The first-ever Barbie doll with Down syndrome has just been released by the toy manufacturer Mattel, and is causing an internet uproar. Lisa McKnight, the global head of Barbie, stated that this new design "continues to expand inclusion in doll play," and aims to create a product that everyone feels represented by.
Mattel partnered with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to create a doll that truly represents and resembles a person with Down syndrome. "This Barbie serves as a reminder that we should never underestimate the power of representation," Kandi Pickard, the president and CEO of NDSS said in a statement. "It is a huge step forward for inclusion and a moment that we are celebrating."
While some conservatives claim that the newest Barbie is "woke," many, myself included, believe that this is the kind of inclusion our culture should embrace. Most companies would jump on the opportunity to create an LGBTQ+ inclusive doll, but Barbie chose instead to represent a subset of the population which is currently facing true genocide.
This doll humanizes a group of people that the progressive left finds unworthy of life. According to one study, anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of babies with Down syndrome in America are aborted. Still approximately 6,000 babies are born with Down syndrome every year, as opposed to a country like Denmark, which has nearly eliminated Down syndrome in their population through selective abortions.
Children with Down syndrome are the victims of discrimination across the globe, and oftentimes here at home. Several liberal political and cultural figures have attempted to normalize aborting a child with Down syndrome and "trying again."
So many children with Down syndrome will never get the chance to be held by their mother as babies, or smile and laugh while playing with their siblings because of a preconceived and evil notion that these people are "burdensome."
Barbie has done an incredible thing by representing one of the most marginalized groups of people alive today.
This piece originally appeared at TPUSA.
