Last night a dear friend of my daughter Emma came to dinner.
Francesca is autistic.
I had been reading comments about autistic Barbie for two days and exchanging opinions on the topic. At a certain point I thought: who better than them can give me an opinion?
I have always supported dolls that represent girls and boys who don’t recognize themselves in “classic” dolls. When Emma was one year old I read about a Spanish company that had produced a doll with Down syndrome. I bought it immediately, without having very clear ideas about whether that toy could really have any value for my daughter.
Today, however, I can say it with certainty: Sofia – as we called her – is served.
It helped Emma see herself represented.
It helped us talk about disabilities with our sister and brother.
It is useful in the game with friends, without explanations, without difficult conversations.
Through play, boys and girls they can explore the infinite nuances of human nature, get to know each other better and build a broader imagination and varied. And this happens in a fundamental moment of life: childhood.
This is why I enthusiastically welcomed the Down syndrome Barbie three years ago, and I also welcome this new autistic Barbie.
I love that tablet with augmentative and alternative communication: a tool that allows non-verbal people to express needs, desires, emotions, to communicate. Barbie is wearing headphones and holding a fidget spinner. Do all autistic people use them? No, obviously. Is this a problem? I don’t think so.
I know that many autistic people will not feel represented by this doll. Autism is not a uniquely representable community. But who, really, is? Are people with Down syndrome? Are people of a certain ethnicity? Are girls in general like that?
Representation is never perfect, it is never total. It’s one step. Sometimes small, sometimes imperfect. But when it opens up possibilities, when it broadens the imagination, when it opens up debates, then – for me – it is worth defending.
Ah, I haven’t told you what the girls said yet.
Emma told me she wasn’t the right person to ask. Not because she has Down syndrome, but because she never liked Barbies. But he still remembered Sofia.
Francesca, on the other hand, told me that she has always been a Barbie enthusiast, who had a collection of them. Then, without looking me in the eyes, but visibly moved, she said to me: “I would have liked an autistic Barbie.”
So welcome, Autistic Barbie, and thank you Mattel, Inc. and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
Martina Fuga he is President of CoorDown, the coordination of associations that promote the rights of people with Down syndrome in Italy. He is a partner of Kopernicana where he deals with training and consultancy projects on the topics of Diversity Equity & Inclusion and strategic communication.
He published “Lo backpack di Emma” for Mondadori Electa in 2014 and “Diciotto” for Salani editore in 2024.
