8. Teen Talk Barbie
As if Barbie didn’t already reinforce the controversial skinny, blonde hair and blue-eyed standard of beauty among young girls, Mattel decided to up the ante by downplaying Barbie’s intelligence by releasing Teen Talk Barbie, in 1992. With its release, each doll was designed to say four out of 270 unique phrases such as: “I love shopping!” and “Wanna have a pizza party?”. The American Association of University Women caught wind of this doll because of a peculiar phrase: “Math class is tough”. The American Association of University Women believed that this phrase mimicked the fact that schools shortchange girls across the world. Mattel did not issue a recall on the doll but did offer to swap out the doll for one that did not say that particular phrase.
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