‘Imagination, life is your creation’
Proclaims Aqua in their 1997 hit Barbie Girl[1]. The song is not designed for children, but nevertheless explores an imaginative world.
This world is first created by a development in children’s play. A child playing with a toy changes their interaction from trying to discover: ‘what does this do?’ to ‘what can I do with this?’[2] A block is hard, makes noise when dropped and is stackable, instead becomes a boat, a road, a telephone. This is the first step into pretend play.
The design of the toy often influences how children play, which leads to a kind a co-creation of play, between the toy manufacturer, and the child. Interestingly, Barbie was created with knowledge of this influence in mind. Her creator Ruth Handler aware of changing views of women’s role in society, created a grown-up doll, not a baby doll[3]. A doll through which the child could imagine herself, her future, rather than play the role of a mother. To a contemporary person, Barbie’s focus on idealized beauty, fashion, and designer career outfits might not appear feminist, but at the time of her creation it was innovative.
Controversy haunts the popular doll. Progressive career choices such as Barbie running for president and becoming an astronaut jostle alongside a talking Barbie spouting ‘Math class is tough’ or holding a diet book advising ‘Don’t eat.’ Barbie is instantly recognizable, but she’s also changed over 60+ year history. Her eyes are no longer downcast but face straight ahead, her feet now accommodate flat shoes, she wears less make-up, and her ethnic diversity is more realistic. Yet she cannot escape being judged for her appearance and its impact on children’s self-concept[4].
Her biggest change is explored in the documentary Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie[5], which I happened to stumble upon one evening. The film explores Barbie’s reincarnations over the decades and centers around Mattel’s project to give Barbie three new body types (curvy, petite, and tall). The complexities of this change, and the reactions of feminists, children, parents, and the media are as emotional as they are diverse.
The angst that a piece of plastic can create seems extreme but is not unusual in today’s world of marketing and social media. I wonder, though, if there is something more in Barbie’s case. Perhaps her personification cuts a little too close to home. As we can project our adventures, fashion shows and careers through Barbie, so she reflects us. Is the reason she generates such fervour in opinion because her reflection makes us uncomfortable?
The reflection that we still judge ourselves and others by what we look like, that we are still unsure how to talk about body image and body type. The reflection of the power that fashion holds, the power of corporations, money, and marketing. Perhaps we do not like that, like us, Barbie is inconsistent. She means different things to different people.
Barbie will never solve these problems that make us uncomfortable. Mattel will never produce a Barbie that someone does not have a problem with, because we haven’t solved these problems ourselves yet.
But this is not reason to despair. For Barbie’s true power lies not in her shape, but in her ability to spark the imagination. And we, can speak into that space, not by telling children what to think, but by asking questions.
Barbie’s true power lies not in her shape, but in her ability to spark the imagination.
The student assignment that spawned ArtActivistBarbie is a beautiful example of this. Descending upon a local art gallery armed with Barbie dolls and tiny placards, the students were tasked with commenting on the artworks[6]. The project proved so successful that ArtActivistBarbie was born.
She regularly posts on twitter with beautifully framed photographs of the doll, placard in hand next to the artworks as she disrupts the gender (and cultural) narratives portrayed by these institutions.
I love it. It is so Barbie. She protests the objectification of women, whilst being one of the most prominent examples of it. She proudly proclaims ‘refuse to be the muse’ as she calls out museums on both the subject matter of their art and the lack of diverse representations of artists. Naturally, she looks good doing it, wearing hand-made vintage couture. Barbie has always been about fashion. It’s humorous, thoughtful, and playful.
And it’s working. ArtActivistBarbie has been invited to guest curate an exhibition[7].
Reader, we might not all become twitter sensations, but we can all imagine. We can be curious about children’s play, inviting them to articulate their thoughts for us. We can listen. We, like the original Barbie, can offer an alternative to stereotypes. Together we can create the opportunities for girls (and all children) to be anything they can imagine.
We can play.
[1] Aqua. (1997). Barbie Girl [song]. On Aquarium. Universal Music Publishing Group; Warner Chappell Music, Inc. [2] Johnson, Christie, J. F., & Wardle, F. (2005). Play, development, and early education. Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. [3] Gilbert, S. (2018, May 2). Can Barbie Really Have It All? The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/05/tiny-shoulders-review-hulu/559277/ [4] Kilbane, B. (2021, Feb 16). Barbie’s 60th Birthday Wish Was to Be More Inclusive. Now What? Allure. https://www.allure.com/story/can-barbie-be-more-inclusive-60th-anniversary [5] Nevins, A. (Director). Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie [Film]. Rare Bird Films. [6] Williamson, S. (2020, May 14). Meet ArtActivistBarbie, the fearless funny feminist taking on a white male art world. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/meet-artactivistbarbie-the-fearless-funny-feminist-taking-on-a-white-male-art-world-138041 [7] See above.