Barbie’s in the news again and it has everyone scratching their heads. Why is Mattel working so hard to keep a 62-year-old fashion doll relevant? Shouldn’t it be normal for girls to move on to a doll that their great-grandmothers didn’t play with?
I mean, I love the fact that Barbie and the gang is still around. But her handlers are working so hard. Barbie has been seen wearing a hijab. In a wheelchair. She took up fencing. She dressed up like Frieda Kahlo (although that may have been due to coincidentally forgetting to tweeze her eyebrows on the same day she went to Paint-n-Sip). Last month Barbie had the gall to Tweet out her last name. Most of us didn’t think she even had one.
And the jobs she has. I know it’s hard to pick one or two things you want to be when you grow up, but Barbie has been everything from an aerobics instructor to an architect, a U.S. presidential candidate, and a pediatrician with a side job at The Gap.
To what lengths will she go to convince us she’s just a regular gal?
For comparison, take Midge. What’s she doing while Barbie is out there trying to out-Kardashian everyone? I’ll tell you what she’s doing. She’s doing regular girl stuff. Putting on a one-piece and laying out by the little blow-up pool. Slipping into a baggy capri and going on a picnic with Alan. She’s had the same babysitting job for 45 years. She remembers to tweeze her eyebrows, and there’s evidence she wears her retainer every night.
Yes, the relatable one was Midge. And no one identified more with Midge than me. [Read more…] about I Relate to Midge