“We want to do our part to address social stigma through gaming,” said Mattel Vice President Lisa McKnight.
At the moment, everyone is talking about Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” film, which has been announced for July – but now Mattel has made positive headlines itself: For the first time in the company’s history, the legendary doll manufacturer has released a Barbie doll with Down syndrome brought to market. The main aim was to make a contribution in the fight against the stigmatization of people with disabilities, the group announced on Tuesday.
The doll is built slightly smaller than other Barbie dolls and has almond-shaped eyes and a four-finger groove on the hand. She also wears a dress printed with symbols from the Down Syndrome community: yellow and blue flowers and butterflies. “Barbie plays an important role in children’s early experiences, and we want to do our part to address social stigma through play,” said Mattel Vice President Lisa McKnight. “Our goal is to make it possible for all children to see themselves in Barbie, while encouraging children to play with dolls that don’t look like themselves.”
Mattel has been trying to modernize the brand around the most famous doll in the world for several years. In 2018, the group began to make the dolls more diverse on the outside – with different body shapes and sizes, hairstyles and skin colors. Mattel also developed “new digital approaches like its own vlog” and launched new “career dolls” to celebrate Barbie’s 60th birthday, encouraging young girls to “break into other careers,” a Mattel spokeswoman said .