#sorry if this isnt the clearest its kinda late but i couldnt sleep with this in my inbox

[wibble-wobbegong]

What do you think of the criticism that Barbie wasn't feminist enough?

i think barbie couldn’t have been more feminist for the audience it was appealing to. barbie was trying to be applicable to Every woman, but that unfortunately means there isn’t enough time to have specifics for every intersection of woman; there’s trans women, gay women, asian women, black women, hispanic women, native american women, fat women, disabled women, and so many more. barbie makes a nod towards all of these groups in small ways, but doesn’t dive into the intersectional adversity of each group. barbie comes off as a very white and non-queer style of feminism because including every woman includes the ones whose only marginalization is being a woman.

i think barbie was a great feminist movie, but not one for intersectional feminism. it was a movie meant to reach the farthest audience and connect people regardless of other identities— a sisterhood type thing. does that mean intersectionality isn’t crucial in partaking in the dismantling of the patriarchy? no. in the real world, dismantling such a system involves much more than just patriarchy, however dismantling any system cannot be done when people are divided by their unique identities and struggles rather than united by their common ones.

idk how to phrase this properly, but i think barbie’s slacking feminism comes in its lack of intersectionality, but i also don’t think that it was aiming to be intersectional rather than all encompassing. did it succeed in being relatable to all women in some way? i don’t know! i’m not a woman. the lack intersectionality was an intentional choice, but as a result it looks like a type of feminism meant to exclude rather than unite

other than a lack of addressing the different ways patriarchy presents itself to different groups of women, i’m not really sure how it could’ve been more feminist. maybe i need to read more or something

final note: i myself am white and a semi-passing trans man (sometimes i get the girl treatment and harassment, but not as often as a feminine person would) so this is open to input from others