Come on, Barbie, let’s f*ck the patriarchy
Image from David Levinthal’s Barbie series, 1997.
“The feminist agenda will kill us all”
- a letterboxd incel
It would be impossible not to know a thing about Greta Gerwig’s latest masterpiece, Barbie before going to view it. Whilst I was eager to make my own judgements about the film, I couldn’t help but read over 10 different reviews. I tried to refrain myself, I really did. In the media, the main discussion surrounding the film seems to be based on whether or not the film is ‘feminist’ - and if it is, is it feminist enough? Or on the other side, is the film an ‘assault on men’ ‘promot[ing] a trans agenda?’ I’ll make my opinion clear as Barbie’s skin with the help of Glamour mag’s review: “Barbie Isn’t Anti-men (I Wish It Was)”.
The film is certainly encouraging many a right-wing commentator to get vocal, clutching at straws in attempt to bring down the film’s well-deserved hype. The film which stars a range of well-known faces from Dua Lipa cameoing as a mermaid to Sex Education favourites Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey and Connor Swindells as well as Hari Nef who recently starred in The Weeknd’s controversial series, The Idol. Hari Nef plays one of the Barbie’s in protagonist ‘Stereotypical Barbie’s’ inner circle, and doesn’t appear to have any more than a total of 10 minutes screen time. This led to Peachy Keenan, a woman who self identifies as a “husbosexual” (someone only attracted to her husband(s), to describe the film as the “most insidious packaging of feminist cliche’s and trans grooming [she] has ever seen”. I find it hilarious, but equally terrifying that a film that does not even include a single LGBTQIA+ narrative can provoke such charged language - a personal favourite of mine is the one star letterboxd review: “they won’t stop until we are all gay”. In reality, Greta Gerwig’s intention was to create a feminist film “in a way that includes everyone”.
Whilst the film includes much relatable content that indeed uses men and their interests as the butt of jokes, it undoubtably promotes them too, shedding light on the importance of their involvement in feminist movements. As Ryan Gosling, playing a hysterical and very sweet Ken realises, the patriarchy will hurt him too. Ken’s story arc is a clear one: he is in love with Barbie, is a caring and innocent person but when exposed to the ‘real world’ and seeing a patriarchal society live in the flesh, his personality changes, his clothes change, he drinks beer, he becomes disrespectful, loud, bashful he mansplains The Godfather (thanks Greta for tapping into this social phenomenon millions of women have experienced, we are now united). Yet I sympathised with Ken. A TikTok appeared on my fyp that read his narrative as a representation of boys coming-of-age, born into the world innocent before being poisoned by the patriarchy to conform to ideals of what it means to ‘be a man’.
(Left) Margot Robbie slaying in the original outfit of the first Barbie dolls, the vintage black and white swimsuit, 1959 - 1961.
(Right) Ryan Gosling serving the vintage '“K” print shirt manufactured between 1960 - 1969.
Whilst I am steadfast in my opinion that feminism is for men, and its causes are helped incredibly by men, I also believe the Barbie film doesn’t and shouldn’t have to please them. There’s some irony in the backlash and centering of men’s voices and opinions in the media right now, serving to highlight exactly why the Barbie film with its relatable content (case in point: the depressed Barbie watching 2005 Pride and Prejudice on repeat) and its focus on a wider female perspective was gobbled up by women. For once, could women claim something as their own without it having to also entertain and appease men? Barbie dolls were created and marketed to young girls to believe and follow their dreams - as Margot Robbie desperately pleads Barbie’s case to the reluctant and angry teen, Sasha: “Barbie is a doctor, and a lawyer, and so much more than that!”. If the Barbie dolls were ‘made for girls’ then of course this film is one targeted at that same marginalised demographic. Although to caveat here, the Barbie movie has been enjoyed by many different people, including men - even when they are the butt of the joke. I (surprisingly like many others) watched the film with my boyfriend who was howling equally as loud as I was with laughter, and it was a breath of fresh air to see many other guys in the crowd, also laughing at the representations of themselves, and seeing a truth in them. If art cannot be enjoyed in good faith, then I think it may be time to step away from the screen (@Ben Shapiro, Elon Musk, Ginger Gaetz, Armond White, Christian Toto, and more who live in fear that “the feminist agenda will kill us all”).
Steeped in childhood nostalgia and early experiences of discovering and exploring ‘femininity’, Barbie is an iconic and fun movie that is also a slice of history, both personal and cultural. It’s a shame that this is so offensive to some. What most upsets me though, are the women critics, or should I say brainwashed barbies, who call for boycotting of the film. It is always a hard pill for me to swallow to see any person, but especially and most perplexingly women with the power and privilege to write and speak out as anti-feminists with language and opinions charged by violence and malice.
As the film approaches its end, the clear and direct feminist messages do not relent (as they shouldn’t). In fact, they seem to get stronger and stronger with Gloria, the mother who played too hard with our protagonist, stereotypical Barbie causing her flat feet and cellulite, tells her:
“It’s literally impossible to be a woman…
…you are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like we always have to be extraordinary. But somehow we’re always doing it wrong”.
The notion of living as a woman and ‘doing it wrong’ resonates with me incredibly. I often question my decisions and wonder if I am ‘feminist’ enough - if I am doing something, wearing something, saying something from an innate place to me, or am I pandering to a male gaze? Do I want male validation? When I think a decision is my own, I find myself second guessing myself, gaslighting myself even, that I am simply a product of internalised misogyny and have been brainwashed by the patriarchal air that I breathe. This fragile sense of identity as a woman is often disconcerting, it really sucks to feel like you are constantly contradicting yourself. For example whilst writing this, slating the backwards critics with their anti-feminist, unbacked up opinions from the middle ages, I opened a fresh tab to search for the ‘marry me chicken’ recipe which I will be cooking tonight for my boyfriend when he arrives home from work.
Being a woman is hard, and incredible and scary, and being a woman who also identifies as a feminist is to live in constant contradiction of yourself - we must treat ourselves and our fellow girls with care and nuance. If you take anything away from the Barbie film or this review turned right-wing slander, turned emotional diary entry, let it be that I am inconsistent and it is ok to be: feminism is not one thing - nor for one kind of person.