Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

Abstract

ia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_sources_for_pink_and_blue_as_gender_signifiers#:~:text=Prior%20to%201940%2C%20two%20conflicting,1987%2C%201997%2C%202012).">boys wore pink before WWII</a>.The worst thing Barbie got accused of was her body and how she got blamed for eating disorders. Here’s the thing. I struggled with my body issues all my life. I’ve done most of the fad diets and things I won’t repeat in this article. All in the name of thinness. But I don’t blame Barbie for my body issues.Barbie is a doll, not a human. She didn’t tell a bunch of girls to look like her so boys would like her. She didn’t tell people the only way the world would love her is if she was thin and pretty. She didn’t tell anyone her look is the only acceptable one.She’s a toy. She can’t talk. We had our parents buy her clothes and accessories separately. Most girls colored Barbie’s face, cut her hair, and did what they wanted with the dolls. (Weird Barbie is real!) If anything, how we dressed her reflected upon the attitudes we learned from the adults around us.Do you know what Barbie did? She showed us ways to live our lives we never thought about before.<h1 id="4620">Did You Know Barbie Is A Childfree Icon?</h1>I didn’t. If you asked me last month, I would’ve said my AP English teacher from high school was the first woman who showed me you didn’t have to have kids to live a fulfilled life. I never would’ve guessed a doll showed me first.Think about it for a second. Everything Barbie owns is a result of her many jobs. The Dreamhouse? Hers. The car? Hers. The freakin’ airplane? It’s hers too. She never married Ken and got everything by herself.Do you know who was married in the Barbie universe? Midge. She married Ken’s friend, Allen, and had his babies, but she got discontinued because people thought she promoted teen pregnancy (Again! Baby dolls exist!).Sure, there were kids in the Barbie universe. Barbie had two sisters, and Ken had a little brother. But they were siblings, not their children. If I had more time, I’d take a deep dive into Barbie lore about that, but I’ll leave that to someone with more free time than me.I joke about the baby dolls, but they’re the few toys girls had in the 90s. Baby dolls, play kitchens, play appliances, and animals that had babies are what little girls had in the 90s. Girls’ toys back then set us up to be wives and mothers. (Before you mention Sky Dancers, that toy got recalled. It was cool, though.) Barbie emerged from

Options

the caretaking abyss saying we can do whatever the hell we want if we don’t want to be parents.I feel like Dorothy discovering I had the power all along. It’s not silver slippers this time but a doll. (And not a baby doll. And the shoes were silver in the book.)<h1 id="e31b">Barbie Showed Femininity In a Badass Light Long Before Elle Woods</h1>When I was in middle school, Legally Blonde was the Barbie movie of today. I didn’t see the deeper meaning of Elle Woods, so I hated it.I haven’t seen it since, but I think I’d appreciate the movie more than I did when I was twelve. However, I’d still like Barbie better. There’s a reason Barbie does better than Legally Blonde in showing badass femininity.Elle Woods was motivated by rejection. She didn’t go to law school because she wanted to. She did it because her ex broke up with her, and she wanted to get him back. She doesn’t get her ex back, but she gets another boyfriend in the end. She still needs a man to validate her existence.In the Barbie movie, Barbie does what she wants when she wants. If Ken joins, awesome. If Ken doesn’t join, it’s not ruining Barbie’s day. Do you know how refreshing it is to see it in a movie?Both movies show badass women without turning them into one of the guys. But one of these films did it without needing a love interest.And maybe that’s what Barbie is about. It’s not giving little girls a doll with a fantastic fashion sense and pretty pink shoes. It’s about showing little girls that they can do what they want when they want without needing someone’s approval. Barbie didn’t give a crap about what anyone thought and did what she wanted. If Barbie can do it, so can you.<h1 id="98b3">What About The Monologue?</h1>I’m sure some of you are wondering about my thoughts on the famous monologue from the movie. What’s there to say about it? She’s not wrong. Adding commentary would be like beating on a dead horse.I’m not sorry for disappointing you.<h1 id="ac43">Final Thoughts</h1>One of my greatest fears in life is being an old lady sitting around my death chair surrounded by whoever I feel like being around and saying the phrase, “I wanted to, but…”I got Barbie’s message long before Greta Gerwig thought about making the movie. I became that woman that does what she wants when she wants and doesn’t care if someone doesn’t like it. I hope more women hear that message and start doing the same.</article></body>

The Barbie Movie Gave Me A New Appreciation For The Doll

She’s more of an icon than I realized

I’ll admit; I didn’t like Barbie when I was younger. Sure, I played with her when I was around other girls, but I ripped off their heads and buried them when I was alone. (What? I discovered death at an early age. Weirdly enough, decapitations freak me out now.)

As someone who played Barbie but didn’t get super into her, it looks weird I’d want to watch the movie, right? I got curious. And I won’t judge unless I see a movie first. A movie would need some horrible themes behind it for me to boycott it.

I expected a little girl’s bubblegum fantasy. Instead, I came out of it feeling appreciative of Barbie and what she stands for. She’s more of an icon than I give her credit for being.

