Barbie

Whenever I think of Barbie, I think of the time when I attempted a Barbie stunt I'd seen in a Barbie movie. I can't remember what the movie was, but Barbie slides into a stop on a mountain bike. So, I took my bike out to the road, not understanding what a mountain bike was or the precise conditions needed to complete the stunt. I skinned my knee pretty bad. I was a Barbie girl that also, somehow, wasn't a Barbie girl. I never quite fit in at school, and I looked more like Pigpen than any doll. I knew I'd never be the perfect blond Barbie with straight hair and designer clothes. But, I still loved my Barbies. Obviously, they instilled in me a certain sense of courage which gave me an unfortunately painful lesson. Barbie got a lot of flack when I was growing up about putting too much pressure on girls to look a certain way. Girls do have an immense amount of pressure put on them, just as America Ferrara monologues in the film. However, Barbie is a toy and it is the general public that does this. I never felt like I fit in and I never felt like I was Barbie. Now I know I was always and always will be, Barbie, just as I am.