Laverne Cox Inspires Barbie's First Transgender Doll
Arriving in multiple outfits that represent the star’s personality.
Laverne Cox has made history by becoming the very first trans person to have a dedicated Barbie doll.
“I can’t believe it. I love her outfit,” Cox told People. “What excites me most about her being out in the world is that trans young people can see her and maybe get to purchase her and play with her, and know that there’s a Barbie made by Mattel, for the first time, in the likeness of a trans person.”
In honor of the star’s advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, the doll arrives in multiple outfits that are cost-effective. “You want the doll to be affordable. So I was like, ‘What if she had one outfit that could peel off and become multiple outfits?’” she said. “So that’s what we designed and came up with.”
The collaboration also “debuts amid a tense political climate for transgender rights.” “I think in an environment where trans children have been used as a political football, when over 250 pieces of anti-trans legislation have been introduced in state legislatures all over the country in 2022 alone, and access to gender-affirming healthcare has been denied by policies signed into law in my home state of Alabama, in Arkansas and other states,” she added, continuing, “That in this environment where trans kids are being attacked, that this can also be a celebration of transness, and also a space for them to dream, understand and be reminded that trans is beautiful.”
Priced at $40 USD, the Laverne Cox Barbie doll is now available online and at major retailers.
