Barbie

Last Friday, I called the gbabes to see if they wanted to go to the movies to see Oppenheimer. What teenage boys wouldn’t want to see a movie about war and bombs and stuff? Much to my surprise, the 16-year-old replied, “I’d rather see Barbie.” His 14-year-old brother agreed, so off we went.

I’ll admit I was a bit confused about their choice. The oldest gbabe is a gamer and the youngest plays heavy metal on guitar. When they were little, they liked Thomas the Train, Legos, and monster trucks. Neither owned a Barbie nor expressed a desire to have one. Thus, their interest in seeing the movie intrigued me.

As we were driving to the show, I asked, “Why Barbie?” Imagine my surprise shock when they explained, “Mimi, this isn’t about the doll, it’s about patriarchy, women’s rights, equality, and discrimination.” Silly me.

After the movie, the conversation on the drive home was equally telling. They noticed that in Barbie land, the President of the US, all members of the Supreme Court, and every occupation was occupied by females, and they wondered aloud how long it would be before that became a reality. (Been wondering that myself!) They also found it interesting that, “the guys in the movie were kinda dumb” until they went to the real world and “took over all the jobs the women had in Barbie land even though they weren’t as qualified or as smart.” Outta the mouths of gbabes!

I could not be more impressed with these gents. You can say what you want about our schools failing the next generation, but the 16-year-old explained he had studied Oppenheimer “all last year in history class.” Although world history is a valuable part of education, I was more encouraged by the fact they both knew about patriarchy, discrimination, and inequality. Those are the people I want helping women run the world in years to come.

I’m thinking I should buy each of them a Barbie so they don’t forget.