Mattel, the manufacturer of some of America’s most iconic toys, announced Wednesday that it’s releasing the first ever transgender Barbie doll.
SO WHAT
Liberals see progress. Conservatives see indoctrination.
WHAT HAPPENED
As part of Barbie’s Tribute Collection, the doll will honor transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox ahead of her 50th birthday, CBS News reported Friday.
The doll retails for $40 and has so far been among the best-selling Barbies on Amazon, according to The Washington Post.
- “Laverne Cox uses her voice to amplify the message of moving beyond societal expectations to live more authentically. She wears a triple-threat original design, featuring a deep red tulle gown gracefully draped over a dazzling, silver metallic bodysuit. Her hair is swept into glamorous Hollywood waves while dramatic makeup completes her look,” per a description on Mattel’s website.
- Tinu Naija, a New York-based Barbie enthusiast, told the Post that the significance of the barrier-breaking toy was “bigger than even Laverne Cox herself” and “would ripple down many generations to come.”
- “The inclusion of a transgender personality for kids and adult doll collectors alike is groundbreaking,” Naiju said.
Feminists have long criticized Barbie as a symbol of American patriarchy, but in recent years, the brand has gone to great lengths to cultivate a more inclusive image.
WHY IT MATTERS
During an appearance last week on NBC’s “Today” show, Cox described her transgender Barbie as a response to Republican state laws that seek to regulate education and medical treatment of minors based on gender ideology.
- “I think this year particularly, when over 250 pieces of anti-transgender legislation have been introduced in state legislatures all over the country — targeting transgender children, LGBTQ youth,” Cox said. “I hope all the kids who are feeling stigmatized — when their health care is being jeopardized, their ability to play in sports — I hope they can see this Barbie and have a sense of hope and possibility. If they don’t see themselves in this Barbie, I hope they know that they can create spaces where they do see themselves, where they are represented, because representation matters.”
- In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the controversial Parental Rights in Education bill, which prohibits classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.
MEANWHILE: “Johnny the Walrus,” conservative commentator Matt Walsh’s children’s book criticizing gender ideology, was the best-selling book on Amazon across all categories in April.
- “‘Johnny the Walrus’ is about true self-acceptance, and at the end, both Johnny and his mom learn that you should accept yourself for who you truly are,” Walsh told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in April. “When I was a kid, the message of self-acceptance was the most common message in books; it’s what we read. Now on the left, what they foist on kids is a false self-acceptance and actually rejecting who you really are in favor of a delusion.”