This Barbie is FAT!
I was thoroughly unprepared to love as much of this movie as I did. Through it, I felt seen and valued as a woman- an experience that is sadly lacking from a great deal of mainstream media. There is thoughtful scholarship emerging around the ways in which Barbie portrays feminism, patriarchy, and the significance of mother-daughter bonds. The film also explores the precarious balance of nostalgia and unattainable fantasy that Barbie represents. There are thoughtful and engaging conversations being had about this ideas, and to hear some of them I highly recommend checking out the podcast episodes “Barbietopia” from Binchtopia (Hava & McLamb) and “This Barbie is on Strike!” from FANTI (Anderson & Hill).
However, while these are crucial elements of the conversation surrounding Barbie, they are also the first ones we think of. In this article, I lay out a less readily addressed perspective: that of a fat person, and more to the point, a fat woman. I argue that while this film is a significant step toward positive (or at least not devastatingly judgmental) fat representation in mainstream media, it misses the mark in a number of key ways that suggest we, as a society, are not ready to fully embrace fat people as the worthy, beautiful, and valuable human beings that we are.
I am delighted that there is a fat Barbie in this movie. This character, played by Sharon Rooney, is allowed to exist in Barbie Land in an empowered manner alongside all the straight-sized babies. No mention is made of her size, and she has the respectable job of Lawyer. In the world of Barbie Land, this makes her equal to those of the other Babies, all of whom have prestigious jobs, rather than elevating her status. In the real world, fat people are at a disadvantage in most work environments, often making less money than our thin counterparts and even being denied employment opportunities all together. Not to mention the logistics of things like suitable chairs. However, this, and the fact that there are only a few states that have anti-discrimination laws around fatness, are a conversation for another time (Simons). The point here is that Rooney’s Barbie’s job is not used to other her in Barbie Land. Additionally, Rooney’s Barbie is romantically pursued by the Kens in a way that does not differ from the other side-character Barbies. In other words, she seems just as desirable to the Kens as the straight-sized Barbies are. While these are examples of Rooney’s Barbie symbolizing progress in fat representation, there are also ways in which this character is portrayed that fail us as fat women.
In an early scene in the film, the Barbies are all partying in the Dream House. They dance around in fabulous outfits, generally celebrating their perfection. While a small group of barbies are dancing in a circle, the following dialogue occurs.
Margot Robbie’s Barbie: Gosh, this night is just perfect!
Rooney’s Barbie: It’s perfectly perfect!
Other Barbie: [to Robbie’s Barbie] And you look so beautiful, Barbie.
Robbie’s Barbie: Thanks Barbie, I feel so beautiful!
Rooney’s Barbie: So do I.
Not only does another person tell Robbie’s Barbie she is beautiful apropos of nothing, but Rooney’s Barbie, who is wearing a loose-fitting long sleeve shirt while Robbie’s Barbie rocks a strapless number (more on this later), isn’t once addressed or acknowledged by the other Barbies in the dance circle.
While I want to believe that this moment was a well-intentioned attempt to communicate a belief that all women are beautiful, something about it didn’t sit right with me. First of all, what does it mean to “feel” beautiful? There is an oft repeated adage in the Fat Liberation world: “Fat is not a feeling.” This came about because fat people noticed that straight-sized people say they “feel fat” when what they really mean is that they feel lazy, sluggish, unmotivated, undesirable, or are experiencing one of the many other negative states that are generally associated with fat people- much to our detriment. So, if fat is not a feeling, how can beauty be? And if beauty isn’t a feeling, what is Robbie’s Barbie actually saying here? That she feels happy? Seen? Valued? Desired? Or even enviable? This seems likely as later in the film when Robbie’s Barbie is having a melt-down around confronting the harshness of reality for the first time, the only way she can articulate this cognitive dissonance is to say, “I’m not pretty anymore.” I recognize that there is an added layer here because I think the film makers are winking at all of this. Perhaps, Robbie’s Barbie’s use of a physical attribute to describe an emotional experience is a commentary on a detrimental stereotype often foisted on traditionally beautiful women: being vapid or unintelligent. The film does add a piece of narration following this line, “Note to the filmmakers: Margot Robbie is the wrong person to cast if you want to make this point.” I laughed at this in the theater because I felt seen by this highlighting of the impossibility of Robbie’s beauty. Looking back now though, I feel that while perhaps intended as humorously self-referential, it comes across as insincere. Margot Robbie was cast with great intention, precisely because of what she looks like, to make a different point about the impossibility of womanhood.
