As a part of Barbie’s “Inspiring Women” collection, Frida Kahlo was one of three women to be commemorated. But the doll has received a surplus of backlash since its release.
While Barbie is far beyond an impossible body type, blonde hair, and an air of irresolution, it seems that Mattel still has trouble with image conformity as Kahlo is not clad in traditional Mexican attire and her unibrow is missing.
Kahlo’s daughter, Mara Romeo Pinedo, and great-niece, Mara de Anda Romeo, have threatened legal action, stating that Mattel is not authorized to use her image. “I would have liked the doll to have traits more like Frida’s, not this doll with light colored eyes,” Romeo said to AFP News Agency.
Pablo Sangri, Romeo’s lawyer, communicated that the doll was a kind gesture but for the company to continue to sell the doll, it would need to be redesigned; features would have to be renegotiated.
But the family is not alone. Salma Hayek also had something to say about the doll. Hayek – who played Kahlo in the 2002 film Frida – had a special, vicarious acquaintance with the fine artist having played her, and felt the aftershock of her death as many did in her native Mexico.
Hayek took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the doll, positing that Frida’s values were in opposition to something like this.
“#fridakahlo never tried to be or look like anyone else,” Hayek wrote. “She celebrated her uniqueness. How could they turn her into a Barbie.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgMLqsfAgj-/?taken-by=salmahayek
“How could Hayek and Kahlo’s family are offended by the discreet sameness that the Barbie still wants to maintain even in its efforts to represent a figure like Frida Kahlo.