In Barbie, Greta Gerwig pushes her message of feminist disruption as far as she can for a mainstream movie. She is reckoning with Barbie’s legacy and literally rewriting the script through active questioning and engagement. It’s a huge start.
Barbie
Barbie has been an icon since Mattel’s creation of the doll in 1959 as a pop cultural symbol of women’s unlimited potential with her numerous career models as a doctor, astronaut, chef, army officer and more. However, the first Black Barbie doll was not created until 1980, and Mattel has faced long-standing criticism over the unrealistic beauty standard Barbie promotes. The 2023 Barbie movie, directed by Greta Gerwig, won numerous awards including a Golden Globe Award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. The film’s criticism of patriarchical rule and rigid gender roles was a huge feminist milestone, bolstered by the film’s popularity in mainstream media.
Summer at the Movies: On the Successes and Failures of Imagination
Despite our collective love for larger-than-life motion pictures, I must lament the dearth of images of Black women in heroic, star-turning roles.
But in Barbieland, a topsy-turvy world where women run things—in contrast to the “real world” of patriarchy—we can imagine women in every possible role. Let’s hope Barbie’s commercial success encourages more support for films that feature diverse women as big-screen heroes. There are so many more stories to be told.
‘Barbie’ Makes Girlhood Great Again
In Barbie, Greta Gerwig creates a world where femininity is celebrated in the mainstream.
‘Barbie’ and the Women’s World Cup: Cheering for Women in Spikes
Starting this weekend, girls have the chance to watch their favorite toy take on sexism in Barbieland, knowing their favorite soccer stars already have in real life.
What Black Barbie Means to Black Women and Girls
What does Barbie mean to a Black woman who was once “the Black girl”?
She reminds me that representation does not always come in the form of a person; sometimes, it’s a doll that allows you to embrace your creativity, dreams and imagination far beyond what society believes you are capable of … all in pink stiletto heels.
We Heart: ArtActivistBarbie Taking on Patriarchy in the Art World
Posing in front of mosaic tiles and Victorian paintings, sporting handmade outfits like feathered, cotton candy-colored dresses or quarantine-friendly bathrobes, a young woman exposes the misogynistic undertones of art at big-name museums like the National Gallery in London and the Getty in Los Angeles. She stands at about a foot tall with an annotated notecard on a small wooden stick in hand. Her name is Barbie.
We Heart: Ballerina Misty Copeland’s New Barbie Doll
Misty Copeland made history last summer when she became the first African American woman to hold the title of principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), solidifying her position as a living legend and inspiration to young girls everywhere. Today, she found another way to be a role model: as a Barbie doll in Mattel’s […]
Our Dolls, Ourselves
On the Ms. Blog just over four years ago, I wrote about Mattel’s (then) newest and largest doll launch: the Monster High line. Mattel was proudly offering girls dolls that were “different” and that strayed from the look of their long-lasting progeny, Barbie, and her contentious, estranged cousin, the Bratz dolls, (at that time, still […]
Put Down That Barbie (2013 Edition)–And Find Empowering Dolls!
For centuries, dolls have helped children develop their socioemotional skills by teaching them how to empathize with others. Last year, dolls raked in nearly $2.7 billion in sales, making them one of the toy industry’s biggest items. However, not all of today’s dolls offer emotionally healthy experiences for children. Increasingly, parents are speaking out against […]
Happy-To-Be-Nappy Barbie
This week, a group of black women in Columbus, Ga., started a campaign to donate 40 black Barbie dolls to young black girls. And here’s the twist: Before gifting the Barbies, the women used boiling water and pipe cleaners to transform them into curly-haired “beauties.” In my 32 years on this earth, I’ve owned a […]