Barbie Introduces Doll With Diabetes; Comes With Glucose Monitor, Insulin Pump

Toy manufacturing giant Mattel recently introduced a Barbie doll with Type 1 diabetes, saying it has been designed "to enable more children to see themselves reflected and encourage doll play that extends beyond a child’s lived experience." The figurine comes with a pink continuous glucose monitor (CGM), an insulin pump, a mobile phone with a CGM app, and a little blue purse.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks and destroys the cells that make insulin in the pancreas. It is often diagnosed in childhood, and patients have to monitor their glucose levels and take insulin every day.

Announcing the new toy, Krista Berger, senior vice-president of Barbie and global head of dolls, told The Guardian, “Barbie helps shape children’s early perceptions of the world, and by reflecting medical conditions like T1D, we ensure more kids can see themselves in the stories they imagine and the dolls they love.” 

The new Barbie doll has been designed in partnership with the type 1 diabetes non-profit organisation, Breakthrough T1D. Karen Addington, CEO of the organisation, said, “For children with T1D who don’t often see themselves represented, this doll will be a powerful role model, celebrating their strength and bringing recognition, inclusion, and joy to their play.”

Barbie With Down Syndrome

Barbie has always been a point of feminist debate for its unrealistic representation of women. From setting unrealistic beauty standards to sexualisation and objectification, Barbie has survived a lot of backlash since its launch in 1959. To overcome the many criticisms over the years, Mattel has been becoming more inclusive in terms of creating new Barbie models.

In 2023, Mattel introduced the first-ever Barbie, representing a person with Down syndrome, with the aim of being inclusive of children with the condition. It seeks to diversify its representation of beauty and fight the stigma surrounding the genetic condition.

For the unversed, Down syndrome is a genetic condition that affects cognition and leads to mild to severe learning disabilities. People with the condition also have distinctive facial features.

The doll wears a pink pendant necklace with three upward chevrons, a symbol that unites the Down syndrome community and represents the three copies of the 21st chromosome, which is the genetic material that causes Down syndrome.

It was created after working closely with the National Down Syndrome Society on shaping the doll’s features and designing the clothing, accessories, and packaging to ensure that the representation is accurate.

A month after Mattel introduced Barbie with Down Syndrome, a video of a 16-year-old girl with Down Syndrome reacting to seeing the doll went viral on the internet. A user named Sarah Carollyn took to her Instagram handle to share a short video of her sister’s reaction to seeing the new Barbie with Down Syndrome. She wrote, "For the first time in 16 years, she finally sees a Barbie that looks like her!"

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Barbie, which was traditionally a slim, fair-skinned, tall, blonde-haired doll with so-called "perfect features," has been called out numerous times for its unrealistic representation of beauty. So, Mattel began making Barbie dolls of various skin colours, sizes, and ethnicities. Earlier, Mattel made Barbie dolls with prosthetic legs, hearing aids, wheelchairs, and the skin condition Vitiligo.