Laverne Cox Barbie Doll - first transdoll from Mattel

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Comments

Hmm

I might have to get that and put it on a shelf and keep it in the box

hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna

Something Extra??

Happy Birthday Barbie $14.99.

Laverne Cox Barbie $40.00.

Could be it's more about Benjamin than it is about Laverne or Barbie.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

No celebration?

Your comment mystifies me. The two dolls are not being sold in anything like the same market, why should they have a similar price? The Laverne doll is the same or nearly the same price as other specialty personality dolls by Mattel, (Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Maya Angelou) and as little as 20% of some of the dolls they sell. $200 Barbies are obviously a still different market.

Forty years ago, the prices would likely have been something like $3 for the Birthday doll and $8 for the Laverne doll. Except, they wouldn't have been making a doll celebrating Laverne Cox or anyone like her.

Of course, it's about money. But being about money, the fact that they think they can get money for a doll based on a transwoman sold under a global brand signifying femininity is amazing.

- Lulu

- Gender is between the ears, sex is between the legs and anywhere else you can get it. - Lulu Martine

And we should care

Why? If it was by a trans-inclusive manufacturer I might be inclined to support them if I could, but Mattel Megacorp you know it's all about the money. Seeing trans as yet another way to make money is a back-handed compliment if I've ever seen one. They are not supporting trans, they are about finding new niche markets they can exploit.

You won't ever see a little girl playing with one, these are aimed at the instant collectables market. As stated elsewhere, these will be bought and stored away still in the box, doing nothing for the LGBTQ+ community.

Besides, aren't we a little too old to be playing with dolls?


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Why we should care...

Because we are now visible. Forty years ago, we were invisible or only glimpsed in freak shows or drag comedy. Now we are mainstream enough that a money-grubbing corporation like Mattel (or the ones who have cast Laverne Cox and other transwomen in significant and visible roles) thinks they can make a buck off of us.

It may be a backhanded compliment but it's WAY THE FUCK better than the brickbats which used to be the only attention we really got. Visibility leads to exploitation and backlash, yeah? Invisibility leads to much worse. We can't hope for the sort of achievements we long for without being visible.

Still plenty of brickbats around if anyone is missing that kind of attention.

- Lulu

- Gender is between the ears, sex is between the legs and anywhere else you can get it. - Lulu Martine

No

I'm just thinking there is more than one way to paint a target on one's back. This could be like waving a flag in front of a bull and calling it "good (or positive) publicity. That bull don't know from sh*t about publicity, he's just goin' for the person waving that flag in his face!


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

I'm sure they'll call for a boycott of Mattel now

laika's picture

If they (whoever they are) weren't already boycotting them for the Islamic doll in the hijab, the plump body positive dolls, the gender neutral doll + the American Girl doll with 2 lesbian aunts. Some folks sure get upset easily!

I'd donate a few to every Elementary school in Florida if I had that kind of money.
~hugs, Veronica

Laika -- What Kind of Money Do They Use in Florida?

Laika - can you imagine how many more traffic deaths we would have every year if:

1.) There were no speed limits,
2.) Drivers didn't have to have a license, which requires driver's training, and
3.) Cars need to be insured, which allows insurance companies to screen unfit drivers.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)