We were in the mall today and I had to laugh at the Barbie collection in Aldo Shoes. Tall, pointed, bright pink, plastic shoes with “Bernie” in cursive rhinestones on the side.
For $150, but they did make me smile.
I think the last time I put on plastic shoes was somewhere back in the early 1980’s when Jelly shoes were a thing.
On the flip side, I did manage to convince Kirk to go to the Barbie Movie with me a few days ago.
Now hear me out. The movie was cute, and amusing, and fluffy, and glitzy.
It was also kind of upsetting, infuriating, sad, and a very solid statement on patriarchy. It’s actually a very thought provoking show and I can se why there are some demographics that are up in arms over it.
For any woman who has ever been subjected to the push-pull of ‘you can be anything’, ‘oh…no…you’re being too much’ … which is to say …every woman… the monologue that America Ferrera’s character, Gloria, delivers to the Barbies is moving, and emotional, and heartfelt, and definitely hits home.
And no, I didn’t buy the shoes, definitely not my style. 🙃
America Ferrera’s Powerful Monologue in Barbie
It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.
You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people.
You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining. You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.
But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don’t even know.