Burke, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1486-5972 and Kon-yu, Natalie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2023-6910 (2026) ‘Get in the box, you Jezebel!’: Barbie, gender identity and coalitional feminism. Feminist Media Studies, 26 (3). pp. 1027-1042. ISSN 1468-0777

Abstract

Any movie about Barbie would seem antithetical to feminism—if not outright anti-feminist. The saturation of pink, the damaging beauty standards and the performance of a stereotypical and limited notion of femininity are all evident in the film. Problematic, too, is the fact that the film is also a Hollywood blockbuster, made with a huge budget and the backing of corporate giant Mattel. However, in this paper we will argue that despite these factors, and in some cases because of them, the film demonstrates a radical feminist message. This, we contend, can be seen in two ways. Firstly, the film revels in its performativity—gender in Barbieland is absolutely distinct from biology, and thus is critical of the essentialising discourse promulgated by gender critical feminists. Secondly the problems of patriarchy are always viewed as systemic rather than individual, and as such require more effort to solve than merely “leaning in” to the dominant power structure. We will argue that the ability of some of the Barbies, humans, Kens and Allan to form a coalition, despite their differences, and work together to overthrow patriarchy constitutes a critique of choice or neo-liberal feminism as well as gender critical feminism.

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