Barbieland: a seemingly “perfect” world where the Barbies rule, the Kens win best supporting actor, and representation for the queer community is delegated to the casting directors. Aside from a couple jokes alluding to our existence, members of queer communities are markedly absent from the pink utopia. Barbies go with Kens and if you're not Barbie or Ken, you were discontinued and are now the butt of every joke. Despite the clear structural "Othering" of queer communities within Barbieland, one that is never addressed despite the movie's seeming self- awareness, the Barbie movie has received praise from queer fans for the movie's LGBTQ easter eggs. Casting choices, several queer-coded interactions involving the Kens, a bathroom joke and Birkenstocks established inside jokes between the movie's creators and its queer audience.
Despite being in on the joke, I couldn't help but notice how surface level and stereotypical these moments were. Amongst all of the pointed remarks regarding patriarchy, the shallow commentary stood out–and not in a good way. However, as a genderfluid AFAB (assigned female at birth) person, I couldn't help but find the plot and a good majority of the humor incredibly relatable. And honestly, up until the end, I was ready to focus on celebrating the good parts of another imperfect movie. Not only are none of the structural problems in Mattel resolved, but Barbie's ending, becoming a human woman instead of a doll, is punctuated by her going to the gynecologist. The implication that she culminated her transition into human womanhood with a vagina made me remember that the movie wasn't truly made for me.
While many trans women for whom bottom surgery is accessible choose to have it, and it is life- saving care for many, not every trans woman makes that choice. A vagina doesn't define or validate womanhood and the implication that it does not only harms trans women but AFAB trans people as well, especially those who can't access bottom surgery or don't want it. The fixation on genitals expressed in the Barbie movie is uniquely damaging coming from a ciswoman director. Much of the feminist movement relates to the sexual objectification of women's bodies, especially their genitals. Any other aspect of being a woman could have been the culminating moment of Barbie's journey coming into humanity, but the choice of the gynecologist... unfulfilling and alienating.
The feminist movement has long had a problem with intersectionality, the concept that systems of oppression are inextricably linked. Often, people try to address one aspect of the overall system without considering the big picture, even singling out the system(s) that affect them as the only one(s) that should be dismantled. There were several moments in the Barbie movie that directly point to the film’s lack of attention to intersectionality, but one that stood out among the rest was the seemingly comedic choice of naming everyone Barbie or Ken, except the discontinued dolls. Names are a symbol of identity; they hold histories and connections. In this case, Barbie and Ken describe the specific attributes and roles in society that are expected of them, with no room for any other way of being human. Considering the discontinued dolls, it is clear that anyone who doesn’t fit the mold then becomes a social outcast whose uniqueness is used as a weapon against them.
The implications of this fundamental structure of Barbieland for minoritized groups echo systems of oppression in the real world such as homophobia and racism. Because the film is focused on a 2-gender patriarchal framework and explores the idea of a matriarchal utopia rather than a holistic approach to gender equality, it fails to demonstrate the nuances of overlapping systems of oppression. As such, the movie leaves many people, not just queer folks, underrepresented. In a movie about dolls, toys that are designed to allow children to explore the possibilities that await them in their future through their human likeness, I can't help but wish for more. Barbie is for everyone, not just Barbies and Kens.