Is Barbie a feminist icon? Flora Gill sparks fierce debate after saying doll was president ‘before a woman was even on the ballot’ but others argue a doll ‘can’t be a role model’
- Flora Gill debated with Laura Dodsworth ahead of the new Greta Gerwig film
- READ MORE: Mother creates Barbie doll with ‘tiger stripes’ to show her daughter they’re ‘perfectly normal
Good Morning Britain erupted into a heated debate this morning after a guest claimed Barbie was a ‘feminist icon’.
Journalist Flora Gill was joined by author Laura Dodsworth to discuss the doll, ahead of the release of the new Greta Gerwig directed film starring Margot Robbie as Barbie.
Speaking to hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls, Laura argued the toy had a problematic and said that a doll ‘can’t be a role model’.
‘We project our fantasies on to dolls because they are our playthings.
‘They are the repositories for our imaginations. And that’s why they’ve changed to reflect the times,’ she added explaining how modern Barbies come in various shapes, sizes and shades.
Laura also explained how in the 1960s, one Barbie came with scales permanently set to just 110lbs (7st 12lbs) and a diet book telling her not to eat.
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Journalist Flora Gill (left) was joined by author Laura Dodsworth (right) to discuss the doll, ahead of the release of the new Greta Gerwig directed film starring Margot Robbie as Barbie
Flora argued that the doll can ‘still be beautiful and an icon’ and that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie are both ‘great feminists. Margot is pictured in the film
‘In the nineties they made her waist a bit bigger because if she was a real woman she would die,’ Laura added.
‘And then in the 2000s they got rid of her thigh gap and now we’re being told she’s challenging realistic beauty standards and she can do any job.
‘And that’s all good things but she’s just a blank canvas that we project ourselves onto.
Also, don’t forget, Barbie is a brand. This is a huge multimedia franchise but she’s not a role model,’ she added.
However Flora argued that the doll can ‘still be beautiful and an icon’ and that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie are both ‘great feminists’.
‘I think she can absolutely be an icon, and idol for girls and women.
‘I’m not going to defend everything but what feminist among us has ever been perfect? Things develop, things evolve and she has a new version of herself.
Flora (right, talking to Susannah Reid) said there is ‘no limited numbers of jobs Barbie can have’
Australian-born Robbie (pictured) revealed last week that she would have rejected the Barbie movie if the toy company Mattel hadn’t diversified its world-famous doll because she did not want to present a singular image of ‘what women should aspire to be and look like’
‘Barbie has these vlogs on YouTube which are great about dealing with lots of issues like women apologising too much.
‘I think she definitely can be a role model, I don’t think she needs to be little girls and women’s model.
‘I’m not saying she should be the only role model.
‘We shouldn’t tear down the posters of Malala and replace them with Barbie but I think she can be one of them.
‘Children have impressions from everywhere put on them and Barbie being a good one is important.’
Last week, Warner Bros. Pictures unveiled a new trailer for the $100M-budget fantasy flick bringing the famous Mattel doll to life
‘We use to think that being a feminist and role model meant you couldn’t dress in pink and wear high heels, we’ve moved on from that, feminists come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
‘There are no limited numbers of jobs Barbie can have. She’s had more than 200 jobs, many of them in male dominated fields,’ she added.
‘She was president before there was even a woman on the ballot in America’.
The first President Barbie was released in 1992, 24 years Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be nominated for president in the US.
Their discussion comes ahead of the Barbie movie, released later this month, which critics have praised as a ‘feminist romp’.
Australian-born Robbie revealed last week that she would have rejected the Barbie movie if the toy company Mattel hadn’t diversified its world-famous doll because she did not want to present a singular image of ‘what women should aspire to be and look like’.
She is referring to the original Barbie, presented initially as a curvaceous fashion doll. All her life, its creator Ruth Handel rejected criticism that the toy encouraged a sexist view of women and could be harmful to girls’ views of themselves.
By 1983, however, Barbie had become even more model-beautiful and future Mattel CEO Jill Barad thought the reason sales were flagging was because of the criticism the doll was sexist. She launched a campaign to market the doll as a professional role model with the tag line We Girls Can Do Anything. Barbie now has more than 175 looks with different skin tones, hair textures, body sizes and dolls with different disabilities.
Industry insiders are predicting the film could be more popular than last year’s hit Top Gun: Maverick starring Tom Cruise, which has taken £565million. Such platinum success is light years away from the early life of the doll’s creator. Ruth Mosko, as she was born, was the daughter of Jewish-Polish American immigrants. Her father was a blacksmith who had deserted the Russian Army, while her mother was illiterate.
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