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​​​​​​Debate Motion

​“The House Believes that Barbie as a brand is net positive for feminism."

​​​​​​Potential Areas For Discussion

​​​​​​Proposition

• ​Barbie has been everything from an icecream sales woman to an astronaut, acting as an inspiration to young girls.

• ​Playing with dolls allows children to create narratives, practice social roles, and explore their creativity.

• ​Barbie embodies diversity with the doll coming in every shape, colour, and size.

​​​​​​Opposition

• ​Ultra-thin Barbie dolls can lead young girls (particularly ages 5 to 8) to internalise an unrealistic thin ideal.

• ​For decades, the brand offered limited racial and physical representation, which reinforced narrow beauty.

• ​Playing with and viewing images of fashion-heavy toys places a disproportionate value on physical beauty.

​​​​​​Further Readings

• ​https://musingsofmj.medium.com/barbie-an-introduction-to-feminism-patriarchy-and-gender-wars-9eab1286accb

• ​https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16569167/

• ​https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/04/barbies-muddled-feminist-fantasy-still-bows-to-the-patriarchy

​“As we know, there was no career that Barbie didn’t undertake and represent, from astronaut to doctor to president to video girl Barbie. The sky was not even the limit when it came to breaking glass ceilings and changing the social climate for how little girls and young women could dream of themselves in the future.” - Micaela Jordan