Go Bald, Barbie

A Facebook campaign asking Mattel to consider a bald Barbie to inspire hope in girls with cancer has taken off in a big way this week, and that's a wonderful thing, writes Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon. This would be bold new territory for the icon, and Mattel has been non-committal in its responses so far. Go for it, writes Williams, who thinks the doll would be a "runaway hit" with older women losing their hair, too.

Barbie, after all, is happy and hopeful, and girls look up to that more than her fab accessories and impossible proportions. "A doll that represents possibility, to both children and adults facing the pain of disease and the day-to-day ordeal of looking different, would be so much more than beautiful," writes Williams. "She’d be a beacon of joy. She’d be perfect." Read the full column here. (More Barbie stories.)