In Defense of Barbie #Unapologetic

As a young girl I had one of the most magnificent Barbie doll collections. I had a whole Barbie case chock full of every outfit imaginable – from roller skating party attire complete with leg-warmers to iridescent ball gowns with puffy sleeves and hot pink tulle. I had the Barbie Dream House, Barbie’s swimming pool, Barbie’s convertible corvette – all of them Pepto-Bismol pink. It was AWESOME!

And even though I am all grown up, I still feel a connection to Barbie. I experience a deep sense of nostalgia whenever I see her lying around at one of my friend’s houses who has daughters. Maybe being the only thing producing estrogen in my house makes me keenly miss that pink girlie wonderful Barbie magic.

So when I heard Barbie was going to be featured in the Sports Illustrated swim suit issue this year I thought “brilliant!” It felt like one of my contemporaries was being recognized for standing the test of time – which any woman over the age of twenty-five can appreciate. And then came the Barbie backlash! All sorts of folks came out of the woodwork ready to throw stones. And it pissed me off. Not just slightly, mind you, but seriously, over the top pissed me off. I was taking it personally. It felt like someone was attacking an old friend. Which was a little crazy. But it started me thinking about why I was so angry. After all I am a feminist. I believe in the power of women and am devoted to correcting mistreatment of women in any way I can. So why aren’t I falling in line with my feminist brethren?

Because they are wrong. Barbie is actually a feminist subversive.

When I think back to what I loved about Barbie it was a sense that she could do it all and have it all. Ken was an afterthought in lame plastic undies that I used to make fun of.

Think about it, that was Barbie’s Dream House. It was not Ken’s Dream House that he bought for Barbie and let her live in as long as she kept it clean. That was Barbie’s car not a car that she received as a gift from a fifty year old man having a mid-life crises. I don’t remember Barbie having any babies she had to take care of. She had friends that she did things with like Skipper. And again, Ken was there occasionally but he was always secondary to whatever story my friends and I had created when playing with Barbie. She was the star. It was her world and Ken just lived in it.

In fact Barbie might think that I’m a big sell out because I have a house and car with my husband and neither of them are pink. I had to compromise and that is something she never had to do.

So for all you Barbie-haters out there I would ask that you stop speaking in sound bites and dig deep into what Barbie meant to so many little girls around the world. She showed us how to own our own lives and live the way we want. No apologies or excuses needed. #Unapologetic indeed.

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