My Thoughts On Blind Barbie

Hello Everyone,

Today's blog post is about Mattel's new blind barbie doll. If you aren't part of the VI community, you might not have heard about it. I wanted to share my thoughts on the doll and discuss some of the criticism I've seen from blind and visually impaired people about it.

What makes "blind barbie" different?

Blind barbie is one of the two new dolls available in Mattel's fashionista line. Mattel worked with the American Foundation for the blind to get an insight of what living with sight loss is like. Along with how to make the doll's "face sculpt, fashion, accessories, packaging experience, and e-commerce communication" as accessible and usable as possible. Testing was carried out with blind and low vision children, to make the play experience authentic for children. The doll has the following features:

• "Barbie" in braille on the box
• A white long cane with red at the bottom, and  a marshmallow tip. In America this is the cane used to show someone is severely sight impaired.
• Stylish sunglasses, which people use for light sensitivity
• Textured fashion: Barbie wears a satin pink top with a textured ruffled skirt and chunky heels.
• Easy to use clothing features: Barbie's top has a high-contrast hook and loop to make fastening it easier. The skirt has an elastic waistband to make changing her clothes easier.
• Elbow Articulation: It's possible to place the cane in Barbie's hand and move her elbow around, as if she was using the cane the way cane users do in real life.
• Eye Gaze: The doll's eye gaze is facing slighlty up and out, instead of straight ahead. 

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: photo of blind Barbie with wavy brown hair, tanned skin wearing a satin pink top, light purple ruffled skirt, white sunglasses on her head and chunky white heels as shoes. She has her cane in her hand, as is if she's mid-walk in the photo.

Comments from the Community:

For the most part there has been a lot of positive comments within the blind community about the doll. On social media, I've seen that many love the idea of a blind Barbie doll for children to play with. Lucy Edwards commented "if I had blind Barbie growing up I would have loved to play with her".  It's seen as a positive representation, because as RNIB stated it's "a positive step forward in helping children and adults with sight loss feel like they belong and are recognised". I've also seen well-known content creator Molly Burke share a reaction video to Blind Barbie. Emily Davison shared her thoughts on the topic and made herself a Barbie with a guide dog at the Barbie exhibition in London.

Obviously you can't please everyone so there were negative critiques about the doll. Some people felt a blind barbie doll was a form of tokenism and virtue signalling.  They felt Mattel created a doll to show they were being inclusive for people with disabilities. As a bonus, the company would increase their profits as well. It was also argued that children don't see disability as an issue, until it's pointed out to them by society. Questions were raised like "would sighted parents buy this for their child?" and "Do children want a toy like them when they play?".

My Thoughts:

I grew up with Barbie, the animated movies were my childhood. Barbie Rapunzel, Barbie Princess and the Pauper, Barbie Swan lake, Barbie Island Princess, Barbie Diaries, Barbie and the magic of Pegasus, Barbie and the 12 dancing princesses etc were all movies I loved watching. Does anyone else remember the bloopers from those movies? In terms of the toys, I remember seeing the movie dolls being advertised on TV. So, to me the Barbie dolls were based on the movies Barbie was in. 

I'm the only one in my family with sight loss, in school I was the only child that needed a support worker in my class, the only one that had to sit by the computer when something was shown, or need resources made differently to everyone else. I was also the only one to have time away from class, go to a special room to practice touch typing, and sometimes do arts and crafts. So, I knew I was different from everyone else. The only other visually impaired children I knew were the ones I went to primary school with in the council's car, who were older and in different classes. To me it was normal to need that support, modified resources etc I didn't know any different, yet I understood I was different from other children my age. Books, Barbie movies and TV in general was the way I learnt pop culture and enjoyed entertainment. 

Personally, I feel like "Blind Barbie" is a step in the right direction. When it's just you who has a disability in your immediate circle, it's easy to think "Why me? Why am I the only one different?". Yes, it's your normal, but it's also a reflection of how different you are. I imagine for children that had to use mobility aids at a young age, this made it harder to accept that. I like how blind Barbie has a cane, I think it'll encourage children to use their cane "because Barbie does". Plus they can have Barbie move it around, like they do which is a good way to show other children how the cane is used. 

I love the tactile fashion, I know blind people in my life who have tactile clothes and accessories. It's a great way to show fashion isn't visual, you can enjoy it in other ways. The high-contrast loop and elastic skirt, are a nice way to show clothing can be made accessible. In other words, it's possible to make clothes, that everyone universally can wear independently. To me, her eye gaze is a way to show eye conditions like nystagmus where your eyes are always moving, not focusing on one thing. Lastly, the doll being part of the "fashionista" line counters the "You don't look blind" stereotype, where people expect blind and visually impaired people to look frumpy, mismatched with no fashion sense. In reality, they can look just as stylish as everyone else. 

What are your thuoghts on blind Barbie? Would you buy your child one? Should she be in one of the modern movies? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.