Shino Matsuda Barbie Doll

Barbie dolls in their line Barbie Role Models, a line dedicated to building female models in an effort to close the so-called “dream gap”, a moment in the lives of girls when, due to social pressure, they begin to doubt that they are capable to be what they set out to be.

A few days before the commemoration of International Women's Day, the American toy company Barbie launched a series of sports-inspired dolls that celebrate female role models.

The launch of the company is part of the Sheroes initiative, which pays tribute to outstanding women in different fields and the Dream Gap Project. Barbie's Dream Gap, explained by the company as a gap that exists between girls and their potential in fields that have traditionally been occupied by men, and the company seeks to share stories of women from different occupations to encourage I encourage the girls of the world to be whatever they want to be.

Tokyo 2020 and Barbie honored great athletes: the Turkish swimmer Sümeyye Boyacı, the French soccer player Amandine Henry, the Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, the British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, the Portuguese surfer Teresa Bonvalot and the German jumper Malaika Mohambo. Barbie made a figure dedicated to each of them because of her power to inspire girls, women and people in general to reach their maximum potential in the sporting field.

Shino Matsuda (17), a member of the Japanese Surf Riding Japan team that has provisionally qualified to participate in the new sport of surfing at the Tokyo Olympics, has been transformed into a costumed doll called Barbie.

This is part of a role model program started in 2015 by Mattel, the American toy maker that produces Barbie dolls. To coincide with International Women's Day on March 8, we will be creating unique Barbie dolls inspired by women active in various fields around the world to spread the message to women around the world that you can be anything. .

Matsuda is from Kanagawa and started surfing when he was 6 years old. She turned professional at age 14, and was crowned the first champion at age 16 at the Japan Open last May, a tournament to decide number one in Japan. Currently, she continues to travel abroad, focusing on tournaments around the world.

According to the Japanese corporation Mattel International, Matsuda is the only Japanese model chosen as this year's model. Last year, which marked Barbie's 60th anniversary, actor Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (86) and tennis player Naomi Osaka (22) became models, making them Japan's third Barbie models.

Matsuda, who used to play with Barbie dolls with her sisters when they were children, said: "At first I was so surprised that I thought it was a joke. I'm very happy." (Ken Murota)