The live-action Barbie movie had the internet buzzing for a year, ever since the first promotional photo was released back in spring 2022. Directed by the Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter Greta Gerwig and featuring an ensemble cast led by actress and producer Margot Robbie, the movie was bound to be a success.

That turned out to be an understatement. In its opening week, the movie became a record-breaking success; in the following weeks, it became the highest-grossing film of the year and highest-grossing live-action comedy film of all time, having grossed a total of $1.407 billion worldwide as of September 17, 2023.

In the month leading up to the July 21 premiere, my social media feeds were unapologetically pink and awash with barbies. Maybe it was nostalgia, or maybe the marketing, but the movie became an event well before its release. Like millions of others online, my friends and I couldn’t wait to see it.

Since its introduction in 1959, Barbie became Mattel’s best selling toy in the company’s history, and it’s estimated that the doll brings in over a billion dollars every year. However, in the past decades, there have been many detractors. Feminists have accused Barbie and her signature pink of promoting traditional gender roles.

With her many jobs and independent lifestyle, she’s also been seen as a trailblazer for young girls who could project themselves onto the doll and see themselves as something more. With Barbie, they didn’t have to be just mothers and caretakers as the movie opening also explains, they could have their own house, be president or an astronaut. Having a Ken (Barbie’s long term boyfriend) was optional.

This was my experience with the doll. Growing up, I couldn’t afford to have many Barbie dolls or her dreamhouse, but the ones I had, I cherished. My barbies were ninjas, princesses, space explorers — anything I found cool at the time.

Nevertheless, her critics understandably attack the unrealistic body proportions and unattainable beauty standards of the doll, which have been seen as potentially damaging to young girls’ self image. Similarly, the color pink took a hit from the feminist movement. Wearing pink as a girl came to be seen by some as synonymous with conformity and support for patriarchal gender norms.

Recently, perhaps partly due to the film, the view on both the color and Barbie is shifting. During the movie’s promotion with the “pink carpet” looks around the world, the cast fully embraced the color and theme, with Margot Robbie notably making tributes to iconic Barbie looks. And Barbie herself is going back to her roots and staking a claim as a multifaceted feminine heroine, ready to be part of the new feminist era.

Unapologetically pink

The Barbie movie shows that femininity can be feminist.

Flakrona Rexhepi

Unapologetically pink

The Barbie movie shows that femininity can be feminist.

Flakrona Rexhepi