Mattel unveils Jane Goodall Barbie, complete with chimp
![](https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/mattel.jpg)
British primatologist Jane Goodall holds a Barbie doll in her likeness in this undated photo.
7:30 JST, July 20, 2022
WASHINGTON (AFP-Jiji) — American toy manufacturer Mattel has unveiled new specialty Barbie dolls modeled after the famous English primatologist Jane Goodall and her beloved research specimen, a chimpanzee named David Greybeard.
The Goodall doll, which Mattel says will be partly made with recycled plastic, sports the researcher’s classic beige collared shirt and shorts, as well as a pair of binoculars and a blue notebook.
David Greybeard was the chimpanzee on whom Goodall wrote her initial research papers, which documented for the first time the species’ usage of tools.
“I’d been suggesting for a long time that girls don’t want just to be film stars and things like that,” said Goodall in a promotional video.
“Many of them, like me, want to be out in nature studying animals.”
The new Barbie is the latest in a series of dolls Mattel has dedicated to feminist or other inspirational icons.
Before Goodall, the toymaker had produced dolls modeled off tennis star Naomi Osaka, the cocreator of AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine Sarah Gilbert and an anonymous female “robotics engineer.”
“My heroes, my models were Tarzan, Dr. Dolittle,” said Goodall.
“There weren’t women doing the kind of things I wanted to do … so in all my dreams, I was a man.”
To all the little girls who like her would like to be changemakers, the primatologist recommends to “go for a walk in nature, learn to love it and then protect it.”
"Science & Nature" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Project to Mass Produce Japanese Glass Eels Succeeds in Reducing Costs; Pilot Scheme Brings Down Costs to ¥1,800 Per Fish
-
Namibia Fossil is ‘Swamp Thing’ with Menacing Fangs
-
Drones, Smartphones to Be Used to Assess Flood Damage; Cabinet Office Approves Tech to Speed up Disaster Certificate Issuance
-
3rd H3 Rocket Launched Successfully; Daichi-4 Satellite Shot into Orbit (UPDATE 2)
-
Japan to Promote Development of New Research Reactors to Achieve Decarbonization; Ministry Eyes Nuclear Power as ‘Leading Option’
JN ACCESS RANKING