Free Republic

Mattel's first-ever autistic Barbie is facing backlash from critics who claim the doll is offensive to people with neurodiversity and 'reinforces stereotypes'. The American toymaker said that the doll, which features a fidget spinner, noise-cancelling headphones, and a shifted eye gaze, was designed 'with guidance from the community' in a bid to 'change the narrative on neurodivergence'. The new doll, developed in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), aims to represent some of the ways autistic people may experience, process, and communicate about the world around them. Along with a new face sculpt, its features include elbow and...

The doll was expected to be available at Mattel's online shop and at Target stores starting Monday for a suggested retail price of $11.87.Mattel Inc. is introducing an autistic Barbie on Monday as the newest member of its line intended to celebrate diversity, joining a collection that already includes Barbies with Down syndrome, a blind Barbie, a Barbie and a Ken with vitiligo, and other models the toymaker added to make its fashion dolls more inclusive. Mattel said it developed the autistic doll over more than 18 months in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit organization that...

Mattel is expanding its push for inclusion with the launch of its first autistic Barbie, developed in partnership with autism advocates to reflect how some people on the spectrum experience the world. Mattel spent more than 18 months developing the autistic Barbie in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), a nonprofit that works to advance the rights and media representation of autistic people. The aim, the company said, was to design a doll that reflects some of the ways autistic individuals experience and navigate the world around them. The doll includes articulated elbows and wrists to allow for...

Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler said Thursday night that her agency has suspended “6,900 Minnesota borrowers” over suspected fraudulent activity regarding COVID-era lending programs. Loeffler said the SBA over the last week reviewed “thousands” of potentially “fraudulent” Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) payouts that were approved in Minnesota. “Today, our agency took action to suspend 6,900 Minnesota borrowers amid suspected fraudulent activity. In total, these borrowers were approved for 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans worth approximately $400M,” Loeffler said on social platform X. She said the implicated individuals would be banned from all...

A Canadian actor who lives in the U.S. is crying about how upset he is that he will be paying less taxes under President Donald Trump. The stupid is strong is with one. Canadian actor Simu Liu — known for portraying Shang-Chi in Marvel’s superhero flick Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) — posted one of the most beta male things on the internet January 22. What more can you expect from some chronically self-absorbed pontiff coming out of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse asylum? Liu, who supposedly pays U.S. taxes, actually filmed himself mourning in front of...

Two new Barbie dolls with disabilities are being released on Tuesday, July 23, as part of an expansion of the Barbie Fashionistas line, Mattel announced in a news release. The new dolls, known as "Blind Barbie" and the "Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome," were each developed in partnership with nonprofit organizations. "We recognize that Barbie is much more than just a doll. She represents self-expression and can create a sense of belonging," Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls for Mattel, said in a statement provided to FOX Business.

The music icon said she somewhat agreed with her two sons who strongly disliked “Barbie,” suggesting that it was a piece of pop culture that robbed “men of their possibility to be men.”Shakira graces the cover of Allure magazine and holds nothing back when asked about her thoughts on “Barbie,” the Greta Gerwig-directed blockbuster that topped the 2023 box office with $1.4 billion worldwide and earned eight Oscar nominations, including best picture. The music icon said she somewhat agreed with her two sons who strongly disliked “Barbie,” suggesting that it was a piece of pop culture that robbed “men of...

Commenting on a Finland-based study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Oskari Lahtinen, the author of the study, said, “The gender divide was probably most surprising to me. Three out of five women view ‘woke’ ideas positively, but only one out of seven men.” This reflects a similar phenomenon observed in other countries, and, in America, particularly in the younger generation. But why?

A Barbie doll in the likeness of Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to be elected chief of the Cherokee Nation, has been hailed by tribal citizens. It’s also been lamented for its inaccuracies. An event held Tuesday in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, marked the anniversary of Mankiller becoming chief in 1985 and celebrated her Barbie doll. Mattel, the company that produces Barbie dolls, announced the new toy last month as part of the “Inspiring Women” series that includes conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, journalist Ida B. Wells and writer Maya Angelou. The doll’s release has been met with some criticism. The doll itself...

