Terry Prone: Forget the PR — in a Barbie world, girls are being bombarded with misogyny

Toy shops are flooded with dolls that portray women as weird sex objects rather than people girls can aspire to be. And don't get me started on how older people are portrayed in media...

Mattel got a lot of publicity — including in this column — for launching a range of Barbies featuring women in STEM, including Prof Sarah Gilbert (third from right). But I couldn't find Vaccinologist Barbie for sale anywhere, and girls are still being denied such positive, aspirational role models. Picture: Mattel/PA

SUNDAY

The makers of Barbie have been knocking themselves out to move beyond anatomically weird sex object dolls and get into diversity. So they now have dolls of all hues, dolls in wheelchairs, even doctor dolls.