It is from the suggestions, explanations and opinions of the associations that the manufacturer has developed its new doll. With one objective: to represent a person with Down syndrome as accurately as possible.
A new Barbie will be marketed by Mattel: the very first Barbie with Down syndrome can now be purchased online in a very limited edition and will arrive on the shelves from the summer. And the physical details of this doll were not chosen at random.
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On her legs, pink braces have been fitted to the ankles, as children with Down syndrome sometimes need them. On his neck: a necklace, also pink, with three chevrons, because the genetic disorder is explained by the presence of three chromosomes on the 21st pair of chromosomes. This Barbie wears a blue and yellow dress with butterfly patterns, colors and a symbol associated with Down syndrome, we recall on the side of Mattel. The face is a little rounder than the historical Barbie, the ears smaller, the nose more flattened. And on the palms of the hands, there is only a horizontal line, another physical characteristic of a person with Down syndrome.
People with Down syndrome consulted
Mattel contacted the National Down Syndrome Society – the American name for Down Syndrome – in March 2022 to ask for their assistance in creating this Barbie. And Mattel has obviously relied heavily on the suggestions, explanations, opinions of the association with the desire to represent a person with Down syndrome as accurately as possible, even if obviously it remains a doll. The president of the association, Kandi Pickard, is satisfied with the result in any case, because she participates in the promotion of this new Barbie.
Almost 65 years after its creation, Barbie remains a reference in the toy sector. For the creation of this doll, Mattel therefore also consulted two young women with Down syndrome, and doctors also gave their opinion. Ellie Goldstein, a British model with Down syndrome, participated in the development of this Barbie, and says she is happy at the idea that children, with Down syndrome or not, will play with this doll and for some learn more about this condition while 6,000 babies with Down syndrome are born every year in the United States.
A progressive diversity
For Mattel, the question of representation and diversity weighed in the design of this Barbie, but also an economic motivation to renew itself in the face of competition. Despite her popularity, Barbie has continuously lost market share and she has also been criticized for her particular image of women. Barbie had plenty of jobs, astronaut president, but it’s only a matter of clothes: it took until 1980 to have a black and Latina version.
In 2009, Mattel created a line called Fashionistas with Barbies whose bodies differed from the historical version, not just in the outfit. A doll with hearing aids, on a wheelchair, with braces or even a Ken wearing a leg prosthesis for example. Barbie with Down syndrome is part of this line, both so that more children can recognize themselves in the dolls with which they have fun, but also so that all children play with different dolls and can understand at a young age. that the world is diverse.