Barbie is trying, but will she succeed?
Greta Gerwig's Barbie film begs a lot of questions, and there are real expectations for the dolls.
I don’t remember much about my Barbies. I remember they were all in a big pink plastic tote to store the teeny tiny shoes away from my toddler sister. I vaguely remember dressing them, brushing their hair, and fitting them into the pink Jeep, but I think all that was after I got them taken away.
See, when I was about four, I was asked to clean up my Barbie dolls. I refused. I was told I could clean them up or go sit in the basement with my dad and the Barbies disappeared. I chose the basement. And every time I was asked if I wanted to get out of timeout, I said no. I said no when my mom said she was taking my sister to the park. I said no when asked if I wanted food or water or a bathroom break. I sat facing a wall with no toys for eight hours despite my parents’ best attempts at cajoling me out. The Barbie dolls all went to Grandma’s house, and I don’t recall ever missing them or asking for them in the aftermath. I don’t even remember this day at all; this story was told to me years later. I do know that was the end of my time with Barbies.
But it’s hard to escape from the iconism that is Barbie.
The basic feminist take is that Barbie is bad. Barbie upholds unrealistic beauty standards from blonde hair rarely seen naturally in adults to tiny feet that are unlikely to help her stand if she were real. Barbie presents beauty standards that we see across Hollywood and magazines as ideal even if they come at the expense of eating disorders and negative self-image.
Yet, Barbie also represents the ability of women to be doctors, astronauts, and surfers. She reminds us there is nothing wrong with wanting to wear a pretty dress or drive a pink Jeep. Barbie encourages kids to use their imagination because playing with Barbies means giving them backstories, dialogue, and problems to solve. It is innately creative.
Greta Gerwig’s 2023 Barbie presents this contradiction as its main conflict. Can a doll that looks nothing like most people also encourage girls to shoot for the stars? My answer: It sure can, but not as Barbie exists now.
What Barbie has done from the outset is provide a space for girls’ imaginations to run wild. Ruth Handler saw her daughter playing with baby dolls and being stuck in a motherhood role. When Barbara Handler (a.k.a. Barbie) switched to teenage paper dolls, it was obvious to Handler that there was a hole in the market. And thus Mattel was born.
Barbie allows girls to look towards the future without always seeing motherhood on the horizon. Girls run Barbieland. The first few minutes of Barbie make that very clear, but this doesn’t end up being the best outcome in the movie. Ken only has a good day when Barbie notices him, much like women in our society are supposed to have higher value when men notice us. The Kens are so distracted by their infighting that they don’t notice when the Barbies take back Barbieland, much the same way women are pitted against each other and told to care about beauty as a distraction from the fact that men can take away our right to choose an abortion.
The political commentary of Barbie is Feminism 101. First day of class: what are the daily ways women (in this case, Kens) are repressed by society? What is the outcome of this repression? The second wave feminist movement. Feminists are seen as angry, bra-burning, misandrists. (Kens becoming horse-loving, women-hating patriarchal rulers.) And you know what? Some days, I am one of those women, even as a fourth (fifth? Where are we on that?) wave feminist. Some days, I am so mad that putting on a dress (the laziest outfit in my opinion because it is one piece of fabric with no thought of matching) gets me more attention than anything else I wear. Gerwig didn’t provide a nuanced or new take on women’s societal role. Even America Ferrara’s famous and moving monologue wasn’t original if you’ve listened to any woman at any point in your life. Yet, it struck home.
It struck home in a way that made me leave the theatre wanting a Barbie doll despite being an adult who will certainly not play with her in my few hours of free time. Barbie doesn’t have to be the enemy, I thought. Barbie isn’t a bimbo. Barbie is the hope of a future in which all people can be seen equally despite their gender or sexuality or race or body shape or ability. Barbie can be the canvas on which we paint a future if only we do it right.
In 2016, Mattel introduced tall, petite, and curvy Barbies; honestly, it’s hard to tell the difference. This is where Mattel is failing. As a parent or caregiver, you will still have to preface these dolls as unrepresentative, a lecture that not all people look like Barbie. If the differences were as stark as differences in real bodies or as obvious as Barbie in a wheelchair or Barbie with a prosthetic leg, then the onus is less on the caregiver. The child playing with the dolls will ask questions and there will be an educational moment instead of a lecture. That should be the future of dolls.
We want kids to play with dolls. They provide a vehicle for imagination and creativity, for thinking outside the box and processing reality in play form. Sure, there’s commercial capital and playing convenience in creating an entire line of dolls that can all wear the same clothes, but that’s not reality. (Plus, consider the extra clothes you’ll get parents to buy when each doll needs a different wardrobe. Mattel, I’ll join the marketing team for this.) If dolls are meant to encourage kids to be and do anything they want, they should represent the entire range and rainbow of possibilities.
I wrote about the 50th anniversary of Malibu Barbie and her connection to Sharon Tate, an actress murdered by the Manson Family, for Bitch Media in 2021. Bitch was shuttered in 2022 and their website is no longer active, but this was a fascinating article to write if you ever want to read it!
Weekly R.E.P.O.R.T.
Reading: The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson
This was cute, but I don’t love that the premise was catfishing because it didn’t have to be.
Eating: Fast Summer Berry Pie
It was fast. It was delicious. It was a crowd-pleaser. Perfect for any end-of-summer BBQs or even a birthday party.
Playing: “Kiwi” by Harry Styles
Sometimes songs just get stuck in your head, you know?
Obsessing: Legitmately maybe the best chocolate chip cookies ever
I thought maybe I’d share, but I had no problem eating a dozen cookies in three days.
Recommending: Remember how strong you are. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. You can always impress yourself; I know I do.
Treating: This week I sent three sweatshirts back to Patagonia for repairs. I won’t see them for months, but that’ll be the best $15 I spend in a while.
That’s all she wrote…
Thanks for reading (or skipping) to the end! This newsletter will be coming to your inbox weekly, but you can read previous editions on Substack. In the meantime, feel free to leave any comments, questions, or your own recommendations and life updates. Write you again soon!
did you hear Greta Gerwig said she has ideas for a Ken movie