The awareness around inclusiveness is increasing across the world with schools opting for inclusive curriculums to help children learn in an environment of equal opportunity and endless possibility. The brand Barbie, which has been a hot favorite amongst kids for years now has decided to elevate the conversation around physical disabilities by including a fashion doll line with disabilities in the June Season. As per the Barbie representative, they wanted to showcase a multidimensional view of beauty a well as fashion. They created the doll with a prosthetic limb by collaborating with a disability activist 13 years of age. For the wheelchair design they collaborated with wheelchair experts and UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and is known to be the most requested accessories from Fans of Barbie. As per Mattel the chair designed for Barbie is the ones that is used by individuals who have permanent physical disability.
The objective behind creating this dolls with disabilities is to create awareness and remove the stigma around disabilities and work towards creating an environment of inclusivity and make people understand that there is nothing wrong to have disability. As per Mizrahi, president of Respectability, a group of people that advocate disabilities said that it was important for us to reflect humanity the way it is in our culture be it products, toys and apparently everything around. She added that Barbie, by launching dolls with wheelchair and prosthetic has joined those power brands who understand that marketing and inclusion of people who have disabilities is not only right but profitable too.
The Barbie brand is trying to incorporate diversity in the dolls and hence the recent ones of 2019 fashionistas line will be seen having more realistic body types like smaller bust, more defined arms and less defined waists, to name a few. It will also add different skin and eye colors, hairstyles like braids as well as clothing. It was in 2017 when Mattel had introduced the Hijab donning Barbie and now in 2019 the toymaker is considering same gender Barbie wedding set as well.
*Sourced from the Internet
