Skip to content
1981
Disability and Popular Culture
  • ISSN: 2045-5852
  • E-ISSN: 2045-5860

Abstract

This article examines how disability is represented, portrayed and marketed through the popular culture icon, Barbie. Barbie celebrated her 65th birthday in 2024 and the iconic doll has come a long way to include disabled people as part of global commodified culture. Barbie’s portrayal of disability has evolved – from her school friend Share-a-Smile Becky in 1996, to Barbie herself as a para-Alpine skier in 2021, bearing the doll’s classic slogan ‘You can be anything!’ inside the pink cardboard box. Despite the criticism of the doll’s hyperfeminized appearance and glamorization of disability and medical conditions, the evolution of Barbie reflects the changes in disability narratives through toys as a form of popular culture. Through the lens of critical disability/feminist theory, we investigate how Barbie, through changing portrayals of disability, shapes attitudes towards disability. We ask this question: how do toys introduce disability as part of human diversity and disability activism, to challenge the medical discourse on normative bodies, in the Global South? We include the Global South perspective by reflecting on previous disability studies in the region and interviewing Indonesian young adults to discuss how disability is understood and communicated through toys and representation.

© 2025 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/ajpc_00116_1
2026-01-31
2026-04-17

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Adriany, V. (2018), ‘Being a princess: Young children’s negotiation of femininities in a kindergarten classroom in Indonesia’, Gender and Education, 31:6, pp. 724–41, https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2018.1496229.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Ahmed, J. U., Ananya, A. T., Mim, K. P., Ahmed, A. and Iqbal, S. (2020), ‘Barbie in a wheelchair: Mattel’s respect to customer voice’, FIIB Business Review, 9:3, pp. 181–86, https://doi.org/10.1177/2319714520914210.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Ali, L. and Jones, S. (2025), ‘“It represents her in play” parental and child views on toys that represent disability’, Equity in Education & Society, 4:3, pp. 371–82, https://doi.org/10.1177/27526461241235942.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Allee-Herndon, K. A. and Roberts, S. K. (2020), ‘The power of purposeful play in primary grades: Adjusting pedagogy for children’s needs and academic gains’, Journal of Education, 201:1, pp. 54–63, https://doi.org/10.1177/0022057420903272.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Anindya, J. (2016), ‘Fulla’s and Barbie’s images in relation to women’s beauty and cultural difference’, Paradigma, Jurnal Kajian Budaya, 3:2, p. 158, https://doi.org/10.17510/paradigma.v3i2.41.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Ciot, M. and Van Hove, G. (2010), ‘Romanian approach to media portrayals of disability’, Disability & Society, 25:5, pp. 525–38, https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2010.489291.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. CNN and Dolan, L. (2022), ‘Barbie unveils its first-ever doll with hearing aids’, 11 May, https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/barbie-hearing-aid-ken-vitiligo. Accessed 3 July 2025.
  8. CNN and Nicols, K. (2024), ‘A new documentary explores why the first “Black Barbie” was much more than just a doll’, 20 June, https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/style/black-barbie-documentary-netflix. Accessed 3 July 2025.
  9. Coghlan, J., Hackett, L. J. and Nolan, H. (2024), ‘Barbie’, M/C Journal, 27:3, n.pag., https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.3072.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Connell, R. (2011), ‘Southern bodies and disability: Re-thinking concepts’, Third World Quarterly, 32:8, pp. 1369–81, https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2011.614799.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Ellis, K. (2010), ‘Dolls with disabilities: Playing with diversity’, in N. Norris (ed.), Unionist Popular Culture and Rolls of Honour in the North of Ireland During the First World War and Other Diverse Essays, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, pp. 81–98.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Ellis, K. (2015), Disability and Popular Culture: Focusing Passion, Creating Community and Expressing Defiance, New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Ellis, K. (2018), ‘Changing representations of disability in children’s toys as popular culture’, in B. Hadley and D. McDonald (eds), The Routledge Handbook of Disability Arts, Culture, and Media, Boca Raton, FL: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Fitzgerald, H., Drury, S. and Stride, A. (2018), ‘Representations of the sporting female: Queering paralympic Barbie’, in L. Mansfield, J. Caudwell, B. Wheaton and B. Watson (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Feminism and Sport, Leisure and Physical Education, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 667–80.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Garland-Thomson, R. (2002), ‘Integrating disability, transforming feminist theory’, NWSA Journal, 14:3, pp. 1–32, https://doi.org/10.1353/nwsa.2003.0005.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Gibson, C. (2009), ‘Australasia’, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, vol. 1, pp. 225–33, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-008044910-4.00253-4.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Gray, P. (2009), ‘Play as a foundation for hunter gatherer social existence’, American Journal of Play, 1:4, pp. 476–522.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Halim, R. (2021), ‘People with disabilities as motivational objects in the Kick Andy talkshow program: The social construction approach of reality theory’, Komunika: Jurnal Dakwah dan Komunikasi, 15:2, pp. 163–72, https://doi.org/10.24090/komunika.v15i2.4574.