Barbie is a big deal, both as an icon and an empire. And since the world’s most famous doll hit the market in 1959, she has been revamped and recreated hundreds of times to represent women of different styles, races, professions and abilities — and has made its creator billions of dollars.
But a Barbie doll released this week has sparked an important discussion about what representation looks like when it comes in plastic form.
Toymaker Mattel unveiled its autistic Barbie on Monday, with an array of features that are meant to depict visual characteristics and accommodation accessories attributed to people on autism disorder spectrum — all of which were decided on after extensive consultations with the Autism Self Advocacy Network.
Children diagnosed with autism make up a small percentage of the population — just two per cent in this country, according to available data from Statistics Canada.
And there aren’t many widely available toys on the market for children — or adults who are kids at heart — to point to and see themselves and their traits materialized.
It’s “so important and such a cultural moment” for people like Vancouver Island-based social media influencer Katherine L’Etang, the mother of two autistic children who was diagnosed herself later in life.
The 34-year-old is not alone in celebrating the arrival of a doll that shares similarities to her and her young daughter. But many others feel that Mattel missed the mark and that an autistic Barbie could serve to further stereotypes and misconceptions about a disability that is often invisible.
‘Being seen for the first time’
L’Etang shared a video on her Instagram account showing the excitement in her household when she presented the new Barbie to her six-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son.
It’s not just because the doll was designed with traits exhibited by some — but not all — autistic people in mind, but the very fact that the word “autistic” is right there on the box “feels like being seen for the first time,” she said, holding up her own autistic Barbie doll.
L’Etang, who is also the author of the upcoming book Actually, I’m Autistic, has a paid partnership with Mattel for the doll’s release, but she was not involved in its development.
She told CBC News she has spoken with other parents about how the doll could be used to help have conversations with children about how there’s a name for what they’re experiencing, using a physical representation of why they may not like tight clothes or struggle with noisy environments.
Any Barbie could be autistic
But those depictions are exactly why some autistic people and parents of autistic children aren’t sold on buying this particular Barbie.
Comments on the Autism Self Advocacy Network’s Facebook page were mixed, with some suggesting that Mattel relied too heavily on having the Barbie “look” autistic and presenting a one-size-fits-all doll.
“You cannot tell by looking at someone whether they are autistic,” said Julie M. Green of Kingston, Ont. “In fact, you know, any Barbie could be autistic Barbie.”
Green is the the 49-year-old mother of a teenage boy who was diagnosed with autism as a child, but she also received her own diagnosis about five years ago. She has written a book about her experiences, titled Motherness.
She compliments the toymaker’s effort, especially if it’s “going to help children feel more included,” but she’s not jumping for joy about some of the doll’s features.
For example, Green said, the decision to have the doll’s eyes looking away to represent some autistic people’s aversion to eye contact can be problematic as it’s not a universal trait.
Similarly, not everyone makes gestures like flapping or stimming or needs to wear noise-cancelling headphones.
Edmonton AM7:26Mattel launches its first ever autistic Barbie doll
Green suggests it may have been “more inclusive” to have simply created a broader line of Barbie accessories that autistic children could use to customize the dolls in a way that represents themselves.
A better representation of inclusion, she said, would be having Barbies with more diverse body types that, again, could be personally customized to represent autistic people.
Mattel released the autistic Barbie as part of an existing line of dolls that showcase physical disabilities or reflect distinct characteristic associated with Down syndrome. The Fashionista line, as it’s called, also included ‘curvy,’ tall and ‘petite’ Barbies.
Mattel has unveiled its first Barbie with Down syndrome. British model Ellie Goldstein says: ‘It’s beautiful and I love it to pieces.’
A ‘palatable’ look
Kristyn Sommer, a developmental science researcher based in Gold Coast, Australia, expressed similar concerns in an Instagram reel posted on Monday, suggesting the new Barbie risks creating an expectation for how an autistic child should look — and one that is “palatable.”
“It presents a really common trope in media that there is only one version of autistic girls, and it is the cute, quirky, manic pixie dream girl,” she said.
Sommer, like Green and L’Etang, is a late-diagnosed autistic woman raising an autistic child.
She also points out that some of the accessories, like the fidget spinner and the headphones, aren’t unique to autistic children.
But Sommer said she was happy to see the incorporation of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps on autistic Barbie’s pink tablet.
“That is showing representation of a group of autistic people that don’t get as much representation because typically AAC device users are a higher support needs group,” she said.
Despite the divided opinions, Sommer said she feels the online discourse surrounding autistic Barbie has been “really valuable.”
But she is concerned that wider conversations about how autism is represented will “evaporate” once the hype dies down.
Green, however, said she hopes this will push other companies to think about greater inclusion of autistic children in their product lines, even if they don’t always get it exactly right.
“I am, like, hesitant to be super critical of their attempts because I feel like it’s better than not doing anything,” she said.
Canada now has its own version of The Assembly, a show that pairs autistic and neurodivergent interviewers with celebrities. But what do members of Canada’s neurodivergent communities think of the show when it comes to accurate representation?
