An apology to Barbie | Teen Ink

An apology to Barbie

October 1, 2023
By miaofutianjerry PLATINUM, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
miaofutianjerry PLATINUM, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
32 articles 98 photos 0 comments

I recently read an article called “Barbie: A Visual Dictionary." After reading it, I want to say that Barbie, I'm sorry I used to avoid learning about you.

In my childhood, I resisted learning about Barbie simply because I am a boy. Pink, as indicated in this article, is the color of Barbie's world. People can also change Barbie’s outfit and hairstyle. As a boy, I should not be interested in any of those things above.

I rejected getting to know Barbie as I started supporting feminism. The Aqua song in the text explains it: "You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere." I left my impression that barbie was a feminism-opposing objectified female image created under male gazes and stereotypes. So, I was not excited for the Barbie movie.

However, the movie reviews about Barbie being a pioneer in feminism have astonished me and caused me to reevaluate my perception of Barbie.

I was unaware that Barbie can come in various professional attires that even include clothings of male-dominated STEM fields until I read this article. Now, I want to ask myself what feminism means. It seems like that I imposed too many shallow limitations on feminists, such as only wearing uni-sex clothes and even always being single. However, I failed to recognize the core meaning, which is to allow females to become whoever they want to be without any restrictions, like what Barbie has done for decades.

I have never owned a Barbie, but I believe that when girls dress Barbie in different professional clothings, they also open up a world of possibilities for themselves.



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