Toy giant Mattel has taken a significant step towards inclusivity by introducing its first-ever Barbie doll designed for children with visual impairments. The new Barbie features a white cane with a red tip, eyeglasses, and a unique eye gaze that accurately represents individuals with blindness or low vision.
In collaboration with the American Foundation for the Blind, Mattel has meticulously ensured the doll's authenticity, including textured clothing and Braille packaging.
The doll's design has been met with widespread praise, with disability activists hailing it as a groundbreaking moment for representation.
Lucy Edwards, a broadcaster and disability activist from Birmingham who lost her sight at 17, appears in a promotion for the new doll. "I was embarrassed by my cane, but seeing Barbie with a cane would have made me feel differently about mine and helped me feel less alone in accepting and embracing my blindness," Edwards told the BBC.
In a statement to CNN, Debbie Miller from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) praised the introduction of a Barbie that reflects children with visual impairments.
Mattel has partnered with RNIB to create a doll that authentically represents people who are blind. This move comes after years of criticism over the unrealistic proportions of its dolls, which were seen as perpetuating traditional beauty standards. In response to declining sales, Mattel began producing a more diverse range of Barbies in 2016.
Three years later, the company launched the Barbie Fashionistas range, featuring dolls with wheelchairs, prosthetic legs, hearing aids, and the skin condition vitiligo.
In addition to introducing its first blind doll in the Barbie Fashionistas 2024 series, Barbie has reestablished its partnership with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) this year to unveil a new model—Black Barbie with Down syndrome.
