Mattel adds an autistic Barbie to doll line devoted to showcasing diversity and inclusion

[orangecrush]

Mattel Inc. is introducing an autistic Barbie on Monday as the newest member of its line intended to celebrate diversity, joining a collection that already includes Barbies with Down syndrome, a blind Barbie, a Barbie and a Ken with vitiligo, and other models the toymaker added to make its fashion dolls more inclusive.

Mattel said it developed the autistic doll over more than 18 months in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights and better media representation of people with autism. The goal: to create a Barbie that reflected some of the ways autistic people may experience and process the world around them, according to a Mattel news release.

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/mattel-adds-autistic-barbie-doll-line-devoted-showcasing-diversity-inc-rcna253571

[Jilly_in_VA]

1. Just one question

How do you make an "autistic" Barbie when the stupid doll doesn't walk or talk?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. It's in the article

That was a challenge because autism encompasses a broad range of behaviors and difficulties that vary widely in degree, and many of the traits associated with the disorder are not immediately visible, according to Noor Pervez, who is the Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s community engagement manager and worked closely with Mattel on the Barbie prototype.

Like many disabilities, “autism doesn’t look any one way,” Pervez said. “But we can try and show some of the ways that autism expresses itself.”

For example, the eyes of the new Barbie shift slightly to the side to represent how some people with autism sometimes avoid direct eye contact, he said. The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some autistic people use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel.

The development team debated whether to dress the doll in a tight or a loose-fitting outfit, Pervez said. Some autistic people wear loose clothes because they are sensitive to the feel of fabric seams, while others wear figure-hugging garments to give them a sense of where their bodies are, he said.

[Bluetus]

3. I find this thoroughly disgusting

Most autistic people look just like anyone else. One doesn't really notice a difference until one takes time to get to know them. At that point, one might find that they process information differently and don't have as much sensitivity to social graces. And in many cases, they are brilliant in somewhat narrow fields.

Fuck the whole Barbie world, that has always existed to encourage us to judge each other based on external appearance. Fuck all of them. This is really sickening. And how does this "Autism self-advocacy network" (whatever that is) think they are helping in our understanding and support of people on the autistic spectrum?

[Ilsa]

5. As the mother of an autistic son, I'm willing to give this a chance.

Yes, this one may have physical symptoms, but maybe a child can pretend that a typical barbie is on the spectrum and relatable to the autistic-styled doll. A child can learn acceptance of differences with early exposure. I won't pass judgment on it before I see it and hear how children react. If Sesame Street can manage it, maybe Mattel can too.

[Bluetus]

6. Well, the entire Barbie brand has always been about celebrating women who look "just right"

and putting down the other 99.99% I find it appalling that they are now saying , "OK, look at her eyes, See how Autism Barbie's eyes are different?"

[JI7]

11. They make barbies for just about every country and culture

[JI7]

12. It's a toy.

[Timeflyer]

4. Good. Girls with autism went undiagnosed for years. Recognizing their existence, celebrating it with a doll,

acknowledges a segment of the population that was ignored/ostracized for decades. If one family member, who has trouble accepting the diagnosis that a loved child is on the spectrum, gains some understanding, then this is okay, this is a positive.

[orangecrush]

7. Thank you, I agree

[Tree Lady]

10. I just got diagnosed with adhd

1 1/2 yrs ago and I am almost 70 this summer. I didn’t get assessed to get meds, as I am too old to take them but I just wanted to know to explain my whole life to me. I was told I was anxious, got in trouble in school for talking too much, but other than that I was shy, couldn’t pay attention or sit still. I still have hard time with that.

My brother has adhd and got all the attention and help, they ignored me. No one cared my grades after elementary school went down from A’s to mostly C’s. I never made it to college because test taking was hard for me.

I used to wonder if I was dumb, but then I went back to business school at 29 and got straight A’s as it was small classes and we worked together. I always had a hard time all my working career in offices because I had to sit for hours doing boring work and back then bosses were strict you couldn’t talk with people around you.

After we semi retired I had some part time jobs not in an office where I did much better especially if I worked alone.

If I had a do over I would go into research. Or have a job working from home where I can move around.

[DoBW]

8. best opinions will

come from little girls who get the dolls

[orangecrush]

9. Truth

[USS_Dauntless]

13. Cue the shrieking from the conservative culture warriors.

And the conservative cockroaches like Assmongold.

[Jack Valentino]

14. OMG! MAGGOT HEADS EXPLODE in "3...2...1..."

(not that this isn't something I would like to see happen--- LITERALLY
to every single one of them--- brain matter all over their TV screens
and the elimination of their comments and VOTES from the public discourse!)

A more realistic possibility could be that a significant number of them
could "stroke out" over the news--- that wouldn't break my heart.

As retiring Iowa maggot Senator Joni Ernst very correctly informed us,
'everybody dies'