'Representation matters': Barbie launches first doll with type 1 diabetes

Doll with insulin pump and glucose monitor is latest in range designed ‘to enable more children to see themselves’


The doll wears an insulin pump and holds a bag big enough for any essentials such as snacks that she might need. Photograph: Mattel/PA

In Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, Barbieland is a haven of equality and diversity. But although the dolls have been around since 1959, it was only in 2019 that the manufacturer, Mattel, started selling Barbies with physical disabilities. Mattel has now launched its first Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes, the latest addition to a range it says has been designed “to enable more children to see themselves reflected and encourage doll play that extends beyond a child’s lived experience”. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. It is often diagnosed in childhood, and patients have to monitor their glucose levels and take insulin every day.

The new Barbie has been designed in partnership with the global type 1 diabetes not-for-profit Breakthrough T1D. The doll wears a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) on her arm to help manage her condition, and to keep it in place she uses (Barbie pink) heart-shaped medical tape. Barbie also carries a mobile phone with a CGM app to help track her blood sugar levels throughout the day.

The doll wears an insulin pump, providing Barbie with automated insulin dosing as needed, and holds a bag big enough for any essentials such as snacks that she might need while out and about. Announcing the new doll, Krista Berger, senior vice-president of Barbie and global head of dolls, said it marked “an important step in our commitment to inclusivity and representation”.

“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.” Karen Addington, CEO of Breakthrough T1D UK, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Barbie now includes a doll with type 1 diabetes. 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.”

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/08/barbie-launches-first-doll-with-type-1-diabetes

I want MIGRAINE BARBIE.