Barbie Fever
by Alexis Van Fleet
Matell launched a new Autistic Barbie doll this month and the socials lit up! A lot of people have had some intense feelings about it. As someone still finding my feet in the neurodiverse community, here are some of my thoughts about our new plastic sister.
Introducing the social model to the masses
The social model of disability flips the script. It says that people are disabled by the barriers they face from society, not broken bodies. The idea emerged from Mike Oliver's work as a British sociologist and disability activist in the 1970s, but let's be real, the medical and charity models still dominate 50 years later! Have you ever felt like you are the problem or you're treated like a pity project? That’s the outdated models. Autistic Barbie ever so subtly resists those models. She shows we exist, we use supports like her fidgets and comms device, and we don’t need curing or coddling.
Disability or Identity first language
Mattel chose identity first language, after consultation with autistic representatives aka "Autistic Barbie" and not person first language "Barbie with Autism". For many, autism is not something that we set aside or put second, rather it is core to our identity. To know the significance of this difference in language, Mattel must have been listening which is huge in an ableist world where disabled people are often dismissed. It's powerful that Mattel worked with ASAN (Autistic Self Advocacy Network), an American nonprofit with the motto "“Nothing About Us Without Us”. As we know "consultation" can be vague and tokenistic, but in this case, it seems like autistic input was actually valued.
Now some folks have said that Mattel could have just launched an accessibility kit instead, like headphones, sensory friendly clothing and fidgets, that could be added to any existing Barbie. But by launching a standalone Autistic Barbie, it’s showing that whilst we might look like every other Barbie out there, Autism is part of our identity and not just when we add headphones. This challenges the idea that autism needs fixing—and that’s exactly the message the world needs.
Autism across gender and culture
Two things stand out here. One, Autistic Barbie is a girl, and two, Barbie is represented as a person of colour. As autistics, we know there are many girls, women and gender diverse community members. We also know that autism exists across all races and cultures. But outside of our community, autism is often portrayed through stereotyped characters such as Rain man or Sheldon Cooper… white, male, eccentric, genius. Creating this doll gives representation to the many (estimated to be 80%) undiagnosed, misdiagnosed and late diagnosed autistic women and gender diverse people, telling the world yes, we are autistic too. Creating a doll of colour also highlights that this is not just a white experience, people of colour are also autistic. These truths may seem obvious to us, but outside of the autism world, they could be revelatory.
As autistics, we can live in an autism bubble. I know for myself we have an autistic household, my socials are full of neurodivergent creators, I run a neurodivergent support group, I study disability and most of my friends are neurodivergent. I see the world through an autistic lens and I value and respect my people. But five years ago? Autism was just a word I’d heard in passing that affected "other" people. Autistic Barbie could be a bridge of curiosity between our world and the neurotypical world.
Autistic Barbie isn't a perfect representation of the entire autism spectrum. And she isn't going to solve the challenges we face as autistics in a neurotypical world. But she might just spark some folks to get curious about what an Autistic life really looks like. Acknowledging that there are some horrific trolls out there, most folks aren’t malicious, they’re just uninformed. Let's call people in, not out, of our community, creating space for growth (I know I need that), understanding, and lasting allyship.
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