Barbie Girls and Boys

And there you have the answer to all the challenges: Barbie can be used for any kind of play. She can be a superhero, the president, a teacher, a doctor, a police detective, you name it.

My daughter is playing with her brand new President Barbie from 2000. I find it amusing that:

1. Her work suit is blue (including blue stockings and shoes), but her Inaugural Ball dress is red.

2. There are clear physical parallels to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Granted, those were pretty much avoidable given that they're both blondes (and given the generic nature of acceptable hair styles for professional women), but seeing her in her blue suit does kind of crack me up.

I'm pleased that she is definitely playing with President Barbie. A boy in her class told her that only boys can be president. She told me that if he only watched Life in the Dreamhouse, he would know better.

Go, Barbie!

This is another reason I really love Barbie movies: it's not that she never encounters sexism (we're watching the Three Musketeers video right now), but she routinely lives in worlds where it's assumed girls can fight evil and save the day. Plus I kind of want that dress ;).

You will always be the original article. Thank you for all the joy you've brought little girls (and boys!), and for showing them that there are no limits to what they can be when they grow up.