Critics of Barbie tend to point out the socialite standards that Barbie adheres to, rather than the ones she breaks. Obviously Barbie is a plastic doll, and yes, she does adhere to an unrealistic beauty standard, but she didn’t invent that standard. At her infancy Barbie was forced to follow these gender and beauty rules in order to be a sell-able product. Over the years as the world have become more inclusive, so has Barbie. But Barbie has also broken a lot of the standards that society had in place for women over the years before the world was so accepting of it. Barbie had to look the way she did/does so that the general public would listen to her other, more important messages. More Than a Doll is meant to explore what Barbie reflects about society and what she works to improve/change, and to defend Barbie as a feminist and a role model for young women.

"Barbie reflected all sorts of elements in the culture both positive and negative."

Many argue that Barbie is just another tool of the patriarchy, but I think that those people are missing the point. Some iconic feminists, such as Gloria Steinem, have reported that they are "so grateful that I didn't grow up with Barbie." Steinem and many other second wave feminists thought of Barbie as the embodiment of what 'the man' wanted them to be. Which, in part, is true. Yes Barbie (traditionally) is blonde and impossibly thin which indeed is the standard that society has pushed on women for decades. But these standards oppressed Barbie for years similarly to how they oppress real life women. American activist Amy Richards put it best when she said, "when adults talk about barbie they aren’t talking about the classic doll…they’re talking about gender roles and white supremacy, and body image, and beauty-ness. And I think barbie symbolically get caught up in that."

Since her debut in 1959 Barbie has been changing young minds through doll play. There was never a toy like this on the market in the past. Until Barbie hit the shelves the only dolls available for young girls were baby dolls. From a very early age this taught girls to nature and gave the subliminal message that mothering and taking care of others is what women were meant to do. Barbie broke the mold of what girls could play with thus changing the narrative for little girls everywhere. With Barbie girl could dream of being women rather than being trained for motherhood. Barbie's primary message is that girls can be anything, this mantra teaches girls to break the mold of the role that society has given them and to be whatever and whoever they want.

"For girls the Barbie represented a sort of rebellion. There no ‘mom with three ungrateful kids’ Barbie. Right? Barbie is always single, she’s always carefree."

I have always been a Barbie girl. Growing up I had over 50 dolls and each one played a different role in this little world that I had build for myself. In this world Barbie could be anything and so could I. Through doll play I explored narratives about my dreams and goals for the future, I expressed feelings I didn't yet understand about my sexuality and identity, and I discovered my love of fashion, art, and design. I know it sounds crazy that a couple dolls could do so much, but for myself and many others Barbie serves as an outlet for children to explore a lot about themselves. Because of Barbie's brand messaging I always knew that whatever discovery I came to was okay because if Barbie could be anything, then so could I. More Than a Doll, in addition to being an analysis of movements in the zeitgeist as shown through Barbie herself, is my chance to defend Barbie as a role model. Since she was such a big role model in my life and I believe so strongly in the messages that she has taught me, I want to ensure that others can look past their judgments and see what Barbie really represents.