I may be 27 — but the diabetic Barbie still made me emotional

Sudden and rapid weight loss; insatiable thirst; constant tiredness; blurred vision.

These are just some of the symptoms I started presenting with in the months before I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2015.

I was only 17, and at the time, I’d never heard of the condition.

I was admitted into hospital with a warning from my doctor that my blood sugar was so high that I was ‘lucky to be alive,’ it was explained to me that my body was no longer able to produce insulin.

For a year, I injected myself with needles and then moved onto a pump, permanently attached to my body, that would drip-feed insulin into me, almost like a cannula.

Taking all the information on was a baptism of fire, and one that left me feeling emotional and exhausted, wishing I could turn back time and reverse it all. Not only did I not know anything about this new condition – neither did anyone else.

So, when I was sat at my desk and an email dropped into my inbox about Mattel’s new type 1 diabetic Barbie, I stood up in excitement. My colleagues listened as I excitedly shared the news, and texts were fired off to my parents, my boyfriend and the girls’ group chat.

Type 1 diabetes isn’t a super common condition, and in the UK, less than one in 10 people in the UK living with some form of diabetes has type 1. Approximately 90% of diabetes diagnoses are type 2.

It’s not an uncommon experience for me to have strangers asking me invasive questions about my wearable tech. While type 1 might technically be an invisible disability, the gadgets I wear that help to control it, brings it into the spotlight.

I’ve had countless people ask whether my insulin pump is a ‘nicotine patch’ (despite it looking nothing like one), and have received intense glares from randomers when injecting myself in public (no, I’m not doing anything ‘dodgy’).

But the diabetic Barbie sparks hope in me that perhaps we’re on the way towards a world where everyone will be educated on the realities of type 1 – and I’ll be left in peace to wear a dress during the summer months without worrying about my pump being on show.

In the years after I was diagnosed, I also struggled with the fact that I had to wear diabetes tech. I worried that it would make me less appealing to dates, a visual reminder that I have a disability that infringes on my life each and every day. I feared it would make it seem like I came with baggage.

But for many young girls, Barbie equals beautiful. While this image of beauty hasn’t always been perfect, with Mattel criticised for centring thinness and whiteness, to see dolls wearing diabetes tech will help young diabetics to love themselves. Wearing an insulin pump doesn’t make them – or me – any less beautiful.

This Barbie keeps her CGM in place using pink heart-shaped medical tape, and she’s equipped with a smartphone that displays her blood sugar on an app, just as mine does. I’ve also taken to customising my own diabetes tech, sticking stickers on the back of my diabetes monitor.

She wears an insulin pump on her waist, with a pastel blue purse apt for carrying the countless supplies type 1s need to survive, including sweets or juice to treat low blood glucose, spare pump supplies, and extra insulin.

Having famously brought type 1 representation to the runway by making sure her tech is visible on her arm, model Lila Moss is fronting the new Barbie campaign. She’s even been honoured with her own Barbie doll made in her likeness, featuring her hallmark blonde hair, a black mini dress, and chunky black boots.

To develop the doll, the company also worked closely with Breakthrough T1D to ensure that every detail was accurate. It’s a personal victory for Breakthrough T1D’s CEO Aaron J. Kowalski, who has lived with the condition since he was 13 (and also has a brother who was diagnosed at three).

‘This partnership is deeply personal – it means the world to be part of bringing greater visibility to a condition that affects so many families,’ Aaron shares.

‘It’s an honour to work with a brand that shares our commitment to showing children that a life with type 1 diabetes can be full, vibrant, and empowering.’

If the Barbie Summer of 2023 taught us anything, it’s that dolls aren’t just for little girls and boys. They can also be for 27-year-olds like me, who feel healed to see the type 1 diabetic Barbie hitting the shelves. It speaks to the teenage version of myself, who felt self-conscious about wearing her pump on her arm.

The idea of a child playing with a Barbie who looks just like them is beautiful. And, I’ll no doubt be purchasing one for myself.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.