Barbie & Girlhood: how did a controversial toy become a feminist icon?
Barbie has long been branded in feminism as encompassing the insane expectations placed on women. Barbie has been a symbol for patriarchy’s expectations of women for decades. Whether it be the pretty airhead, the sexy virgin or the do it all girl, Barbie has been representing unattainable societal expectations for women since her inception. So, having been the impossible standard for so long, how did the recent Barbie movie become iconic for feminists everywhere? And can a doll long criticized for perpetuating outdated gender norms and unrealistic body image ever fully become a feminist icon?
Barbie has faced plenty of backlash over the years. Much of it has focused on the dolls’ unrealistic representation of the female body. Her body proportions are impossible for a real person to have. As a result, studies have linked playing with ultra-thin dolls to negative body image and increased risk of eating disorders in children. Barbie’s unrealistic body image is undoubtedly problematic.
There have also been protests focused on Barbie’s depiction of traditional gender norms. In 1972, feminist groups gathered outside a toy fair to protest dolls stating that they “perpetuated sexual stereotypes by encouraging little girls to see themselves solely as mannequins, sex objects or housekeepers.” Decades later, in 2013, women’s rights activists protested the opening of a life-size Barbie Dreamhouse in Berlin by burning a doll on a cross.
On the other hand, some disagree with the narrative that Barbie has always been bad for women. M.G. Lord, the author of Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll says in her book that Barbie’s message was “proto feminist” from the outset, as she came with the paraphernalia for a self-supporting career — a portfolio of fashion sketches, in the case of the original Barbie. In addition, Barbie has always been an independent woman, which her own money and house. In fact, the ‘Dreamhouse’ was first sold in 1962, over a decade before a majority of single women in the USA would be able to own their own home.
The Barbie film is an important addition to the Barbie-as-feminist question. Critics and viewers alike almost unanimously agree that the recent box office hit is unequivocally egalitarianist. And thus, the controversial doll has been dubbed a feminist icon.
Personally, I feel like the reason The Barbie Film is categorised as feminist, is in part Greta Gerwig herself. The director and writer is renowned for her feminist film-making and use of the female gaze, as opposed to the male gaze we so often see in popular media. The female gaze is a feminist theory term referring to the gaze of the female spectator, character or director of an artistic work, but more than the gender it is an issue of representing women as subjects having agency. We can see Gerwig use this concept in her previous works, such as Ladybird and Little Women, which have been praised repeatedly for their portrayal of womanhood, mother daughter and sisterly relationships, and the struggles of being a woman. I personally have been brought to tears watching these films before. Its so rare to see complex and realistic female characters going finding themselves and their place in the world.
Gerwig successfully applied these ideas to the Barbie film, portraying the struggle of real women in the characters of Gloria and Sasha, in contrast to the eutopia the Barbies live in. Further adding to the impact, the irony of Barbie’s matriarchy in comparison to the ken’s patriarchy which is played for laughs, among other comedic gags taking digs at gender relations in the modern day, keep the feminist commentary light whilst still making it though provoking for the audience. The joke about Barbie, in her plastic perfection, having to deal with cellulite and flat feet were winners with me and my friends when we went to see the film.
I don’t think the barbie film is perfect in its handling of sexist issues, there were many aspects which were glossed over where a much deeper discussion I think was needed, and the handling of the ken’s plot lines could have been better. But, for a two-hour film, it certainly did a good job. And so, Barbie was able to almost entirely escape her past misogynistic associations and emerge a feminist Icon.
But whilst Gerwig has stated that Barbie is “most certainly a feminist film”, Mattel executives have said the opposite. Thus, like the Barbie doll itself, the barbie film has been the centre of the same debate, being labelled as both feminist and anti-feminist. Barbie is a polarising topic.
The Barbie film contains multitudes. It wields both blunt messaging and nuanced themes, relatable narratives and cartoonish comedy, and moments of fuchsia fantasy and emotional depth. It’s also hilariously self-aware about its messaging. This level of self-awareness in Barbie is where most of its humour and delight comes from, the irony in almost every scene being played for comic value, with great payoff. The villain of this story (and of the real-life evolution of Barbie dolls) is the patriarchy, which is the most astute narrative choice Gerwig could have made. I can’t express enough how well the writers — Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach — nailed how equally hilarious and thought-provoking the premise of the film is. They successfully took a previous cultural marker of misogyny and created a though provoking and hilarious feminist film.