Ultimately no woman wins, pretty ones are stupid and fat ones are unworthy. This is arguably the thesis of the entire film, and an idea that America Ferrera’s monologue about the contradictory expectations of womanhood, and the following events, work to disrupt.
While we may never know for sure exactly what Stereotypical Barbie is trying to convey when she declares her feeling of beauty during the dance party scene, what is clear is that in doing so, she brings to the forefont a preconceived and deeply held societal belief: that being what we have deemed “beautiful” is equivalent to happiness, social acceptance, and a generally fulfilling life.
Taking this premise, what is the film communicating about those who do not fit a societally imposed beauty ideal? This brings me back to Rooney’s Barbie. Why is she the only Barbie to respond to Robbie’s declaration of beauty with an almost defensive one of her own? What would it mean, for instance, if Isa Rae’s Barbie had chimed in as a dark-skinned Black woman? As it stands however, Rooney’s Barbie’s secondary declaration left “Me thinks[ing] the lady doth protest too much.” It seems clear to me that the only reason the filmmakers could have for making her do this is a deep-seeded, perhaps even subconscious, belief that fat people are not, in fact, beautiful, or that we don’t deserve all of the things we’ve decided beauty encompasses. It appears they either didn’t understand the implications of a fat character voicing their after a traditionally beautiful one, or they hoped to blow a few minds with an act they considered subversive.
In analyzing this scene, I am bothered by Rooney’s Barbie’s “So do I.” I get stuck again and again on the implications of this line and its delivery. We expect someone who looks like Margot Robbie to feel beautiful, while it is surprising to us that someone who looks like Sharon Rooney ever could. It reads as though Rooney’s Barbie must justify her presence in Barbie Land, a place where Robbie’s Barbie naturally belongs. It feels like Rooney’s Barbie must convince other to include her (which, by the way, they don’t in this scene) because she is lacking in a currency that they all have. In other words, it has to be explained why a barbie, the supposed embodiment of perfection, could be fat and still belong.
This is problematic and goes against what I hope was the intended message of casting Sharon Rooney in the first place. I think either all the non-stereotypical Barbies should have declared their beauty, or none of them should have. That is progress. What is not progressive and is, in fact, a hinderance to effective and meaningful fat representation, is calling attention to the otherness of a fat person- even while they are being called “beautiful.” Because she is not really being called beautiful, is she? She is made to do it herself, as an afterthought, and in so doing advocate for her very right to exist. This line is virtue signaling at best. Through it, the filmmakers demand recognition for an act of transgression that was actually fairly easy for them. This is because, as straight-sized people, the marginalized identity of fatness does not apply to them. Sure, this line could potentially anger some audience members, and there is risk in that, but it is not vulnerable for them, and this lessens the impact of the stand they think they are taking. Not only that, but it feels defensive. At worst, this line is a displaced attack on the viewer: “If calling a fat person beautiful makes you uncomfortable than YOU’RE the fatphobe!”
Hopefully it is clear by now, that I am not a fatphobe, but I was uncomfortable. Making Rooney’s Barbie say, “So do I” after a traditionally attractive person responds to another’s comment on their beauty, paradoxically highlights just how unlike Stereotypical Barbie Rooney’s Barbie is. It others her. Not only is being othered often a daily experience of most fat people, but in this case, it could validate someone’s unkind perception about the validity of fat people and their place in the world. This moment in the movie is hard for me to watch because it is antithetical to the widespread change I hope to see in mainstream media’s fat representation.
