News from the Barbie front: Doll modeled after a Filipino American doctor

Dr. Audrey Sue Cruz and her Barbie likeness.

Good news for AAPI children and their parents who want toys to reflect and affirm their own existence: There is a new Barbie doll with long dark hair and a golden brown skin tone modeled after a Filipino American doctor.

Dr. Audrey Sue Cruz of Las Vegas was the model for a Barbie doll for her work during the pandemic. She along with other Asian American health workers were on the frontline battling the coronavirus.

“I’m so incredibly honored to be a Barbie Role Model, shining a light on the commitment and compassion all frontline workers exhibited over the past year and a half,” says Cruz. “Kids imagine they can be anything but actually seeing that they can, and hearing the brave stories of others, makes all the difference.”

The physician was part of a video last year featuring a series of frontline AAPI medical workers in a viral social media post, #IAmNotAVirus." speaking out against the hate targeting AAPI in the U.S.

When she was contacted by Mattel, “I was like, What?! Me? It was unreal,” Cruz told 8 News Now. “I was just like, ‘Are you sure you have the right person?”

The doll in Cruz's likeness is part of Mattel's #ThankYouHeroes line of dolls launched last year as part of the company’s broader “Play it Forward” platform, focused on leveraging Mattel’s iconic brands to give back to communities in times of need.

“Barbie recognizes that all frontline workers have made tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened,” said Lisa McKnight, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Barbie & Dolls, Mattel. 

“To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories and leveraging Barbie’s platform to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back. Our hope is to nurture and ignite the imaginations of children playing out their own storyline as heroes.”

Experts in their fields who have shown unprecedented courage during a challenging time, these six role models made a positive impact in their communities, inspiring current and future generations for years to come. Besides Cruz, the global lineup of women honored with a one-of-a-kind doll includes:

• Amy O’Sullivan, RN (United States) - Emergency Room nurse Amy O’Sullivan treated the first COVID-19 patient in Brooklyn at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, became ill and was intubated, then a few weeks later returned to work to continue taking care of others..
• Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa (Canada)- A psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto, Canada, Dr. Oriuwa has advocated against systemic racism in healthcare, which has been further highlighted by the pandemic.
• Professor Sarah Gilbert (United Kingdom) - As a professor of vaccinology, Professor Gilbert led the development of the University of Oxford vaccine in the U.K.
• Dr. Jaqueline Goes de Jesus (Brazil) - As a biomedical researcher, Dr. Goes is credited for leading the sequencing of the genome of a COVID-19 variant in Brazil.
• Dr. Kirby White (Australia) - A General Practitioner in Australia, Dr. White co-founded the Gowns for Doctors initiative – by developing a PPE gown that could be laundered and re-used, allowing frontline workers in Victoria, AU to continue seeing patients during the pandemic.

The dolls are available for purchase at Target stores for $15. Mattel donates $5 for each eligible Barbie doctor, nurse, and paramedic doll sold at Target to the First Responders Children’s Foundation (FRCF).

Despite Mattel's good intentions, the toy company has hit a few rough patches on the road in their attempt to broaden their product's appeal beyond the blond, blue-eyed original.

Recently, Mattel came under fire when it put out a line of dolls showing the diversity of athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. The toy company was criticized because they left out a doll representing Asians, even though the Olympics was being hosted by Japan.

Prior to the Olympics, Mattel issued a doll in the likeness of tennis star Naomi Osaka that sold for $30. It sold out in a matter of hours and there is now a waiting list for the doll.

Barbie dolls have become a kind of social barometer marking the progress the U.S. is making on diversity.

“For kids, everything is educational… Everything they interact with teaches them what the world is like and in turn what they themselves are like in the world," says Christia Spears Brown, associate professor at the University of Kentucky and author of “Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue: How to Raise Your Kids Free of Gender Stereotypes,” who contends the use of play and toys act as teachers for children and affect their self-image.

"They have to pick all that up on their own and how they do it is through play… And we know that if things are familiar, we’re more comfortable with them," Brown continued. "It (takes) the dialogue about what’s considered mainstream and changes it to say diverse is normal.”