The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: Never Picked First for Playtime by Dustin Brookshire

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content warning for HIV and discrimination

HIV Barbie

Barbie doesn’t understand why Cuba & Belize  
require HIV testing for visitors staying
longer than 3 months. Her celebrity status  
may not help her in Egypt,
non-nationals with HIV may be deported.  
Aruba won’t grant work permits to anyone positive.
Barbie gripes to Ken:
Who wants to go to Cuba?
Belize! Well, what do they have to offer?
The pyramids aren’t all that,  
and I can do a photo shoot on any damn beach!
 
Barbie can’t comprehend the fuss.
She doesn’t worry about bleeding cuts
or scrapes or sharing needles.
(Just say no to drugs, Barbie shrugs.)
She doesn’t even have blood
nor openings for necessity or pleasure.
No orifice means none—ask Ken,
that fact often makes him blue.

Her box comes with an information sheet
dispelling HIV transmission myths:
It’s safe to comb Barbie’s hair.
It’s safe to take a bath with Barbie.
Meds are not included.
Barbie wipes her forehead.
How would she take the pills anyway?

Mattel never placed her in circulation.
Tucked away deep in a Mattel closet,
Infectious Disease Doctor Ken takes care of her,
though her body will never age.
She doesn’t have to worry about routine blood work
or telling friends, family, or fans she’s positive.
They’d only ask how she contracted HIV.