiration to young girls (and older women, others) by their stereotype shattering deeds.  Moreover, Mattel presented these "sheroes" with one-of-a-kind Barbie-scale dolls in their likenesses at the Variety Power of Women Luncheon in New York City earlier today. Cool, huh? 

 Sigh.

 Gee, I hope Mattel creates these dolls for the mass market. But since the sheroes auctioned off their dolls to benefit their favorite charity, that is not likely.

 But ... then again, Halle Berry had had a one-of-a-kind doll created of her by Mattel. And Mattel later produced a James Bond Halle Berry doll. 

I owe this scoop to my blogging buddy, Arlett of Chasing Joy fame. Arlett is a "shero" in her own right. (Check her non-doll blog to read while I write that.)

 Aside: I don't care for the word "shero," but I suppose "heroine" is dated? What do you think?


at

11 comments:

  1. jewel snakeApril 25, 2015 at 6:51 AM

    Interesting. I really dislike this "shero", word "hero" is absolutely good enough. Mattel and it's involvement with feminism makes me want to switch to IT exlusively.
    As for those ladies, I think the only one of them who really is hero is Emmy Rossum, because she's helping animals, and her work is really making difference, lets say it's life and death matter. The rest are just buissness women, not heroes, and this girl is just for show.

    ReplyDelete
  2. VanessaApril 25, 2015 at 10:55 AM

    So funny, I had just started watching Trisha's food show when I clicked on this post. That is awesome! I love the Ava doll. It's a decent likeness. I think they should have added a little more weight to her body and to Trisha's body. If you look up the definition of hero, the majority of them have male in the definition. I like that they distinguished these heros as sheros. A hero is someone who is greatly admired. I can say that the women I know on this list all fit that bill. I really hope Mattel offers these ladies in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  3. D7anaApril 25, 2015 at 2:28 PM

    Hi Jewel Snake and Vanessa!

    @Jewel Snake - lol abut "Mattel and it's involvement with feminism makes me want to switch to IT exlusively."

    @Vanessa - I think the likeness is good, too. And it looks like the body is articulated, too. Sigh. That would be nice to have.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RoxanneRoxanneApril 25, 2015 at 6:51 PM

    It's cool that Mattel auctioned these One of a Kind dolls off for charity. I'd love to see some of them (or similar dolls) hit the retail market one day. "Shero" doesn't seem like a real word to me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anderson's All-PurposeApril 25, 2015 at 8:40 PM

    At first I thought this tied into the superhero princess Barbie somehow. Didn't Arklu do something similar with the newer Lottie dolls inspired by outstanding women from various fields (with a blurb on the box of the corresponding doll)?

    ReplyDelete
  6. D7anaApril 25, 2015 at 10:11 PM

    Hi RoxanneRoxanne and Anderson's All-Purpose!

    @RoxanneRoxanne - I'd like to see these dolls, too. I appreciate Mattel's auctioning them off for charity - whether that's for publicity or the greater good, I like to think some of that money goes for good causes.

    "Shero" seems contrived. I appreciate the intent, but sigh, it doesn't "feel" right.

    @Anderson's All-Purpose - no, these "shero" dolls are not part of any Mattel playline or collector line. (Except the kind of collectors who can buy auction dolls - ack!)

    That's cool of Arklu. That would be a fun series ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chasing JoyApril 26, 2015 at 8:18 PM

    D7ana you are so sweet. Thank you for the mention.

    I like the term Shero. Unfortunately Heroine reminds me of drugs.

    ReplyDelete
  8. D7anaApril 26, 2015 at 10:37 PM

    Hi Chasing Joy (Arlett)! You're welcome.

    That's a good point about heroine/heroin. Thanks for pointing that out.

    ReplyDelete
  9. MuffApril 28, 2015 at 12:46 AM

    Since they wont be mass produced at least it gives the OOAKers something to think about making for themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  10. jSarieApril 28, 2015 at 10:06 AM

    I love the idea behind the dolls (a shame that they're not actually selling them), but that "shero" word is *ridiculous*.

    ReplyDelete
  11. D7anaApril 28, 2015 at 12:18 PM

    Hi Muff and jSarie!

    @Muff - oh, yeah. Let's play "which head mold did Mattel use for each 'shero'?"

    @jSarie - I agree - cool idea and wish they were to be mass produced.

    I think you've got what bothers me about "sheroes" -- it feels artificial and constructed. All words stand for things or actions, but most words feel "natural."

    ReplyDelete