Barbie unveils first doll with specific disability in 'huge step forward'
Mattel is launching its first ever Barbie doll with a specific disability, with one YouTuber and disability activist saying it 'means everything' to her.
As the Barbie movie demonstrated, there are all kinds of Barbies with all manner of professions and features, and more recently there's been a push to make Barbie more inclusive.
In 2023, the first Barbie with Down's syndrome was unveiled, and there are also dolls with wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and hearing aids.
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And now there will be a blind Barbie too.
And what's more, the doll has been specially designed to be played with by blind children and those with impaired vision.
The new doll will come with a white and red cane with a marshmallow tip, as well as sunglasses.
This Barbie has textured clothing developed to have a tactile interest so that kids with low vision or blindness can enjoy playing with it, and the doll's eyes look slightly up and outwards 'to accurately reflect the sometimes-distinct eye gaze of a blind individual'.
Barbie worked with the American Foundation for the Blind to work on the details of the doll, and even the packaging it comes in is designed to be accessible as it features braille.
Promoting the doll is disability activist Lucy Edwards, who lost her sight between the ages of 11 and 17 and has made videos raising awareness of how she does things in her life. You may have come across her YouTube channel in the past.
She's a big fan of the blind Barbie, and said: "To see the most well-known doll in the world introduce a blind Barbie makes me feel so seen.
"As a teenager, I felt isolated by losing my eyesight and not seeing role models like me.
"I was embarrassed by my cane – but knowing Barbie had a cane would have made me feel so differently about mine and helped me feel less alone on my journey to accept and embrace my blindness. It means everything to me."
This new Barbie doll also has the thumbs up from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and their director of customer advice and support Debbie Miller said: "Barbie is all about joy – about discovering and understanding the world through play – and it’s wonderful to think that children with a vision impairment can now play with a Barbie that looks like them.
"We’re so pleased with the details that have gone into designing this new Barbie, the tactile clothes as well as the cane and the sunglasses.
"It’s an acknowledgment that not everyone can see well, which means a lot to the blind and partially sighted community.
"This is a positive step forward in helping children and adults with sight loss feel like they belong and are recognised.”
Barbie's global head of dolls said their toy 'can create a sense of belonging' and was happy to welcome blind Barbie to their collection.
Joe Harker