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Hamilton, P. and Pottinger, M. (2024), ‘“Out of the mouths of babes”: Capturing young children’s perceptions of disability through the use of diversity dolls’, International Journal of Early Years Education, 32:4, pp. 813–32, https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2024.2367509.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Hersinta, Kurniana and Ellis, K. (2023), ‘Playing with Barbie: Teaching inclusivity and diversity through play in Indonesia’, M/C Journal, 26:2, n.pag., https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/2959. Accessed 15 December 2025.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Khawaja, I., Staunæs, D. and Vertelyte, M. (2023), ‘How racial matter comes to matter: Memory work’, Body & Society, 29:3, pp. 29–54, https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034x231189178.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Lalvani, P. and Bacon, J. K. (2018), ‘Rethinking “we are all special”: Anti-ableism curricula in early childhood classrooms’, Young Exceptional Children, 22:2, pp. 87–100, https://doi.org/10.1177/1096250618810706.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Lord, M. G. (1995), Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll, New York: Avon Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Maftei, A. and Ghergut, A. (2024), ‘Toys with disabilities: Factors associated with their acceptance as inclusive educational means’, International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 72:2, pp. 339–54, https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912x.2024.2317483.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Mattel (2025), ‘Barbie® introduces first-ever Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes to expand representation and inspire more children’, 8 July, https://corporate.mattel.com/news/barbie-introduces-first-ever-barbie-doll-with-type-1-diabetes-to-expand-representation-and-inspire-more-children. Accessed 10 July 2025.
  26. Mattel (2020), Mattel 2020 Citizenship Report, El Segundo, CA: Mattel, Inc., https://corporate.mattel.com/, https://corporate.mattel.com/content/dam/corp-site/pdfs/Mattel-2020-Citizenship-Report-FINAL.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2025.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Meekosha, H. and Soldatic, K. (2011), ‘Human rights and the Global South: The case of disability’, Third World Quarterly, 32:8, pp. 1383–97, https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2011.614800.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. O’Neill, C. (2023), ‘Barbie doll maker Mattel unveils first doll with scoliosis’, STV News, 31 January, https://news.stv.tv/world/barbie-doll-maker-mattel-unveils-first-doll-with-scoliosis.
  29. Priyanti, N. (2018), ‘Representations of people with disabilities in an Indonesian newspaper: A critical discourse analysis’, Disability Studies Quarterly, 38:4, n.pag., https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v38i4.5818.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Riany, Y. E., Cuskelly, M. and Meredith, P. (2016), ‘Cultural beliefs about autism in Indonesia’, International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 63:6, pp. 623–40, https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912x.2016.1142069.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Sano, R., Kato, T., Nagatani, A. and Sukandar, R. (2024), Current Status and Issues of Healthcare Policies for Persons with Developmental Disorders in Southeast Asia, Jakarta: ERIA (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia), https://www.eria.org/research/current-status-and-issues-of-healthcare-policies-for-persons-with-developmental-disorders-in-southeast-asia. Accessed 6 July 2025.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Shah, S. F. H. (2020), ‘“Doll #135 with vitiligo”: Are alopecia and vitiligo Barbie worth the hype?’, Pediatric Dermatology, 2020:37, pp. 996–9, https://doi.org/10.1111/pde.14294.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Shanouda, F. and Yoshida, K. K. (2019), ‘Playing with normalcy: A disability material culture analysis’, Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal, 15:2.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Siddiq, S. (2023), ‘Barbie and able-bodiedness’, UCLA Disabilities & Computing Program, Office of Advanced Research Computing, 19 July, https://dcp.ucla.edu/barbie-and-able-bodiedness. Accessed 1 July 2025.
  35. Taber, N., Clover, D. E. and Sanford, K. (2019), ‘Performing gender in a Barbie expo: White passivity, exotic otherness, and tradition in a fashionista bow’, Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 41:1, pp. 1–25, https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2019.1608743.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. #toylikeme (n.d.), ‘Why representation matters’, https://www.toylikeme.org/about-us/why-representation-matters/. Accessed 15 June 2025.
  37. Wood, Z. (2024), ‘New lego characters aim to represent hidden disabilities such as autism’, The Guardian, 3 December, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/03/lego-introduces-characters-wearing-hidden-disability-sunflower-lanyard. Accessed 5 July 2025.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Meekosha, H. (2011), ‘Decolonising disability: Thinking and acting globally’, Disability & Society, 26:6, pp. 667–82, https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2011.602860.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Nichols, K. (2024), ‘“Black Barbie: A documentary” takes a deeper look at a trailblazing doll’, CNN, 20 June, https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/20/style/black-barbie-documentary-netflix. Accessed 10 July 2025.
/content/journals/10.1386/ajpc_00116_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Barbie; disabled doll; diversity; inclusive play; Indonesia; popular culture; toys

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test