News #10

Barbie comes out in support of same-sex marriage 

                Just after the same-sex marriage in Australia was legalized we hear some very uplifting news from Barbie. Mattel posted on Instagram an image of Barbie and a doll version of Aimee Song, a fashion designer, both wearing t-shirts with “Love wins” slogan. It was in support of Pride month for which the t-shirts were prepared. The money earned on them will go to support LGBTQ youth. The post on Instagram became very popular and collected mostly positive comments. A lot of people understood it that Barbie was shown as queer and that the whole action was in support Pride movement.

                As I see it, this is a little bit of an overstatement. Barbie was employed to promote a certain t-shirt: true. The t-shirt is a part of the LGTBQ campaign: true. But, I don’t think that a conclusion that Barbie is queer because of sitting next to another doll-girl wearing this t-shirt makes any sense. People like looking for conspiracy theories everywhere. The same happened a few years ago when a Polish MP had a problem with Tinky-Winky‘s gender.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/29/barbie-comes-out-in-support-of-same-sex-marriage