The Barbie movie is taking over the world. Have you seen it yet?
Back in 2006, I did an essay about Barbie for NPR's This I Believe series, titled A Grown-Up Barbie.
Like many girls, I learned to sew so I could make clothes for my Barbie. The essay is about how the blond-haired, blue eyed Malibu Barbie affected my red-haired, freckled self -- and my career as a fashion designer.
An excerpt: "I consider myself a feminist and I feel like a moron admitting it, but it's true: I believe in Barbie.
For me, as a kid, Barbie was about cool clothes, a cool job, cool friends and cool accessories: the airplane, the apartment building and the camper. I learned to sew so I could make outfits for Barbie and her friends, who took turns being the airplane pilot, the doctor, the fashion designer. Barbie was never about Ken. He was always a little dusty and in the corner."
Show Notes & Links:
https://fashionbrainacademy.com/barbie/
The original NPR essay recording:
https://www.npr.org/2006/05/22/5419659/a-grown-up-barbie
This I Believe book:
https://thisibelieve.org/store/this-i-believe-paperback/