My initial thoughts on Mattel’s newest doll. Comment with your thoughts.

As a child, I loved to line up my dolls by size, color, texture, or personality, and I loved chewing on their hair or feet, even though it made me very upset when they were ruined. I also loved accessories, especially if they were somehow functional. Articulated joints were a huge plus.

While I’m fully behind more autism representation, I wonder if we’ve lost the plot by pasting one-size-fits-all accommodations onto a specific Barbie. Do I need to wear my headphones all the time to be recognized as autistic? I can make eye contact. Sometimes, in fact, I make too much eye contact. I would hate wearing this dress. Should I be on flat feet? Will they make an autistic Ken? That feels weird to me, like infantilizing, so is autistic Barbie also infantilizing?

The wonderful thing about Barbie is that anyone can be her. The imagination and play is the whole point. I think I would have preferred an accessory kit rather than a whole “this is autism” Barbie. What do you think?

#autismacceptance #Barbie #autistic @mattel