the barbie movie

This post was edited on October 24th, 2023 by nonbinarybarbie

Whether you have seen it or not, the Barbie movie was a huge hit when it came into theaters on July 21st and made over 1.4 billion dollars. The reason behind why it was such a huge hit is because viewers felt a deeper understanding and connection of what it means to be a woman. An example of how this movie created a connection amongst its viewers is the fact that almost everybody that went to see it wore pink! The movie itself touched on patriarchy and societal constraints that women endure and also showed how men are affected by systems of patriarchy. It is important to discuss this movie because it works to define both girlhood and womanhood and the constraints that come along with such. Throughout this blog post, we will discuss the speech from Gloria played by America Ferrera and the discussion of the movies’ impact in Brittany Broski’s podcast!

Now, let us talk about ways the Barbie movie spoke to what girlhood and womanhood means! A scene from the movie that portrays this, is when the character Gloria speaks about how it feels to be a woman and what constraints she has seen or endured. She explains how women have to act a certain way to not be seen in a bad light when it comes to appearance, money, character, being a mother, etc. She explains how such constraints have affected her and the women around her throughout her life. I can’t speak for all viewers, but I definitely left feeling like a movie finally spoke to me. It felt nostalgic thinking of what this movie would have done for me when I was younger. By recognizing and discussing the constraints that come with being a woman, Gloria was able to cause change in and out of the screen. 

Following the movie coming out, there were a lot of videos about it. Ranging from what pink clothes to wear, posts with nostalgic pictures titled “this is the girl who really went to see the barbie movie”, or posts analyzing the meaning behind certain scenes, one in particular spoke out to me. In her podcast titled ,The Broski Report, Brittany Broski talked about what the Barbie movie meant to her. She explained how women have been affected by having to worry about what men think or how they need to act or look when just simply trying to live their day to day lives. She explains how for herself it has been ingrained from a young age to her that women are sex symbols and will not be given the same treatment as men. She has endured a lot of emotional toll, just as other women have and the Barbie movie spoke to that. I highly suggest you give her podcast channel a look for more deeper conversations that might entice you!

While girlhood and womanhood can have completely different meanings to everyone that identify with them, this movie truly unified both. Theaters filled with women from every age, race, and sexual identity can relate to what Barbie offers in one way or another. Men from such differing backgrounds can also relate to how patriarchy has affected them, both inward and outward. Overall, it is important, not only for women and young girls to understand what it means to them, but it is also important to educate men on the importance of girlhood and womanhood in a society that caters to them. By having more movies like Barbie that call out structures in society that oppress people in regards to gender, race, sexuality, religion, etc we can create more change not only in the movie industry, but also among us.