There’s no bigger name in toys than Barbie, and there’s little Barbie can do that doesn’t draw a big controversy.
When Mattel unveiled its new autistic Barbie earlier this month, the goal was to “represent common ways autistic people may experience, process, and communicate about the world around them,” the company declared in a news release.
But for some critics, the result was actually more restrictions.
The doll — the latest iteration of a franchise that first appeared on the market in 1959 — has drawn fans since its Jan. 12 introduction.
I love this! Asd is NOT presented by appearances and thank you for autistic Barbie. Asa level 1 autistic, I’m done with the misinformation of autism spectrum disorder and the autism myths too.
— Serenity Bloom (@mmysticbloom) January 12, 2026
“The autistic Barbie doll features elbow and wrist articulation, enabling stimming, hand flapping, and other hand gestures that some members of the autistic community use to process sensory information or express excitement,” Mattel explained in the news release.
The doll’s eyes are “shifted slightly to the side, which reflects how some members of the autistic community may avoid direct eye contact,” the release noted.
The doll also comes with a fidget spinner — a device some of those with autism use to relieve stress — headphones to cancel noise, and a simulated computer tablet used for communication, the release noted.
Barbie releases its first autistic doll. pic.twitter.com/IMXDAbNq5p
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 12, 2026
“Seeing a doll who is so cool and so beautiful using these devices, I think it’s gonna make a lot of kids feel like they’re able to use them too,” autistic TikTok content creator Chloé Hayden said in a video.
“I hope y’all understand how genuinely important this doll is.”
However, it has also stirred critics.
As USA Today reported last week, Krystyn Sommer, a psychology researcher and autistic mother in Australia, took to Instagram to point out that what many might see as representation might actually be distorting perceptions of autism.
“It actually turns autism into something you can see, which it is not something you can see. It is invisible,” she said.
“Representation does two things at once. It can affirm some people and define the boundaries for others. This is where we need to be careful.”
One social media user, citing the fidget spinner and shifted eyes, said the doll reflects “basically the internet’s most shallow checklist of what autism looks like.”
Autistic Barbie was probably a bad call pic.twitter.com/6kpVJnjFEN
— Corinne Clark Barron (@corinnec) January 13, 2026
“The better message might have been that any Barbie could be autistic: Doctor Barbie, Scientist Barbie, Princess Barbie.”
Controversy is nothing new for Barbie, of course. The doll has gone from beloved by little girls to hated by feminists to loved by feminists to the subject of a 2023 blockbuster motion picture that caused an even bigger splash when fans claimed it didn’t get the credit it deserved.
Nominated for Academy Awards in eight categories, “Barbie” the movie won only one Oscar — for Best Original Song.
(It lost Best Picture to “Oppenheimer” at the 2024 Oscars.)
So when Mattel introduced the autistic version, it had to know there were going to be strong opinions on both sides.
As always, the market will decide how much the venture will pay off.
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