A black Barbie doll who uses a wheelchair has made Twitter very happy as of late.
Twitter user Summersnoqueen posted a photo of the Barbie and it's been liked almost 30,000 times.
THERE’S NOW A BARBIE IN A WHEELCHAIR
— julienne @ shadow temple👀 (@summersnoqueen) June 27, 2019
i can’t even begin to express how happy i am that more and more young girls are growing up seeing themselves in Barbie pic.twitter.com/XL2PEetu6G
The Barbie is part of Mattel's Fashionista line which features dolls of varying body types, hair color, skin tone and eye color. The dolls are available at Amazon, Target and other retailers.
Social media reactions to the new Barbie are overwhelmingly positive.
Dude like representation like this is so important. I saw a Barbie in target a while ago that like was short and had a similar body type to me and it made me really happy. I’m so glad Barbie is doing this so more girls can see themselves with the doll and be like “hey that’s me!”
— alondra 💕 @ μ’sic forever!! (@constarlations) June 28, 2019
And it’s not a weird hospital wheelchair, it looks like an actual wheelchair that actual people use. Kid me approves.
— Adrien Lee (@LightfulFoxtrot) June 28, 2019
I love how good the packaging is as well! It shows the fact that she's a wheelchair user, but doesn't make it the focus showing that disabled people are people too. It's such a basic thing that's *so* often ignored.
— TheIrishNinjas ♿️ (@TIrishninjas) June 28, 2019
Mattel said on its website that the Fashionista line has 40 dolls with seven body types, 11 skin tones and 28 hairstyles.
This wheelchair accessory for this doll was in collaboration with the UCLA Mattel Children’s hospital, the company told "Good Morning America."
The wheelchair is modeled "after a real, rigid frame wheelchair and doll included has an articulated made-to-move body to easily fit in the wheelchair." The wheelchair accessory accommodates all body types offered -- tall, curvy and original. A ramp accessory is included for to fit with the Barbie Estate items.