It’s really important for kids to see themselves reflected somewhere in the world. This is nice.
Barbie has always been non-verbal.
What is borderline exploitation for 100, Alex?
Sure kids need representation but wtf? Other than the box saying so, which is promptly trashed how are these any different than any other barbie? Kids with autism can just apply that attribute to any doll. This is just a cash grab.
Jolanta Lasota, the chief executive of Ambitious about Autism, said: “Theoretically any Barbie can be reimagined as autistic, because autism doesn’t have one look. But representation is powerful and Barbie is an iconic toy, so we hope many autistic children feel pride at seeing some of their experiences reflected in this new doll.
Per the article, they tweaked the eyes so they look away slightly, made sure to use one of their fully articulated sculpts so she can move her arms to allow role-play of stimming, dressed her in clothes that would be loose and comfy, and gave her a fidget spinner, noise-canceling headphones, and augmentive-communication tablet.
To a certain extent, every Barbie is a cash grab, but this doesn’t seem any worse than average, and not every family is going to take it as their mission to rise above every consumerist influence in their lives.
Autistic chicks need body image issues too…! Jesus, while it’s good there’s more inclusiveness it’d be nice if that inclusiveness was real and not a transparent cash grab from the incredibly sexist doll company…
Marketing wise, great choice. This will get loads of attention of both haters and people embracing inclusiveness, whilst requiring little product development.
Wasn’t the point of Barbie to use your imagination?
Same with Lego, but we’re seeing more and more Minifigs with clear and visible disabilities (which isn’t a bad thing).
Now there are face prints with hearing aids, Minifigs with prosthetics limbs, more wheelchair (and new crutches) accessories being included in sets, etc.; and the main character in the new Dreamzzz theme has vitiligo, along with another character in the theme wearing braces (the big full-face kind).
No the point of it was to enforce cultural norms
Countdown to MAGA outrage…
Next up is vaccinated Barbie.
But what about ugly barbie, for those ugly kids who wanna be included too?
