Why I Won’t Go to See the Barbie Movie (but am thrilled it’s successful)

I have little interest in watching the Barbie movie, but I am thrilled to see it breaking box office records. Why? Because it is a movie made by women, about women, featuring women, and is clearly intended for women.

When I was growing up in the 1970s, my sisters and I had a few Barbie dolls, but they did not dominate our toy collection. Our mother ensured we had gender-neutral toy options, such as Matchbox cars, trucks, teddy bears, soft toys, dolls, and even a doctor's kit that we all enjoyed playing with.

As a parent, I refused to allow gender stereotypes to dictate what toys my children played with. My son even received a "special tea set" for afternoon tea parties, which led to happy memories of him and my dad enjoying special afternoon tea parties together. When my daughter was born, she had access to Duplo, Lego, teddy bears and other soft toys.

However, I consciously decided to ban two types of toys from our household: guns and Barbies. I believe that Barbies represent the oppressive gender roles that society imposes on girls and women. Barbie's unrealistic body type and longing for an boring bloke like Ken are the opposite of my feminist values.

When my daughter started having birthday parties, I realised that my ban on Barbies would be challenging to enforce. Some parents would inevitably buy Barbies as gifts, and I would then be on a mission to secretly dispose of them. Eventually, I clarified to family and friends that I would prefer that Barbies were not gifted to my kids. I am quite sure that I earned yet more eyerolls for my decision to honour my feminist values.

Fast forward to today, and the Barbie movie is a major success, earning $155 million in its opening weekend. Women and girls are flocking to the cinema to see it, and my social media feeds are filled with images of enthusiastic Barbie fans, of all ages and all genders.

This success proves that when goods, services, and experiences are designed for women and girls and consider their needs, they will be consumed. Women are a powerful market force, and organisations that ignore this fact miss out on potential profits.

To pay attention to women, organisations should hire more women, promote more women to executive positions, ensure that women are part of design teams, procure from women-owned businesses, invest in women-owned ventures, and create workplaces that work for women.

Although I have no intention of paying to see the Barbie movie, I am curious enough to watch it for free when it inevitably becomes available on a streaming service. After all, it is a movie made by women, about women, featuring women, and is clearly intended for women.

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