What Barbie would look like as a 60-year-old
A dating site for single over 50-year-olds looking to get back in the game has honoured Mattel’s beloved iconic Barbie on her 60th birthday.
Charly Lester from Lumen told news.com.au the idea was created in an effort to celebrate and show the appeal of older women.
“Our Head of Brand Liesa had the idea of showing ageing icons as their real ages, and Barbie was one of the first ones she mentioned,” Lester explained.
After reconfiguring what the iconic “forever young” doll would look like into her older age, the dating site team said Barbie’s 60th birthday was the perfect way to challenge the way mature aged people are shown in the media.
“Lumen’s mission is very much pro-age and anti-ageism and we are repeatedly challenging the way over 50s are shown in the media,” Lester said.
embed
“We felt Barbie’s 60th birthday was a great opportunity to showcase this in a lighthearted way.
“Our homage to Barbie shows her un-airbrushed, and represented by a real woman at her real age. She is still beautiful and aspirational, but in a very realistic way.”
Over the years, Barbie has had over 200 jobs, from being an astronaut to a firefighter, a game developer to even the president of the united States – there isn’t much the most recognisable toys in the world can’t do.
The issue, says Lester, is that Barbie has “never been her real age.”
Telling Metro, they said: “Many women say that in their 50s and 60s they’ve never felt more empowered in their own skin and this should be reflected by influential icons like Barbie.
“We encourage the toy industry to consider making their products more pro age… who says that everyone should be in their 20s to be a success?”