Mattel introduces first Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome

Agencies | London                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Mattel on Tuesday introduced its first-ever version of the Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome.

The new doll is part of the Mattel Barbie Fashionistas line, which aims to offer kids more diverse representations of beauty and fight the stigma around physical disabilities.

Previous Barbie Fashionistas have included a doll with a prosthetic leg, one with hearing aids, another that comes with a wheelchair, and a doll with the skin condition vitiligo, which causes patches of skin to lose their pigment.

For the newest Barbie Fashionista, Mattel said it closely worked with the National Down Syndrome Society on the doll’s shape, features, clothing, accessory and packaging to ensure that it accurately represents a person with Down syndrome.

The genetic condition affects cognitive ability, causing mild to severe learning disabilities and distinctive facial characteristics.

“This means so much for our community, who for the first time, can play with a Barbie doll that looks like them,” Kandi Pickard, NDSS president and CEO said in a statement.