Autistic Barbie: A step forward?

As an autistic man, I support this — but can't forget Barbie's problematic origins.

Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film “Barbie” proved that the Mattel line of female dolls can be not only profitable, but progressive. Despite being based on a toy, “Barbie” is a thoughtful, funny and often touching reflection on gender roles, all wrapped in the sweet candy shell of a modern fairy tale.

Perhaps in this spirit, Mattel recently announced that it is releasing its first ever-autistic Barbie doll.

The doll incorporates deliberate design features meant to emulate autistic experiences, such as movable elbows and hands that accommodate stimming—repetitive movements, which many autistic people use to regulate sensory input. The doll’s accessories similarly mirror items commonly used by autistic individuals, including noise-reducing headphones, comfortable loose-fitting clothes, and a tablet equipped with augmentative and alternative communication software.

Collaborating over the course of more than 18 months with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAF), Mattel takes justifiable pride in their doll.

Yet I wonder…

Barbie remains, despite its new progressive trappings, a fundamentally retrograde product. Extensive research has been performed showing how the doll’s unrealistic body proportions can create or reinforce self-esteem issues in young girls. More broadly, Barbies are notoriously overpriced, so I suspect many of the underprivileged autistic girls who might otherwise enjoy such playtime will be literally unable to afford the experience.

At the same time, I don’t wish to put a stink on this good news. Indeed, I’m delighted by ASAF’s explanation of how they worked with Mattel.

“During our meetings with Mattel, we talked about how there are many ways that autistic people express ourselves — autism doesn’t have just one look,” ASAF writes. “While one doll won’t be able to represent every way an autistic person can be, we wanted to share some of them! We think it’s especially important for kids to see some of themselves in these dolls.”

They add, “Some of the things we thought about were articulated wrists for flapping hands, robust augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), noise cancelling headphones, and Barbie not making eye contact. Autistic women and autistics of color are under diagnosed, so we made this doll a part of both of those communities too!”

All of this is wonderful. All of these steps are strides in the right direction. Like the 2023 film “Barbie,” all of this should be celebrated, and our children should play with these toys and see these movies.

I just hope that Barbie doesn’t forget that progress is not the same thing as success. As long as Barbie dolls cultivate body image issues and are priced beyond the means of low-income children, I cannot view the franchise as a full-fledged win for progressivism.

Neurodivergent advocates can not afford, for moral and strategic reasons, to sacrifice their support for other social justice movements. Our rights as “disabled” people, who are both marginalized and exploited, intersects inevitably and irrevocably with those of every other marginalized group. There are neurodivergent women, neurodivergent Black people, neurodivergent immigrants, neurodivergent LGBTQ people. They all need our help and support not just as they struggle with neurodiversity, but as they struggle with the other ways in which they are oppressed because of their identities.

Intersectionality matters, even if it is dangerously un-chic in President Trump’s America. Thus I simultaneously applaud Barbie for creating an autistic doll, and yet hope that they will one day create dolls for every body type out there for women.

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Back Seat Socialism

Back Seat Socialism is a column by Matthew Rozsa, who has been a professional journalist for more than 13 years. Currently, he is writing a book for Beacon Press, “Neurosocialism,” which argues that autistic people like the author struggle under capitalism, and explains how neurosocialism - the distinct anticapitalist perspective one develops by living as a neurodiverse individual - can be an important organizing principle for the left.