Further othering Rooney’s Barbie are her costumes. I noticed that through all of her many outfit changes, she was consistently much more covered up than the straight-sized Barbies. Not once were her bare shoulders or upper arms visible- this in contrast to the many sleeveless and strapless outfits worn by the other Barbies. In the Fat Liberation space, people express many varied feelings around upper arm exposure (or lack thereof). Some fat people choose to flaunt the soft jiggliness of this body part with pride, reveling in the power of this rebellious act. Other fat people choose to cover their upper arms for a wide variety of reasons that are none of anybody’s business. As important as making a political statement in the name of Fat Liberation is to many of us, sometimes we just don’t have the bandwidth. Existing in a body that is under constant scrutiny and judgment is exhausting, and sometimes you just need to mitigate that onslaught by whatever means necessary. I have, at various moments, chosen to cover my upper arms, and at others allowed them to soak up for sun for all to see! I stand by both perspectives.
Fat actors must think about the exposure of their upper arms an inordinate amount because not only are they in the public eye, but their various roles require costumes. Abby Rose Morris speaks on this topic often and eloquently on her podcast, More Than Tracy Turnblad. The episode, “URSULA: FAT ICON,” explores Morris’ disappointment that in the new live action Little Mermaid Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula costume covers much of her arms and shoulders. Conversely, Morris notes, the animated Ursula of the 1989 film, flaunts her bare back and shoulders, seeming to revel in the sexiness of her rolling body (Morris). To be fair, I do think that McCarthy does a fair amount of reveling in her fat body despite its increased coverage, as a way of paying homage to the animated Ursula (and by extension voice actor, Pat Carroll, and drag queen Devine upon whom the character was based). She is still covered though, and that sends a message that those of us in fat bodies should hide them. Interestingly, during this episode Morris, and co-host Luz Martino, also discuss an Ursula Barbie that was released in 2012 that completely deprived her of her iconic fatness and left her looking emaciated. This is an amazing conversation, and I encourage everyone to listen to the episode, and the podcast as a whole for further insight around fatness in the entertainment industry.
I felt a similar disappointment to the one Morris articulates, upon seeing Rooney’s costumes in Barbie. She wears a long sleeve suit jacket when working as a lawyer, and long, 3/4 or short sleeves throughout the rest of the movie. This choice furthers complicates her role for me. It sends the message that the terms of her already fraught presence in perfect Barbie Land, are conditional. She can be here in Barbie Land (in this movie, a part of this cultural phenomenon, etc.) as long as she works to mitigate her fatness, packaging it in a way that is more palatable to a thin centric audience (country, society, world).
In fairness to Rooney, I have no way of knowing how the actress feels about this choice. There is a world in which she requested sleeved costumes for the perfectly valid and understandable reason of not wanting- or being able to- do the emotional labor involved in publicly displaying your body as a fat person in any context, let alone on screen in perpetuity. One could make the argument that she didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself than the mere fact of her presence already does. This part of the argument falls apart for me a little bit because the coverage of her body struck me as very glaring, placed as it is next to the much more revealing costumes of her fellow actors. I will say though, that the straight-sized people I have talked to about this say they didn’t clock it until I mentioned it, because due to my involvement in Fat Liberation spaces I am hypersensitive to it. Perhaps it wasn’t her decision at all. Perhaps she fought to publicly share her body and represent us in a more impactful and powerful way. Because I will never know for sure, I can only feel the loss of this opportunity to communicate a valuing of fat bodies like mine.
I loved seeing a fat Barbie in this movie. I appreciated that her size was never directly stated, and that her career and romantic experiences were presented in a way that was tantamount to those of the straight-sized Barbies around her. I was frustrated by the film’s apparent need to justify her presence through unnecessary and painful dialogue. I was disappointed by costuming choices that hide her soft round body- a body I, and many like me, could have benefited from seeing unapologetically uncovered. The film did not seem proud to include her fat body, rather it appears to be a choice that feels at worst reluctant and at best obligatory. In these ways Rooney’s Barbie was simultaneously a step forward for fat representation, and a testament to how missing the mark, even in deceptively small ways, can undermine progress.
