After releasing Barbie with hijab, Matel releases Barbie in wheelchair

Padly Nurdin

Thursday, Feb 21, 2019 | 01:57 pm

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News24xx.com - The Barbie toy company, Matel stole people attention two years ago after releasing Barbie with hijab for the first time in the world. It made Barbie 'clone' of the fencing athlete Ibtihaj Muhammad. Apparently, Matel very seriously raised the differences in the toys it made. After Barbie with hijab, they released a collection of Fashionistas with diverse Barbie forms.

There is Barbie who has a short body, curvy body, curly hair, and black skin in its collection. The most unique Barbie is a Barbie with disabilities. Yup, they even made a Barbie in a wheelchair. Although sitting in a wheelchair, the Barbie looks stylish wearing a striped and brightly colored shirt with black glasses on her head.

"We will introduce Barbie in a wheelchair and have prosthetic limbs, to represent people with disabilities. This kind of Barbie we made due to the requests of our customers. It is important for us to listen to our customers" said Kim Culmone, Matel's Vice President to Teen Vogue.

This is not the first time Matel produces Barbie with disabilities. Around the 1990s, Matel produced Barbie in a wheelchair in the framework of the Paralympic Champion in United States of America. In 1997, Matel also released Barbie in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, the wheelchair design received a lot of criticisms so that the Barbie itself had to be withdrawn from the market.

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