Barbie is not Born, but Rather Becomes, Barbie

Sue Spaid

doi:10.58519/vaknze21

Barbie is not Born, but Rather Becomes, Barbie

Authors

Sue Spaid Northern Kentucky University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58519/vaknze21

Keywords:

existentialism, feminism, film, freedom, choice, ideal, childhood, adulthood

Abstract

I begin this paper by identifying several criticisms of the film Barbie (2023), several of which have been proposed as reasons to deny its feminist content. I then circle back to what I consider the film's most coherent theme, which exemplifies Simone de Beauvoir's best-known quote, `One is not born, but rather becomes, woman.' This claim emphasises that what it is to be a woman is not biological, but social. That is, who we become is influenced by external factors such as family upbringing, available role models, class expectations, and our freedom to navigate our choices. A post-script relates the theme of this film to the current political situation in the U.S., after the re-election of Donald Trump.

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Author Biography

Sue Spaid, Northern Kentucky University

Since 1984, Belgium-based philosopher Sue Spaid, Ph. D., has been active in the artworld as a curator, art writer, university lecturer, and museum director. Spaid, who writes regularly for HArt, was on the Contributors Board for artUS, where she published 65 articles between 1997 and 2010. She has organized over 100 exhibitions for artist-run spaces, galleries and museums, most notably “Green Acres: Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses, and Abandoned Lots” (2012) and “Ecovention: Current Art to Transform Ecologies” (2002). While Executive Director at the Contemporary Museum, Spaid published A Field Guide to Patricia Johanson’s Works: Proposed, Built, Published and Collected.

References

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Legardye, Quinci. 2023. The Ending of Barbie Explained. Accessed: 24th December 2024. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a44617536/barbie-ending-explained/.

Lisitza, Alexa. 2023. ‘She’s Everything. . . ’: Here’s List Of Every Single Job Barbie Has Ever Had. Accessed 10th October 2023. https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexalisitza/list-every-job-barbie-had.

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Spaid, Sue. 2021. “Value Disgust: Appreciating Stench’s Role in Attention, Deception and Retention.” Rivista di Estetica 78:74–94.

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Woolf, Virginia. (1929) 1998. “A Room of One’s Own.” In A Room of One’s Own, and Three Guineas, edited, with an introduction, by Morag Shiach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Julita Wójcik. 2001. Peeling Patatoes. Zachęta - National Gallery of Art, Warsaw (Poland). Courtesy of the artist.

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Published

2024-12-31

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2024): Special Issue: The aesthetic significance of the everyday. Guest edited by Mateusz Salwa and Adam Andrzejewski

Section

Arts & Artists

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