But We Do Still Need Fat Barbie.
I’m seeing the Barbie movie tonight, with a bunch of local mom friends. We are wearing pink. I am preparing to LOVE it, wholly and unapologetically. As mentioned last week, I’m having a bit of a time. I need a night of hot pink feminist joy.
And yet—every time I see the memes and the trailers and Margot Robbie’s adorableness everywhere, I think: Looks like they forgot the fat politics.
This is both not a surprise and a perpetual annoyance. White feminism loves to forget about fat people, as well as Black and brown people and disabled people. Body positivity loves to forget about fat people, too. But it feels like a particularly sharp oversight here when Barbie’s body—and its clear opposition to fatness—has been the subject of decades of discourse and research and handwringing. As Jennifer Weiner wrote on Instagram this week:
The movie took on a lot, as it both upheld and subverted Barbie’s message, with a censorious toy company and a movie studio looking on, and I’m impressed with how much Greta Gerwig got away with. I just wanted a little more acknowledgement of how Barbie has been part of the problem before I was willing to see her as part of the solution.
And, as
notes that the movie doesn’t grapple very directly with white supremacy either:
Chrissy King on Instagram: “This Barbie wants to talk about the @barbie movie. This is not to rain on the Barbie parade because I really enjoyed the movie and so many important topics were addressed. But there’s one thing that no one is talking about. While the movie did a fairly good job at pointing out the errors of the patriarchy, the movie completely failed to talk about the bigger issue - white supremacy. Aside from the one joke that called the main character ‘white savior Barbie’, the movie didn’t address the issue. The patriarchy only exists because of white supremacy. And when we focus only on the patriarchy without addressing white supremacy, it allows the door wide open for white feminism. And as I discuss in The Body Liberation Project, the thing that is so jarring about white feminism is that feminism is about the equality of the sexes. So in that sense, it’s easy for white women to recognize when there are inequalities present that are based on gender and personally affect them, but on the flip side, they have a difficult time seeing the implications of race and racism, as it pertains to Black and brown women. It’s easy to say that the patriarchy is responsible for the issues women face because that puts much of the blame on men, but when pointing to white supremacy as the culprit it’s often far more difficult because it doesn’t absolve white women of their participation in the system. Yes, the president of Barbie Land was a Black woman, but as we know from history, having a Black president doesn’t mean that racism and its impact are over. And secondly, it wasn’t lost on me that the character played by American Ferrera was the one doing the education for white, stereotypical Barbie, which ironically, doesn’t differ from real life. BIPOC women are doing the brunt of the education work. So while I loved the movie, I really wish it would have gone deeper and addressed the correlation between white supremacy and the patriarchy, while acknowledging that white women are also complicit within the system. And none of the Barbies are free unless all of the Barbies are free and that can’t occur without dismantling white supremacy.”August 2, 2023
Can one movie be all the things and sponsored by Mattel? Probably not. And I don’t think it’s useful to ban Barbie. But I also don’t think that Curvy Barbie got us anywhere; if anything she was a setback. When researchers asked 84 girls aged 3 to 10 to assign positive or negative traits to different Barbies (original, tall, petite, and curvy), the kids identified Curvy Barbie as the one they least wanted to play with, according to this 2019 study.
Also a setback: The press release that landed twice (twice!) in my inbox this week, subject line: Searches for 'Margot Robbie diet' EXPLODE by 1364% following the Barbie movie. Cool, great, amazing. The press release goes on to describe what an expert thinks Robbie’s diet is or should be, despite this person being completely unaffiliated with her or the movie. Please, if you’re going to diet, don’t base your meal plan off what you think a human pretending to be a doll would eat?
But I’m willing to hold space for all of the nuances here. So let’s discuss: If you’ve seen the movie, how do you think it handled bodies and fatness (if at all)? If you haven’t, why aren’t you going?
I’d also love to know how you talked about the movie (and it’s fat politics or lack thereof) with any kids in your life. And if you have general Barbie Body Stories to share, we’re here for it.
I’ll tell you one Fat Barbie I am very here for is this excellent downloadable illustration by the great Taynee Tinsley. I already own two of her prints and might need this one too.
Taynee Tinsley on Instagram: “Ask your Mother 😉 💕NOW AVAILABLE 💕”
August 1, 2023
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:Happy Fat Liberation Month! NAAFA has a cool list of events happening. Support their work here.
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