Barbie wears 'Love Wins' T-shirt to support LGBT rights
Barbie is a lot of things: a baker, coder, and dancer, among many others. Now Mattel is adding advocate for the LGBT community to that long list.
On Monday, the Barbie Style Instagram account shared a photo of the blond doll with a new friend —a Barbie version of Los Angeles-based fashion blogger Aimee Song of Song of Style — both sporting “Love Wins” T-shirts. The shirts are toy-size versions of the ones Song wears and sells on her blog, with 50 percent of the proceeds from sales going to the Trevor Project, an organization that supports LGBT youth.
Song posted the photo of her Barbie on her own Instagram too. “Me and @BarbieStyle supporting equal rights because #LOVEWINS,” the caption read.
Song explained that when she was approached about being made into a Barbie, she stressed the importance of her Barbie believing in the things that she did in real life. “And obviously dress like me!” she continued. “Can’t thank the entire @Mattel @Barbie team enough for letting my Barbie be ME!”
The Barbie account also posted a photo of the two new friends eating avocado toast at a café called By Chloe.
Though it’s the first time Barbie has publicly supported an LGBT movement, Mattel has made LGBT women into dolls before. American soccer star Abby Wambach got her own Barbie in 2016. Rosie O’Donnell also has her own doll, as do other LGBT-supporting women.
It seems like Barbie’s fans are into the cause. The posts together received nearly 100,000 likes in all, and many of Song’s and Barbie’s Insta-followers shared their support. “Congrats again! I would have loved to have a barbie with such a cool style as a kid,” one commenter wrote.
Others speculated that Barbie may be bisexual, a claim that Song isn’t denying just yet. “Maybe we’re secretly dating,” she wrote.
In a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle, Mattel said it is “an inclusive brand that celebrates diversity, kindness and acceptance. We are proud to partner with Aimee Song, a top fashion influencer, and promote her T-shirt collection.”
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