Is Barbie a feminist icon? It's complicated
The Barbie movie has smashed box-office records, brought dress-up back and put feminism in the spotlight.
Specifically, it has many asking: Has a doll long criticized for perpetuating outdated gender norms and unrealistic body image become a feminist icon? Has she always been one?
For context: The movie takes place largely in Barbieland, a candy-colored, women-centered utopia where Barbies hold the positions of power (all of the jobs, really, except for "beach") and Kens are essentially peripheral. That's painted in stark contrast to the "real world," of course.
M.G. Lord, the author of Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll and co-host of the new Barbie podcast LA Made: The Barbie Tapes, describes it as an angry movie made palatable through the lens of childhood products.
"It's almost shocking, in a way, to see such a powerful's Leila Fadel.
