If you are a parent of a boy aged 17-20, I’d appreciate your help with an article I am working on. If you’re interested, drop me an email katemangino@gmail.com and I’ll reply with some questions. All responses will be anonymous! Thank you!
Yes, I saw Barbie. My daughter and I actually tried to get tickets over the weekend, but all the shows were sold out. So, we finally went last night.
I can’t say I was excited about going. I didn’t own many Barbies growing up. I never had a dream house. Evan and I didn’t let our kids play with Barbies when they were little. This was intentional, because we were uncomfortable with the way Barbie sexualizes the female form, and represents an unrealistic body image for girls and women. I guess I basically went last night, because Beatrice wanted to go; I always love hanging out with her one-on-one, and I figured any movie with Kate McKinnon couldn’t be all that bad.
Essentially, I had no expectations – or at least not high expectations. And I was pleasantly surprised.
I greatly respect Greta Gerwig for taking on some massive cultural issues (misogyny, body imagine, materialism, fragile masculinity) in a summer blockbuster. I liked that some characters loved Barbie and others hated her. Through those differing opinions in the film, Gerwig acknowledged where Barbie has failed in the past – and that impressed me. I liked that, although Margot Robbie’s character was referred to as Stereotypical Barbie, she wasn’t stick skinny – and the other Barbies came in all different colors, shapes, and abilities.
But I can also understand how some might interpret the movie’s inclusivity as tokenism. After all, there was only one Barbie who used a wheelchair; and only one curvy Barbie. And they were all stereotypically pretty. I respect the feminists who won’t go to this movie because Barbie’s brand of Feminism does not mirror their own.
In my own humble opinion, I generally think that an imperfect conversation about gender is better than no conversation about gender. I am glad Barbie was made. I am glad I saw it. And I am glad it is doing well.
But let’s dig a little deeper, because that is where the fun is.
From my own personal gender lens, I think the Barbie movie did a few things really well. But I also think they could have done better in a few places, too. If you’re interested, read on. I’ll try to keep movie references general so I don’t spoil any plot twists. But if you haven’t seen the Barbie movie and want to watch the movie with 100% fresh eyes – you might want to skip the following bullets.
I’ll start with my favorite parts:
Ken Discovers Misogyny in the Real World: Without any dialog, this short (and hilarious) montage manages to convey the crushing impact that misogyny has on our culture. To be able to make a change, people have to first “see” the problem. Maybe watching Ken discover misogyny will help more people “see” how pervasive misogyny is.
The Mom Speech: There’s a place in the movie where Gloria, played by America Ferrera, does an amazing job of articulating the narrow margin of what is appropriate for women and girls. “Be thin but not too thin… work hard for leadership positions at work, but don’t be too aggressive.” This well-written speech precisely described the tightrope so many of us walk throughout our lives – trying to color inside the unspoken lines of acceptable female behavior. I imagine a lot of female-identifying people in the audience felt the way I did. But my real hope is that male-identifying people in the audience also pay attention to this speech. I hope male viewers think about the narrow margin of “acceptable” we have created for girls and women, and take a moment to empathize. Even better if they ask themselves – what can I do to change this? How can I make sure the girls and women in my life know that this is NOT my expectation, and that I love them no matter what.
But there were some parts that I think could have been better.
End Scene with the Kens: I felt that the portrayal of the Kens (blatantly unintelligent and lacking any level of self-awareness) was needlessly condescending and emasculating. Instead of making all the Kens look foolish, I wish the movie used that opportunity to embrace a wide range of masculinities - and demonstrate a variety of ways that a Ken can be a man. I would have preferred the movie communicate that stereotypical gender roles are limiting for everyone, and how all of us benefit when we shed these constructed social norms.
Gender Binary: All characters and references were restricted to being male or being female. It appears that Mattel actually does sell a line of gender-neutral Barbies. Why not use this movie to showcase that product, and push Barbie lovers to think about Barbie in a new way? This movie missed the opportunity to discuss gender fluidity. Maybe Barbie self-censored to avoid a political battle, since the GOP is currently waging a cultural war on gender identity. But gender rights are human rights. I wish Barbie used some of its influence and social power to send a stronger message on this issue. I wish that the movie found a way to state, in some way, gender identity doesn’t really matter. It really just comes down to what kind of human you are.
Overall, I think the movie did a good job of summarizing our current place in time: yes, there has been progress. Barbie, and all women, are in a different place than they were in 1959, or in 1989. We have made progress. But this movie is merely a snapshot in time. We are nowhere near gender equality; we have so much more work to do.
I’d love to know your thoughts, too!
This is such a smart take, Kate! I also wanted a little more about equality at the end - it’s not enough for it to stay Barbieland.