She's MY Barbie
"All of these women are Barbie, and Barbie is all of these women" - Barbie Movie
This the only thing I have to say about the autistic Barbie push back:
"Well I'm not like that and I'm offended that autism is being represented like this" is ableist as fuck.
There are women who ARE like that and they deserve representation. Just because it doesn't represent YOU doesn't mean it doesn't get to exist. SOME STEREOTYPES EXIST FOR A REASON. If it's considered stereotype, it's because it happens often enough. The difference is, these stereotypes are always viewed as negatively and your pushback is just confirming that there is something "wrong" with her expression, headphones, fidget spinner, AAC, etc.
Linked here is a post from a mother whose (adult) daughter saw herself represented in this Barbie. Are you going to tell this woman that this Barbie is wrong? Everything you are saying against this Barbie is being said against Brooke.
CHECK YOUR ABLEISM
No, I won’t be taking arguments on this because I don’t allow eugenics and ableism on my page. I also want to remind everyone that this is doll is made for children. You are not at target demographic. So whatever lessons you think this doll needs to teach, remember that we are teaching 5 year olds, not 50 year olds. 50 year olds have the internet. 5-year-olds have dolls to spark their imagination and independent perspectives on diversity. This doll is perfectly developmentally appropriate from a Child Development standpoint, thank you very much ( reminder to new followers on my page, I’m a child development professional with over 25 years experience)
It is literally fucking impossible to represent all autistic people. It is literally impossible to represent 99.99% of what we experience in a fucking DOLL. It is a goddamn DOLL. It is meant as a base for one's imagination. It is meant as a tool, not to teach the complete lesson.
I really saw a post going "well it doesn't represent how we are dismissed". How the fuck are you going to represent dismissal in a fucking doll? Poverty? Vocal stimming or the rest of the list of things that happen inside the fucking mind and in society? It's impossible!
When I posted this on my Facebook page, I got a comment saying isn't this just Mattel capitalizing off of disability (paraphrased)? I answered that to me it's no different than them having one that is in a wheelchair. Why not have an autistic barbie? Autistic people are different and we do have things that set us apart from Stereotypical Barbie, so showing that is just more inclusivity and diversity. Is it trying to profit from multiculturalism to have a Korean Barbie? At least this autistic Barbie will be widely available. (Good luck finding a Korean one)
Barbie's entire purpose when it began was to showcase that Barbie can be anyone and anyone can be Barbie. That includes autistic people. That include people in a wheelchair. That includes people who need cochlear implants. That include blind people. Why not autistic people, too? There are things that set us apart from others, and there's no reason not to show it. Just like there's something about me being Korean that sets me apart from Stereotypical Barbie.
Had it been developed with Autism Speaks Over Autistics (I've corrected their name 😉) I would have had a completely different attitude towards it. But this Barbie was developed in partnership with ASAN or Autistic Self Advocacy Network- so by autistic people. We aren't a monolith but at least the correct demographic was being asked.
This is what a group of autistic people said, so who am I to tell them differently just because I'm not like them? The entire point is that we are a spectrum 🙂
It is impossible to put a spectrum in doll form. But we can put very common parts of the spectrum and parts that deserve to be celebrated and normalized in a doll.
This doll is just the start. This doll is also the first time that I saw somebody like me being represented at all. So what if it's not perfect? This is the first time in my life I'm seeing myself represented in a way that empowers me.
Maybe some of y'all need to go back and watch the Barbie movie. "We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they’ve come."
THIS is how far our daughters have come and you don't get to take that away from us just because it's how you want to be represented
I'm perfectly happy being represented like this. It is a great start.
Who's to say there can't be another Barbie that represents another aspect of autism? What's stopping you from joining Mattel as one of their developers if it's that important to you?
What's stopping you from creating a doll that represents autism the way you want it represented? Tiffany Hammond of Fidgets and Fries helped develop Twyla Monster High, another autistic doll.
Lammily has been making inclusive dolls since my child was a child. I got her one. See if they have a job opening.
What's stopping you from making the change in this world that you want to see? Barbie is not the end all and be all.
Just because it's not exactly how you want it to be does not mean that it doesn't get to exist. That the people who it does represent don't deserve representation just because it makes you uncomfortable. That is a very dangerous slippery slope that I have spent my entire life fighting against.
You're worried about what this doll is teaching children? I'm worried about what your attitude about this doll is teaching children. That's a hell of a lot more dangerous.
I have walked Dachau with my own two feet. I've seen where this attitude against autistic features leads. The fucking gas chamber
It Starts With Thomas. It Ends With You
Why we stop microaggressions before they become overt aggression. From TV shows to "Alligator Alcatraz".
Quote: If you allow the microaggressions, you are paving the way for the overt
More than ever we need to remember that the Nazis started with autistics. Google Hans Asperger and learn something about why we're not playing this game. Because we know where it ends
What would you have done in 1930s Germany is no longer thought exercise. It is our new reality and this is how I'm answering the question "what am I doing in 2020s America?"
How are you going to answer it? With more ableism? Or are you going to check your internalized biases, ableism, and eugenics, and do better?
You don't have to like the Barbie but just because it's not for YOU does not mean it's not for SOMEONE. They matter, too. I wrote this article about internet content, but honestly it applies to anything in this world that you don't like:
➡️Maybe It's Not For You 🤷🏻♀️
Not everything on the internet is for you, so what do we do when it's not?
Quote: If it's not harmful, you are not the authority on what is allowed on the internet. If you see something that you don't like, they aren't talking to you. It's not about you. Which means you don't have anything to say.
”If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all” Thumper