I’m in my 30s and last month, I bought a Barbie doll.
Not for a child. Not as a collector’s item. For me.
She had something no Barbie I grew up with ever did: a continuous glucose monitor on her arm and an insulin pump on her waistband.
I was diagnosed with diabetes as a teenager, and I had never seen that part of my reality reflected in the toys or media of my childhood. Back then, Barbie came in one body type, one hair colour, one life – and it wasn’t mine.
For decades, Barbie symbolized a narrow, often unrealistic standard. Blonde hair, blue eyes, impossible proportions – reinforcing for many girls, including me with my dark hair and brown eyes, the subtle lesson that beauty looked like someone else. Documentaries and cultural critiques have explored how those images have influenced self-esteem, career aspirations and even health behaviours.
In recent years, Mattel has worked to change that narrative: dolls with different body types, wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and even sticker packs for stretch marks. Now, for the first time, girls can find Barbie dolls wearing medical devices like insulin pumps and CGMs.
Worldwide, more than 1.2 million children and adolescents live with Type 1 diabetes, and incidence is rising. In high-income countries, pumps and CGMs improve glycaemic control and quality of life, yet children who use them rarely see themselves in mainstream media or educational materials. When chronic illness is depicted, it’s often through outdated, overly clinical imagery – or not at all.
This invisibility has consequences. Research shows that positive, relatable representation can boost self-esteem, reduce stigma and improve self-management in children with chronic conditions. Seeing a doll – a global icon – wearing an insulin pump reframes it from a medical burden into just another part of a full, vibrant life. It invites questions from friends, sparks conversations in classrooms, and fosters empathy instead of misunderstanding.
Representation in chronic illness education is not an accessory; it is a public health tool. As clinicians, educators and advocates, we can push beyond accuracy to inclusion – ensuring the posters in school health offices, the campaigns on social media and the toys on store shelves reflect the diversity of children’s real experiences.
When a child recognizes herself in a doll – in hair, skin tone, body type and even the tools she uses to live – she gains more than representation. She gains validation. She learns her story belongs.
I never had a Barbie with dark hair, brown eyes and an insulin pump when I was growing up. But today’s girls can. And that is progress worth celebrating.
On one level I relate to what was addressed in the article. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in 1969 and spent many of my teenage years trying to make sure no one noticed. I’m pretty sure one reason was because, like the author, I didn’t see many positive representatives who boasted about having this or any other auto-immune disease.
But there was one: Mary Tyler Moore. Diagnosed a year before I was, MTM was an award-winning TV actor who played the well-known Mary Richards, a TV news producer on the long-running, award-winning The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She went on to found her own production company and, very importantly, became a powerful advocate for increased public funding for diabetes research in the United States. If she were alive today, she likely would be actively campaigning for lower prices on insulin as well as for more and better options in what is becoming a narrower and narrower range in the marketplace.
The introduction of a Barbie doll with an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor is not, in my view, the best model for little girls who have Type 1 diabetes. This doll continues to represent a narrow view of women that emphasizes “beauty over brains” – in that sense nothing has changed since it was first introduced in 1959. Now she has an insulin pump and a CGM, but in reality Barbie’s just got a job as a Pharma rep. And she’s got her work cut out for her. Many children don’t like insulin pumps because they can be complicated, they may cause skin rashes and infections, they’re cumbersome and they need constant attention. Some studies have shown that up to 30% of users revert back to multiple daily injections because it’s less burdensome. Another study found that while the cost of treating Type 1 children doubled when insulin pumps were used, there was no meaningful improvement in glucose control and no clear benefit to quality of life.
Children with diabetes do need positive role models, but Barbie with-a-pump isn’t one of them. She stands in really sharp contrast to Mary Tyler Moore who was a smart, articulate and fearless advocate for better science to help us all live longer and interesting, productive lives. We need dolls like that.
Hello and thank you for your comment. I appreciate your engagement, though I have to note that your response seems to address the title rather than the content of the article itself. The piece explicitly acknowledges Barbie’s past criticisms while focusing on a specific issue — the importance of visibility and representation in chronic illness education, particularly during Diabetes Awareness Month.
Your remarks raise points that are unrelated to the central message and come across as more of a personal rebuttal than constructive commentary. As I mentioned in the article — which I encourage you to read in full — my intent was to highlight how inclusive toys can help children feel seen and understood, whether through chronic illness representation or cultural diversity.
While Barbie may not resonate with everyone, for many of us she represents a piece of nostalgia — a reminder of what it meant to wish for a version of ourselves reflected in the world around us. I welcome thoughtful discussion, but I also believe it’s important that we engage with the full context before making assumptions about another writer’s work.
I did read the article, which is why I wrote “I relate to what was addressed in the article.” I think children with T1 need good role models. I just don’t think Barbie is one of them. And yesterday I got this:
“Nov 6 (Reuters) – Medical device maker Insulet (PODD.O) on Thursday posted third-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations on strong demand for its wearable insulin pumps, which eliminate the need for daily injections.”
Insulet is one of partners in the Barbie with a pump idea.