This new doll “enables more children to see themselves reflected in Barbie,” Mattel wrote

  • PerfectDark@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    As a girl who grew up with type 1 diabetes, seeing these tasteless jokes in here just remind me of the shitty time kids can have when they feel different to other kids and get singled out for something they can’t control.

    So what if its a gigantic mega-corp, they’re doing a good thing here for children.

    Disgusting fucking ‘jokes’. Shitty people.

    • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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      9 hours ago

      Kids can be cruel.

      I’m glad this Barbie exists. Representation matters, and this toy is one way to show little kids it’s ok to have T1D. If a kid knows that Barbie can wear CGM then maybe the kid won’t be a jerk when they meet a new kid with a thing on their arm.

      • fushuan [he/him]@piefed.blahaj.zone
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        2 hours ago

        So are lgbt+ people, they are clearly a minority and yet their visibility is very important for the preservation or creation of their rights.

        Yes, everyone is different, but normalising that difference instead of marginalising it is important.

        • RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz
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          1 hour ago

          I just meant when she said she was made to feel different because of diabetes. That in that aspect she was different

          • fushuan [he/him]@piefed.blahaj.zone
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            1 hour ago

            Made to feel different is a subtle way to say that she was marginalised. We are talking about school, so probably a gentle way to say she was bullied for it.

            Also, she did mention getting singled out. I am pretty pedantic myself but dude, this is not the moment.

            • RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz
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              1 hour ago

              What does (or could) being marginalized mean here? I have heard it before bunch of times but don’t have a very concrete sense of it.

              • fushuan [he/him]@piefed.blahaj.zone
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                58 minutes ago

                In school? Just marginalised can mean kids not wanting to be your friends, having difficulties forming groups for activities… All sorts of stuff that make your life harder. The word comes from the literal sense of being put to the margin, to the side, outside of the general circle.

                It can easily devolve into being bullied aka made fun of for being different, kids using hurtful aliases to call you, hit you, abuse you…

                Depends on where you live and all that but being singled out/marginalised can easily leave you in a position where bullies will pick on you and since you are alone, no one will defend you.

    • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today
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      6 hours ago

      they arnt, the corporations are doing virtue signalling, much like they do with rainbow capitalism. you seem to have a skewed perception of corporations doing good, and the response to other joke is also wierd.

  • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
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    14 hours ago

    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?

    • Zathras@lemmy.zip
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      14 hours ago

      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.

    • L0rdMathias@sh.itjust.works
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      14 hours ago

      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.

    • saltesc@lemmy.world
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      14 hours ago

      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.

      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…

      This new doll “enables more children to see themselves reflected in Barbie,”

      💰

      • Match!!@pawb.social
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        13 hours ago

        Back in my day we just used our imaginations to make Barbie be whatever we wanted.

        and just look at the bitter asshole you turned out to be!

        • saltesc@lemmy.world
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          13 hours ago

          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?

          • Match!!@pawb.social
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            12 hours ago

            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?

            • saltesc@lemmy.world
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              12 hours ago

              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.

            • saltesc@lemmy.world
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              12 hours ago

              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.

        • Match!!@pawb.social
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          13 hours ago

          in fact i have never seen someone with type 1 diabetes who wasn’t explicitly underweight because they have to count carbs or die

        • saltesc@lemmy.world
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          13 hours ago

          Thanks, Captain.

          A broad DCCT (Diabetes Control and Complications Trial) study conducted in the United States, with a population of people living with Type 1 diabetes, established that intensive insulin-based treatments (pump or at least three insulin injections per day, with a view to returning blood sugar levels to a normal range) which allowed for better control over blood sugar levels, had also caused an average weight gain of 4.8 kg compared with traditional treatments (a maximum of two insulin injections per day and broader blood sugar targets).

          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?

          • FerretyFever0@fedia.io
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            13 hours ago

            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?

            • GingerGoodness@lemmy.world
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              12 hours ago

              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.

