Prima Ballerina Misty Copeland is a trailblazer in more ways than we can count—last year she made history when she became the first African-American woman to be a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, and this morning she unveiled her very own Barbie doll.
This has to be one of the coolest things to ever happen; imagining little girls playing with a doll that looks like you, and represents all the dreams you’ve accomplished. The Ava Duvernay Barbie doll sold out within an hour, so there’s definitely a demand for Barbie to show more diversity in the women that they choose. Misty’s doll is wearing an ensemble inspired by her iconic Firebird costume, her first role at American Ballet Theater that she will be reprising in a couple of weeks.
Copeland told Good Morning America, “I always dreamed of becoming an ABT ballerina and through Barbie I was able to play out those dreams early on. It’s an honor to be able to inspire the next generation of kids with my very own Barbie doll.”
More importantly, the realization that there needs to be representation even in the things children dream about, and play with our culture shifts in a positive direction. Honoring women like Misty who have overcome such incredible odds is a direct inspiration to young girls who will use the doll for play time but will very much affect their real life aspirations one day.
