A bald Barbie doll will be made by toy company Mattel after a Facebook campaign received more than 150,000 likes in just three months.
The group called “Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let’s see if we can get it made” was created by two mothers; Jane Bingham, who lost her hair due to chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Rebecca Sypin, whose daughter lost her hair following leukemia treatment.
“Bald Barbie” is designed to help young children going through cancer treatment, and those who are affected by hair loss conditions such as alopecia and trichotillomania.
The aim of the doll, who will be a friend of Barbie, is to help drop the stigma surrounding these conditions.
Campaign co-founders Ms Bingham and Ms Sypin met in an online chat room and, after realising they were in similar situations, decided to put the campaign together.
Ms Bingham first heard of the bald Barbie idea after reading about a four-year-old girl who had undergone cancer treatment and said that she no longer felt like a princess after losing her hair.
The four-year-old had a one-off bald Barbie made for her after another parent at the hospital heard her and approached the CEO of Mattel who was a personal friend.
Ms Bingham told CBS News that although she knew it would be popular, the extent of publicity the campaign has received has exceeded her expectations.
“It’s been great, we couldn’t have done it. They wouldn’t have heard us if it was just a couple of people writing to them,” she said.
The pair said that the campaign was not created to demand that the doll be made, but to create awareness of a condition many children suffer from.
“We are not demanding; we are not asking people to boycott,” Ms Sypin said.
“That wasn’t our goal at all. We’re just trying to raise awareness.”
The doll, which will come with accessories including wigs and hats, will not be sold in stores but will be donated to hospitals throughout the US and Canada and the US National Alopecia Areata Foundation.
A statement from Mattel said: “Through a thoughtful approach, we made the decision not to sell these dolls at retail stores, but rather get the dolls directly into the hands of children who can most benefit from the unique play experience.”
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