First blind Barbie doll released, with tactile features and a cane

Toy company Mattel has launched the first ever blind Barbie in its latest move to make the iconic doll more inclusive and represent more sections of society.

Toy company Mattel has launched the first ever blind Barbie in its latest move to make the iconic doll more inclusive and represent more sections of society.

This Barbie carries a white and red cane with a marshmallow tip and wears sunglasses on her head to provide additional eye protection, while her eye gaze has been designed to face “slightly up and out,” according to a press release shared by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), which partnered with Mattel.

The doll’s clothes have been designed using tactile fabric, such as a satiny blouse and a textured ruffle skirt, and have brightly coloured hook fasteners to make swapping them more accessible, while the packaging features braille writing.

To create a doll that is both accessible and faithfully depicts individuals with sight loss, Mattel worked with several charities including the AFB and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

“Barbie is all about joy – about discovering and understanding the world through play – and it’s wonderful to think that children with a vision impairment can now play with a Barbie that looks like them,” Debbie Miller, director of customer advice and support at the RNIB, told CNN in a statement Tuesday.

“We’re so pleased with the details that have gone into designing this new Barbie, the tactile clothes as well as the cane and the sunglasses.”

“When I was growing up I would have only dreamed for this moment to come,” activist Lucy Edwards, who is an ambassador for the doll, posted on her Instagram story Tuesday. “To be accepted so much that the most popular doll in the world now has a visual impairment and looks like me. I still can’t believe I’m typing this but blind Barbie is here.”