A few years ago, Mattel released a limited line of "Ella" Barbie dolls, to be distributed to children in cancer wards all across the U.S.
Just like some of the young children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer treatment, these dolls were bald, and came with sets of little wigs.
They helped promote meaningful play for the children, and greatly boosted their sense of confidence and identity.
These dolls aren't sold in retail stores, but are still manufactured today in the country for distribution.
Recently, 8-year-old cancer survivor Jordyn Miller, who is from Australia, started an online campaign with the help of her mom, Tarin. Together, they're trying to persuade Mattel to bring the bald Ella dolls to Australia.
The toy company has yet to made an official statement, but we hope that, like Lego — which recently made new minifigures in wheelchairs — Mattel will continue to make more amazing body-positive dolls for kids everywhere.
Scroll on to read about Jordyn's journey, and her message for Mattel, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
[H/T: The Daily Telegraph]
Eight-year-old Jordyn Miller first received treatment for cancer four years ago.
Doctors had found a tumor on her kidney, and immediately administered rounds of chemotherapy for Jordyn.
After Jordyn returned to school, however, she was badly bullied by fellow students.
“When Jordyn started kindergarten, she was teased at school,” mom Tarin Miller told The Daily Telegraph.
“She was told she looked ugly and that she looked like a boy in a girl’s dress, so it was pretty devastating.”
Fast-forward to 2016 — Jordyn has been completely cancer-free for three years now.
Today, Jordyn (far left) is hoping to use her experience to help raise awareness about the hardship that other kids suffering from cancer have to go through.
One month ago, Jordyn started an online petition with the help of her mother.
“Getting cancer was so scary and I was so confused about why I looked different. All my girlie toys and favorite movie characters had long hair, but I had none,” Jordyn wrote.
“Mom said kids in cancer wards in America were given bald Barbies to play with, which made them happy. I want the same to happen in Australia. I think it would help a lot of sick and sad kids.”
She’s talking, of course, about Mattel’s “Ella” Barbie doll.
In 2013, Mattel created Ella, a new friend of Barbie’s, as part of a national campaign to create a bald doll for sick children.
Children’s hospitals all across the U.S. could order the Ella doll for their younger patients.
As recently as July of last year, CureSearch — an organization that helps create treatments for children with cancer — partnered with Mattel to bring even more Ella Barbies to kids with cancer.
Now, Jordyn is asking for Ella dolls to be made available in Australia, too, so that little girls in cancer wards can know that they’re beautiful and strong, with or without hair.
“[The doctors] teach the kids all about chemotherapy and what it’s doing to their bodies internally,” mom Tarin told BuzzFeed News.
“But nothing prepares them for what usually happens to them physically.”
With the petition — which has gathered 7,700 signatures — Jordyn is hoping that Ella Barbies will become widely distributed across children’s wards in Australia.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Mattel has already donated dolls to the Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash University in Victoria, Australia, for distribution.
Even though this is a great step forward, Tarin and Jordyn would like to see the bald Barbie dolls to eventually be available for all kids, whether they have cancer or not.
“It’s just so [the kids] know that it’s normal; that it’s a part of life,” Tarin told BuzzFeed News.
“You don’t have to have beautiful long Disney princess hair to be beautiful.”
Mattel has yet to make official steps to make the Ella dolls more widely available in Australia. But we hope that with the support of a few thousand more people, the company will take this cause more urgently to heart.
Click here to visit Jordyn’s online Change.org campaign page, and to lend your support!
Please SHARE if you think all kids deserve to feel beautiful and strong!