              • saltesc@lemmy.world
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                11 hours ago

                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.

            • saltesc@lemmy.world
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              13 hours ago

              What does that have to do with what I was saying?

              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.

            • saltesc@lemmy.world
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              12 hours ago

              How could someone’s mind possibly extract that from anything I’ve said, or are you just trying to be a troll?

              • Match!!@pawb.social
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                12 hours ago

                the post i replied to there was only about insulin pumps. what do you think about insulin pumps?

                • saltesc@lemmy.world
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                  11 hours ago

                  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?

  • G@piefed.world
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    14 hours ago

    I thought it was going to be like a Tamagotchi where you had to give it a jab and make sure it has offspring, else the family line ends.

    • Ech@lemmy.ca
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      10 hours ago

      And this isn’t a news community. Not that it would justify being such a prick if it were.

  • FerretyFever0@fedia.io
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    13 hours ago

    Diversity is cool and all, but like, nowadays, diabetes is more just an obscenely expensive inconvenience. I don’t think that diabetes is anywhere near an identity thing for most people. Seems like Mattel, a large corporation, in a shocking turn of events, is attempting to get money. Not a problem or anything, just, idk, focus on bigger problems, idk, never played with Barbies. Movie was cool.

    • magnetosphere@fedia.io
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      13 hours ago

      Type 1 diabetes requires you to watch your insulin levels constantly or DIE. I’d say that’s more than an “inconvenience”.

      • FerretyFever0@fedia.io
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        13 hours ago

        It’s a frequent inconvenience, certainly. I have a rather wide definition of inconvenience, forgive me.

        • Match!!@pawb.social
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          12 hours ago

          an obscenely expensive life threatening inconvenience, like a hurricane or war i guess

          • FerretyFever0@fedia.io
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            12 hours ago

            Inconvenience is anywhere from a toe getting stubbed up until torture and/or death. So, depending on the personal effects of those things, potentially. I suppose that I can’t really think of a word for a recurring problem that’s between those things. Maybe I’ll look in a thesaurus.

    • ramenshaman@lemmy.world
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      13 hours ago

      I don’t think that diabetes is anywhere near an identity thing for most people.

      Little girls who have to walk around with an insulin pump will disagree.

      • FerretyFever0@fedia.io
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        12 hours ago

        I think that we have different definitions of pieces of identity. I really wouldn’t think that that would be a big enough thing to be worthy of being part of one’s identity. I guess if they want it to be, who am I to stop them? I’ve just never heard of anyone with diabetes caring that much about anything but the obscene healthcare costs they have to deal with.

        • ramenshaman@lemmy.world
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          11 hours ago

          Nobody wants diabetes. Diabetics care about their diabetes because it can easily kill them. Before modern medicine diabetes had a 100% chance of killing you fairly slowly. Little girls (and boys I suppose) who see that there is a T1D barbie now might think that there are other people out there who notice/care. I guarantee you that many children get teased about their pump and or CGM, so the existence of a T1D barbie will help normalize diabetes for them and the people around them.

          • FerretyFever0@fedia.io
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            10 hours ago

            Of course no one wants diabetes. People can choose what they want to be part of their identity and self concept. Yes, it used to be a death sentence until fairly recently. I have ADHD, but I don’t particularly consider it to be an important part of my identity. I don’t quite understand why diabetes would be part of a person’s self concept, but if the Barbie makes kids feel better, then cool. No real benefit in it not existing.

            • ramenshaman@lemmy.world
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              3 hours ago

              I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of people who would know that you have ADHD unless you tell them. Everyone walking behind me can tell I have T1D because my CGM and pump are clearly visible. People tend to identify with things that are so intertwined with their personal lives and that they are forced to spend so much time thinking about.

  • Snowclone@lemmy.world
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    14 hours ago

    Someone go resurrect Wilfurd Brimly! I don’t have enough Worther’s original candies to do the ritual!