Speaking as someone who has worked with toy manufacturers, probably entirely practical concerns are "stopping Mattel."
Barbie, as she is, is hugely successful. Plus she has an enormous legacy of clothing and accessories designed to fit her current frame which would not fit a different model. Rolling out a new line with different bodies, modified clothing, associated marketing and promotions, product placement in stores - that's a huge expenditure which market research shows would not pay back. People LIKE the weird unnatural Barbie. They have never bought into any of the modified "more real" dolls on the market.
Mattel is a business.
I can't help wondering if we can really expect toy manufacturers to bear the burden of the self-esteem of every single one of their customers. Surely Barbie is not the sole representation of womanhood in every child's home. And if she is, is that Mattel's fault, really...?
