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Six decades after the original Barbie hit shelves, Mattel have launched their first blind Barbie doll further making their range more inclusive and has been created in a bid to make blind and low-vision children more represented within society.
The doll holds a white and red cane with a marshmallow tip while its eye gaze faces slightly up and out to “accurately reflect the sometimes-distinct eye gaze of a blind individual”.
After conducting testing with blind and low-vision children, it was decided that the doll should be dressed in clothing with tactile fabric detailing including a pink satin T-shirt and purple tulle skirt. Details such as loop fasteners on the back of the doll’s top and elastic waistband on the skirt were created in an effort to ensure that dressing the doll is easier. The packaging is also more accessible than its standard offering and includes the word Barbie written in braille on the front of the box.
Lucy Edwards, a disability activist and broadcaster who is blind and appears in a campaign with the new Barbie, said the launch of the doll means “everything to me”, adding: “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.”
The launch is being supported in the UK by the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). “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,” said Debbie Miller, the director of customer advice and support at the charity.
