Mattel Releases First-Ever Autistic Barbie Doll To Champion Inclusivity, But Is There A Limit?
The autistic Barbie doll is part of the Barbie Fashionistas collection but there are questions if inclusivity can veer into exploitation.
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Mattel has unveiled its first-ever autistic Barbie doll created with guidance from the autistic community, Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). ASAN is a non-profit disability rights organization run by and for autistic people that advocates for the rights of the autistic community.
This new doll is part of the Barbie Fashionistas collection, which features a diverse range of skin tones, hair textures, body types, and various medical conditions and disabilities. Barbie dolls with type 1 diabetes, Down syndrome, and blindness are all under this line.
Here are some of the features and accessories that make the autistic Barbie doll:
- The autistic Barbie doll features elbow and wrist articulation which allows for stimming, hand flapping, and other hand gestures that some members of the autistic community use to process sensory information or express excitement.
- The doll’s eye gaze is designed shifted slightly to the side to reflect how some members of the autistic community may avoid direct eye contact.
- The doll comes with accessories like a finger clip fidget spinner that actually spins which helps reduce stress and improve focus, noise-cancelling headphones to help reduce sensory overload, and a tablet showing symbol-based Augmentative and Alternative Communication apps (AAC) which helps with everyday communication.
- The doll also wears a loose-fitting, purple pinstripe A-line dress with short sleeves and a flowy skirt to reduce fabric-to-skin contact, reflecting how some in the autistic community have skin sensitivity issues.
Is there a fine line between inclusivity and exploitation?
While the Barbie Fashionistas collection helps many children and adults feel seen and acknowledged, there have been questions whether it veers into exploitation.
Critics have accused the brand for “woke washing” or commercially exploiting its bottom line to regain market relevance than out of genuine care for the various communities represented by its dolls.
Since toys are played using imagination, some features and accessories that come with the new Barbie dolls may not make sense or reinforce stereotypes.
For example, autism has no specific look and autistic traits vary in different individuals. By giving the doll specific traits like noise-cancelling headphones or fidget spinner, it can reinforce a narrow stereotype than reflecting the full spectrum.
Mattel’s Barbie brand is also criticised for not being wholly inclusive. While the dolls may show inclusive traits and features, the other products like its games and music video collaborations are not user-friendly to those who experience hearing or vision loss.
While Mattel intends to do right with its dolls, some customers believe the company still needs to work on improving on their other products if they really champion inclusivity.
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