Ibtihaj Muhammad, a member of the United States fencing team who made waves for wearing a hijab during the 2016 Summer Olympics, inspired a new Barbie doll wearing the traditional Muslim garb, the hijab. The announcement at this year’s Glamour magazine’s “Women of the Year” summit of the doll made many positive waves for it celebrating diversity, but racist trolls online definitely showed up to display their brand of hate.
Al Jazeera reports:
The 31-year-old sportswoman rose to fame at the 2016 Summer Olympics, after becoming the first female Muslim-American to earn a medal at the games, and the first American woman to don the headscarf at the competition.
“Thank you @Mattel for announcing me as the newest member of the @Barbie #Shero family! I’m proud to know that little girls everywhere can now play with a Barbie who chooses to wear hijab! This is a childhood dream come true,” said Muhammad, writing on Twitter.
“Shero” is a portmanteau of she and hero, referring to positive female role models.
The reaction has been positive in some respects but the trolls are attempting to switch the narrative into an Anti-Muslim charge with one Twitter user likening Mattel to ISIS.
Most of the reactions have been via Twitter, and we’ll share just a few but not in a bid to dignify their hateful comments but to document what’s occurred.
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https://twitter.com/ecirttam/status/930785875868471299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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https://twitter.com/AmyMek/status/930317797858643968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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Photo: WENN
