Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

Chemo Barbie? Women Lobby Mattel for 'Beautiful and Bald' Doll

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your tax-deductible donation now.

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."

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right