Autistic Barbie?

This weekend, I finally saw the Barbie movie, and I have to say I was VERY impressed by the film’s sense of humor. I found myself laughing quite literally out loud a number of times in the theater. Beyond its laughs, it was also super creative in turning the Barbie brand into a living world of its own, full of all sorts of characters to laugh with (and at, of course). Of course, at the core of what made this film so good was its cast.

There were several casting choices that I felt were on point. Margot Robbie was terrific as the “stereotypical” Barbie, of course, and Ryan Gosling was incredible as the lead Ken. Other great choices included Will Ferrell as the hapless CEO of Mattel, Michael Cera as the oft-overlooked Allen, and Simu Liu as the key rival Ken to Gosling’s own Ken. Even Lizzo being nabbed to do the song’s opening theme was awesome. My favorite casting, though, was Kate McKinnon as “Weird Barbie.” She owned every minute she was on screen, as if she were born for the role. That, to me, feels the most on point of all the casting choices. Everybody acting in that movie pretty much knocked their part out of the park.

Despite my enthusiasm for this movie, its source of inspiration wasn’t really a point of nostalgia for me. I didn’t grow up playing with Barbie dolls at all. I just had an American Girl doll growing up, and playing with dolls didn’t last that long for me. In reality, my favorite toys as a child were model horses. I had a vast collection of model horses that all lived in a model barn. All of this is to say I wasn’t very familiar with Barbie to begin with.

I don’t want to spoil the film for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, though, with it basically being the movie of the summer, I’m not sure I could spoil it more than the web and pop culture osmosis have already. Nevertheless, I’ll be kind and try not to spoil anything too specific.

One key theme throughout the movie was that Barbie was created to encourage women to be whoever and whatever they wanted to be. She was intended as a toy but also as a reflection of women’s innate desire to follow their dreams, just as men have. Of course, the movie had plenty of fun riffing on the disconnect between the idealism behind Barbie as a concept and the reality of women’s societal positions. It was nice to have that kind of self-effacing humor mixed with social commentary that felt accurately incisive without being self-righteous. You could tell the people who wrote this film’s scripts liked Barbie genuinely just as much as they liked poking fun at Barbie’s expense.

One other thing I was impressed with in this film was the diversity of Barbies. The President of the Barbie society was a black woman (played by Issa Rae). Lawyer Barbie was a woman with a huskier physique (played by Sharon Rooney). Dr. Barbie was even played by a transgender actress (Hari Nef). There was even a Barbie that used a wheelchair (during a dance scene, no less)! People tend to think of the blonde bombshell when they think of Barbie, but I’m glad that the Barbies in the movie featured a wider variety of shapes, races, etc., like the real world has to offer (and thankfully, actual Barbie has been slowly moving in this direction in recent years, too).

This got me thinking back to how lacking autistic representation is in the media, especially for autistic women. When I got diagnosed several years ago, I didn’t know any woman who was diagnosed as level one like me. I felt as though I was flying by the seat of my pants and completely alone in figuring this all out. Over time, I met more people like myself and more women with autism.

This helped me feel less alone, but at the time of diagnosis, I had no one to ask questions. I didn’t have any cultural reference points I could relate to. It would have been extremely helpful if I’d been able to relate to someone and see how they coped in a world that wasn’t built for them. I suppose one could argue that Weird Barbie could’ve been considered neurodivergent, but the film explains that a Barbie becomes “weird” when it’s played with too roughly (think coloring in the hair with markers, cutting hair off, breaking the doll’s joints, etc.). I wish there had been a distinctly neurodivergent Barbie of some sort.

The issue that comes with this idea, though, is that everyone who is neurodivergent is so different. No one wants to be viewed as just a list of behaviors. That’s not being considered as an actual individual at that point. The only solution I have is to base it on a specific neurodivergent individual (with their consent, of course). With this in mind, I started to think about what I would want if a Barbie version of myself were built.

Barbie Ivy would have to have flat feet. I’ve only rarely worn high heels, and I’ve regretted it every time I did. She would be wearing a pair of Tevas (blue, naturally). She would be in running shorts; one pair in blue and one in black. Her top would be my favorite gray hoodie with my shirt that reads “Your ableism is showing.” Her hair would always be pulled back in a messy bun or ponytail, shoulder-length, brown, and curly. I would love it if there were a button that would straighten her left elbow, make a popping noise, and then return it to its normal position. I would also appreciate it if you hit another button to have her flap her hands in excitement and squeal. This is what my autistic Barbie would look like. Another option for an added feature is you could tap her on the shoulder, and she’d give you a random quote about The War of the Roses. That would be awesome.

I hope that over time, there are more examples of Barbies with disabilities, physical or otherwise. I know that no one can “look autistic,” that’s too wide an umbrella for one person to fill up. If they make another Barbie movie (which I could see happening after it grossed almost $800 million at the box office), maybe they’ll consider including an autistic woman in the Barbie gang. We certainly could use more positive representation.