Barbie has added a Helen Keller Barbie to its ‘Inspiring Women’ Series.
Most of us think of the iconic blonde doll when we hear the word “Barbie.” But the company has changed things up by introducing an entire series featuring historical and current female inspirational role models.
The Barbie ‘Inspiring Women’ series has been adding new dolls to its collection, with the newest one being the Helen Keller Barbie. This doll is available at Target, Amazon, and the Barbie website, retailing for $30.
Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing at the age of nineteen months due to an illness. Keller made up her own signs for objects until she met Anne Sullivan, an instructor who taught Keller to communicate by spelling words into the palm of her hand. This is the way most deaf-blind people communicate now.
Keller was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. She was a role model for her work as a renowned author, disability rights advocate, educator, and public speaker.
Barbie asked the advocacy organization, The National Federation of the Blind (NFP), for their input to ensure their Helen Keller doll and her accessories were truly authentic and “held to the highest standards for the blind/low-vision community.”
The NFP also gave feedback regarding Helen Keller’s likeness. Barbie made sure that the Helen Keller’s clothes were accurate for the 1900s – a striped skirt and lace ruffle blouse, which Keller would have worn as a student.
The Barbie company also requested assistance from the NFP to ensure the packaging and other elements of the doll were accessible for people with vision disabilities. The book the Helen Keller Barbie is holding and the package the doll comes in has braille included.
Other Barbies that have already been released in the Barbie Inspiring Women Series collection are Dr. Maya Angelou, Billie Jean King, Ella Fitzgerald, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony, Florence Nightingale, Katherine Johnson, Frida Kahlo, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, and Sally Ride.
