this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2025
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TL;DR (I only have a minute right now), does this change ANYTHING about the doll except a little note on the box she comes in?
The doll is wearing an insulin pump
And it has Bluetooth connectivity to manage her A1C in the app.
And the Barbie actually functions as an insulin pump for overnight trips.
Her foot falls off if you don't take proper care of her.
From the article:
The new Barbie wears continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a device that tracks blood sugar levels, on her arm — while holding a phone displaying an accompanying app. She also has an insulin pump attached to her waist. And the doll carries a blue purse that can be used to carry other essential supplies or snacks on the go.
The Barbie’s outfit is blue, too — with polka dots on a matching top and skirt set. Mattel says that this color and design are nods to symbols for diabetes awareness.
There are several permanent modifications made to the mold of the doll that separate it from non-diabetic dolls; and insulin pump and glucose monitor are depicted and they don't appear to be easily detachable.
Back in my day we just used our imaginations to make Barbie be whatever we wanted.
But now kids with Type 1 diabetes loading up their bodyweight can join in on the Barbie-borne eating disorders., because...
💰
and just look at the bitter asshole you turned out to be!
Yep. You can rollover to Mattel's blatant profiteering off inclusivity hype with thehr legacy of gender stereotypes and female ideals. I'll remain bitter and call out their bullshit.
Did you not notice you're in nottheonion?
it's barely any change at all and it lets some kids have fun, with the tiny upside that maybe my friend's insulin pump won't get mistaken for a 1990's pager. they're going to sell dolls anyways, why not add this accessory?
That's clearly not the point of this entire post and why it's been posted where it has. Have you read the article? This isn't about what you're talking about.
https://shop.mattel.com/pages/barbie-diversity-evolution
Geez. I wonder why they didn't include all the other ones...
Computer Engineer Barbie of 2010 was great. It included a backstory of accidentally getting a virus on her sister's computer as Barbie admits she knows nothing about computers, is just a designer, and relies on boys at her school to help. Of course the laptop was pink.
There's so, so, so many of these all the way up to now... Oreo Barbie, the Doll's of the World collection, the sleepover ones that have apparel that says "Don't Eat" on it.
If it's not clear now, Mattel relies on making Barbies that will make money at the time. So girls can be happy other girls manufactured dolls for them in factories in a country known as "Oriental". This is the point of the post.
All you've done is link their public-facing marketing material which implies it works.
Type 1 is something you're born with. Type 2 is not exclusively from overeating.
in fact i have never seen someone with type 1 diabetes who wasn't explicitly underweight because they have to count carbs or die
Thanks, Captain.
I have a friend with T1 that used to skip meals to stay skinny after switching to a pump caused weight gain that couldn't be exercised off. This is what young girls do.
Are you a Mattel employee?
What are you talking about? Are you saying that Type 1 causes eating disorders? What does that have to do with what I was saying?
They're on a crusade against insulin pumps because their friend's disordered eating habits were triggered by weight gain from an insuline pump. This ignores the fact that people without insuline pumps also develop eating disorders, diabulimia has been a thing for decades.
Huh. That's an interesting position. Thanks for the explanation.
No.
The topic is about Barbie.
If they're going to continue trying to be ~~relevent to combat declining sales~~ "inclusive", they can't be making unrealistic dolls, especially when their whole mantra is a source of women's weight issues in society.
And this ain't their first rodeo of making insulting versions of people in an effort to market themselves as inclusive. There are so, so, so many Barbies that show a company has no idea what they're doing but will sell anything out to flog a buck.
In the context of what I was saying, everything. If you were just sprinkling random facts to random comments, then nothing. Because what you said had nothing to do with what I said. Maybe you were just responding to the wrong comment all along, haven't realised yet, and have gotten confused.
is your criticism that you oppose insulin pumps?
How could someone's mind possibly extract that from anything I've said, or are you just trying to be a troll?
the post i replied to there was only about insulin pumps. what do you think about insulin pumps?
They pump insulin.
They're inconvenient, but much better than a few years ago. Having an app for the monitor now is a game-changer to avoid people hearing a self-destruct countdown beep under your shirt. But one of my friends actually still prefers shots three times a day, You just kind of get used to that if it's all you've ever known, so for some people it's not as big a deal as others make it out to be.
So with that out of the way, you may have replied to a comment mentioning insulin pumps, but what do they have to do with the post, anymore than the doll's hair colour?
If what you say were true, there would only be one type of Barbie.
No, there's been quite a few now. Racist, mocking, socially damaging. It's clear the company is led by a clueless board.