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Chemo Barbie? Women Lobby Mattel for 'Beautiful and Bald' Doll
Some of Barbie's fans want to see her go completely bald.
This isn't a tribute to little brothers maiming Barbie dolls or a throwback to bald-headed icons of yesteryear Sinead O'Connor and Susan Powter. No, this is a grassroots effort to bring attention to cancer...or alopecia...or trichotillomania...or any sort of medical condition that causes girls to lose their hair.
Rebecca Sypin from Lancaster teamed up with her friend Jane Bingham in New Jersey to launch a Facebook campaign. Sypin's daughter Kin lost her hair while undergoing treatments for leukemia, while Bingham lost her own while battling lymphoma, according to the Associated Press. The Facebook page was launched just before Christmas and it already has nearly 23,000 likes and one spin-off for boys: "Bald G.I. Joe Movement." The women contacted El Segundo-based Mattel and received form letters explaining that the company doesn't accept ideas from outside sources.
"We're not demanding that the company do anything," Sypin told AP. "We're just hoping somebody sees this and can help us make it happen."
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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