Kid Me Remembers Barbie Being On The News For The Weirdest Shit

Barbie was around for decades by the time I was born. Throughout my life, I remember her getting mentioned for the most bizarre things. I remember pregnant Midge and people accusing Barbie of promoting teen pregnancy (You call Barbie promoting teen pregnancy and not the baby dolls that get shoved in a little girl’s face all the time?).

I also remember a short article talking about how Teacher Barbie would start coming with underwear. (She never had genitals to begin with! Trust me, most kids looked; myself included.)

If Barbie Wasn’t A Toy, I’d Apologize To Her

I read somewhere that when a girl starts rejecting anything pink, it’s because she’s starting to understand the role society expects of her. I’m not sure I got the exact quote, but it’s an accurate one.

When I started rejecting pink, the first thing I stopped playing with was the Barbies. I stopped wearing anything pink, and so on. Now, I embrace pink and accepted it’s one of the colors that looks best on me. Though I don’t understand how it became such a detested color when boys wore pink before WWII.

The worst thing Barbie got accused of was her body and how she got blamed for eating disorders. Here’s the thing. I struggled with my body issues all my life. I’ve done most of the fad diets and things I won’t repeat in this article. All in the name of thinness. But I don’t blame Barbie for my body issues.

Barbie is a doll, not a human. She didn’t tell a bunch of girls to look like her so boys would like her. She didn’t tell people the only way the world would love her is if she was thin and pretty. She didn’t tell anyone her look is the only acceptable one.

She’s a toy. She can’t talk. We had our parents buy her clothes and accessories separately. Most girls colored Barbie’s face, cut her hair, and did what they wanted with the dolls. (Weird Barbie is real!) If anything, how we dressed her reflected upon the attitudes we learned from the adults around us.

Do you know what Barbie did? She showed us ways to live our lives we never thought about before.

Did You Know Barbie Is A Childfree Icon?

I didn’t. If you asked me last month, I would’ve said my AP English teacher from high school was the first woman who showed me you didn’t have to have kids to live a fulfilled life. I never would’ve guessed a doll showed me first.

Think about it for a second. Everything Barbie owns is a result of her many jobs. The Dreamhouse? Hers. The car? Hers. The freakin’ airplane? It’s hers too. She never married Ken and got everything by herself.

Do you know who was married in the Barbie universe? Midge. She married Ken’s friend, Allen, and had his babies, but she got discontinued because people thought she promoted teen pregnancy (Again! Baby dolls exist!).

Sure, there were kids in the Barbie universe. Barbie had two sisters, and Ken had a little brother. But they were siblings, not their children. If I had more time, I’d take a deep dive into Barbie lore about that, but I’ll leave that to someone with more free time than me.

I joke about the baby dolls, but they’re the few toys girls had in the 90s. Baby dolls, play kitchens, play appliances, and animals that had babies are what little girls had in the 90s. Girls’ toys back then set us up to be wives and mothers. (Before you mention Sky Dancers, that toy got recalled. It was cool, though.) Barbie emerged from the caretaking abyss saying we can do whatever the hell we want if we don’t want to be parents.

I feel like Dorothy discovering I had the power all along. It’s not silver slippers this time but a doll. (And not a baby doll. And the shoes were silver in the book.)

Barbie Showed Femininity In a Badass Light Long Before Elle Woods

When I was in middle school, Legally Blonde was the Barbie movie of today. I didn’t see the deeper meaning of Elle Woods, so I hated it.

I haven’t seen it since, but I think I’d appreciate the movie more than I did when I was twelve. However, I’d still like Barbie better. There’s a reason Barbie does better than Legally Blonde in showing badass femininity.

Elle Woods was motivated by rejection. She didn’t go to law school because she wanted to. She did it because her ex broke up with her, and she wanted to get him back. She doesn’t get her ex back, but she gets another boyfriend in the end. She still needs a man to validate her existence.

In the Barbie movie, Barbie does what she wants when she wants. If Ken joins, awesome. If Ken doesn’t join, it’s not ruining Barbie’s day. Do you know how refreshing it is to see it in a movie?

Both movies show badass women without turning them into one of the guys. But one of these films did it without needing a love interest.

And maybe that’s what Barbie is about. It’s not giving little girls a doll with a fantastic fashion sense and pretty pink shoes. It’s about showing little girls that they can do what they want when they want without needing someone’s approval. Barbie didn’t give a crap about what anyone thought and did what she wanted. If Barbie can do it, so can you.

What About The Monologue?

I’m sure some of you are wondering about my thoughts on the famous monologue from the movie. What’s there to say about it? She’s not wrong. Adding commentary would be like beating on a dead horse.

I’m not sorry for disappointing you.

Final Thoughts

One of my greatest fears in life is being an old lady sitting around my death chair surrounded by whoever I feel like being around and saying the phrase, “I wanted to, but…”

I got Barbie’s message long before Greta Gerwig thought about making the movie. I became that woman that does what she wants when she wants and doesn’t care if someone doesn’t like it. I hope more women hear that message and start doing the same.