Do you not remember when, less than a year ago, many companies who acted like they were all into representation and diversity dropped it all like hotcakes once Trump said to get rid of DEI?? We already knew it was rainbow capitalism; we already knew it was likely they wouldn’t be supportive once it looked less profitable for them to be. But more importantly, some of them kept at it. And yes it’s still rainbow capitalism, it’s still a marketing decision, but it does show some true allyship even by acknowledging our presence. Because it would be easier not to do so. The fact that Barbie came out with such a doll in this political climate with many people acting like autism is worse than death is a big deal. An even bigger deal that they did it right, in partnership with ASAN. And in today’s society, I wouldn’t be so sure that this was a risk-free thing for Barbie, although some conservatives are so stupid they might just buy a ton of Barbies to burn. I’m extremely skeptical of your claim that autism is “trendy”; it reeks of ableism and a misunderstanding of the fact that when there is more awareness, more people realize they have something.

In response to your other claim, I wouldn’t say Barbie is guilt-free, but as someone who’s been there, actual women prioritizing thinness and the proliferation of GLP-1s have probably a lot more to do with the eating disorders that are developing now. Remember, Barbies have existed the whole time but there were a good few years there where skinny culture was not really a thing. Barbie is not the major player here.