Supreme ballerina Misty Copeland just added more fuel to this year of Black Girl Magic with the unveiling of her own Barbie doll look-alike.
READ: Misty Copeland Breaks Barriers To Become 1st Black Principal Dancer At American Ballet Theatre
In 2016, Copeland appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to show off the Misty Copeland Barbie – a beautiful Black ballerina doll dressed in a fiery red bodysuit with a red tail and ballerina shoes.
“I was hands-on with making sure that she really looked like a dancer and looked like me,” Copeland told GMA host, Robin Roberts. “She has muscles and calves and thighs and a bust. That was important to me.”
Priced at $29.95, the doll’s sculpted, curvy features are a powerful statement, as these attributes didn’t align with the traditional “white” standard of beauty in the ballerina world. In the past, Copeland has said…
… that many people tried to derail her from becoming a dancer because she is “curvy and Black.”
As the Black body continues to be attacked and ridiculed in today’s society, the Misty Copeland Barbie will stand as a testament to young Black girls who may feel unsure about their bodies.
“Being a woman in general, it’s hard to be completely comfortable and confident with how you look,” Copeland previously explained. “Especially in an art form like this, when it is about your physicality and what you look like. It’s difficult being critiqued and judged on that basis.”
Copeland topped headlines last year when she became the first African-American woman to be named principal dancer at the world-renowned American Ballet Theatre, according to ABC News. She partnered with Mattel, Inc. to design the Barbie.
The Misty Copeland Barbie is one in a series called Barbie Sheroes, which honors inspirational women breaking boundaries in diversity. Selma movie director Ava DuVernay and Disney star Zendaya also have Barbie dolls in their likeness.
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