Critics, like filmmakers, know all about negative feedback.For every director who hears, “you stink!” there’s a critic who gets similarly attacked. It comes with the territory.This critic spent days reading the negative Twitter reactions to his “Barbie” film review, much of it written before the film opened. How did they know the review was “wrong” when they hadn’t seen the movie in question?It didn’t matter. “Barbie” was a cultural event with or without the actual film. The marketing team made sure of that. And then it became something else.A culture war totem, like a COVID-19 mask or Ukraine flag pin.And,...

Support Free Republic Posts from this blog are often reposted on "Free Republic" and the fundraiser to support FR currently underway... Fewer births more and more folks even Elon Musk says "Yes" to the notion of a population shortage... Let's go the "Barbie Update" I sat back in silence as the hype came down and the "suckers" lined up to feed the Never Trump Corporate Machine... The big people in the "Business Roundtable" the Davos Crowd etc. etc. are taking out Trump and that's the truth... Deny the Never Trump Corporate Giants your labor and or investment... The political argument...

The director previously told PEOPLE that she hopes her film "is the launch of a world and a bunch of different Barbie movies" Will Greta Gerwig be back for more Barbie? The summer blockbuster just hit $1 billion at the global box office on Sunday, a little over two weeks since its July 21 release in theaters — and naturally, many fans are wondering about a sequel.

Basically she's renting out a theater and everybody will be socially distanced and wearing masks.

The Barbie film has been banned in Kuwait and faces calls for a ban in Lebanon amid criticism in the Arab world of the movie's social values. Kuwait acted to protect "public ethics", the state news agency said. Lebanon's culture minister accused the film of "promoting homosexuality".

Tweet from Justin Trudeau (see link below). We’re team Barbie. https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1688265604799574016

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau donned a pink hoodie to celebrate the new Barbie movie with a feminist message: “We’re team Barbie,” he tweeted on Sunday. Trudeau appeared alongside his eldest son, Xavier James, one of three children he shares with his newly-estranged wife, Sophie Grégoire.

A Washington, D.C.-based sports radio host was fired on Saturday following comments he made about a female TV reporter who was covering the Washington Commanders. Don Geronimo, whose real name is Michael Sorce, made the comments toward WUSA9 reporter Sharla McBride. The remarks led to the Commanders barring iHeartMedia – the parent company of WBIG Radio – from the team’s training camp facilities in Ashburn, Virginia, on Friday. "Hey look, Barbie's here. Hi, Barbie girl," Geronimo shouted toward McBride while on air on Thursday. "I'm guessing she's a cheerleader." Geronimo was with co-host Crash Young when the remarks were made....

If you logged onto Twitter following Barbie’s opening-weekend success, you might have been one of the well over one hundred thousand users who noticed a curious image. It depicted President Joe Biden wearing a blush-colored suit, accompanied by former President Barack Obama dressed in his own rosy ensemble. Stamped in magenta script on the picture of the leader of the free world: Barbie.The image was manipulated—the Democratic fundraiser who posted it, Jon Cooper, said it was photoshopped or AI-generated; a Twitter content note labeled it the latter. But it isn’t a surprise that some users were fooled. Barbiecore has been...

It’s hilarious to see woke Millennials praising Barbie as a feminist icon. For the entirety of my Gen X lifespan, feminists have hated Barbie with the burning intensity of a thousand suns. Her figure was unrealistic! Mattel’s attempts to make her a career woman were patronizing! She was too blond and pretty! But now, all of sudden, Barbie is a feminist icon. The new “Barbie” movie is a stylized fantasy in which the patriarchy is alive and well, and Barbie must smash it by ditching her childish dream world and embracing the feminist ideal lifestyle: spinsterhood. We’ve reached the point...

This weekend the big Barbie movie opens and it’s getting a pretty good critical reception. Metacritic gives it an 80/100. It’s 90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. But honestly, I would be pretty shocked if the movie was even slightly ‘for me.’ The moment I heard they were making this movie, I thought that there was very little chance that this would be a movie I would like. Which is fine. Not everyone likes the same things and there’s nothing wrong with it. Life would be boring if we all liked the same things. So as long as there is no...