“Body Image” whatever that means, and the undeniable toll constantly surveilling our bodies takes on us as women, is a theme throughout Barbie. This ideology touches not only the Barbies in the world of this film, but humans too. America Ferrera’s Gloria provides another example of representing elements that further the cause of Fat Liberation, and elements that undo its headway.
I love America Ferrera. I have loved her since I first encountered her in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Part of the reason I was immediately drawn to her was that I related to her character, Carmen, as the “fat friend” in a group of young women. That was me when I was young and, in most settings, is still me today. Seeing someone on screen who looked even a little like me, was a welcome change for pre-teen me. I couldn’t have articulated it at the time, but my rapidly souring relationship with my body was not helped by the emaciated-looking women I generally saw on screen. Granted, Ferrera was “Hollywood fat” otherwise known as midsized, but back in 2005, that was pretty radical representation.
I didn’t learn this until years later, but prior to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ferrera appeared in the 2002 film Real Women have Curves. In it she played Ana, a young woman who faces size discrimination from her family, many members of which work in a dress shop. I watched the film while writing this piece, and the fat representation she provides in it is courageous and heart-warming. It’s also ahead of its time. I wish I’d seen it when it when it first came out. As a fat 9-year-old, I think it would have been really impactful for me. I could have felt proud of the body I have sooner, and it breaks my heart to think of the years I wasted feeling that my body was not worth representing. Something as small as seeing a movie like this could have changed all that. Barbie had the potential to be that for the young fat girls of today. It has moments, but for the most part, I believe it fell short.
America Ferrera also played the titular role in the TV show Ugly Betty. While this show was not without its problematic moments, I once again felt seen by Ferrera and the character she played. Betty mostly proceeds through the world with confidence, despite the casual cruelty consistently flung at her. This confidence is a trope when it comes to fat women, and there is a self-preservation to it. People wonder at the confidence of fat women, while simultaneously laughing at this survival strategy that we have achieved through the hard work of liberating ourselves from oppressive beauty standards. What was really radical about Ugly Betty to a young fat me, were the scenes in which Betty broke down, crying about not being “pretty.” At the time, I was regularly doing the same thing with trusted family members. I had never seen that part of myself on TV before. Seeing a very fragile hurt part of me represented in the very lovable character of Betty Suarez was a significant moment in my Fat Liberation Journey.
In light of all these reasons I have to love America Ferrera, I was thrilled when I learned she was going to be in Barbie. She has done so much to further the cause of positive fat representation, and serve as a voice for my community, I couldn’t wait to see how her ideology would interact with the unattainable beauty standards of Barbie. This came to fruition for me during her greatly anticipated monologue on the paradoxical impossibility of perfect womanhood. The first example she gives is, “You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin- you have to say you want to be ‘healthy’, but also you have to be thin.”
This sentiment rings true in my experience. It also hits particularly hard because in the years between Ugly Betty and Barbie, Ferrera herself has undergone visible weight loss. As a member of the Fat Liberation Movement, I firmly believe in Body Autonomy: the idea that people can make whatever choices they want to about their body. That being said, it is hard not to feel a sense of betrayal. I tend to take it personally when celebrities lose a substantial amount of weight because it feels as if they are sending a loud and clear message to me and my community: “I am doing everything in my power to make my body look as little like your body as possible!” The implication, of course, being that bodies like mine are undesirable and BAD.
To Ferrera’s credit, she has not been particularly vocal about her weight loss. She didn’t seem to be glowing in the praise of it the way so many public figures do, and I think this made it a little easier for me to bare. Still, I grieve the loss of proud fat representation that she once was. I recognize the enormous pressure she must be under as a Latine actor in Hollywood. She’s already navigating publicly representing one marginalized identity- juggling two is a lot to ask. But it still hurts. I know it’s not about me, has nothing to do with me, but still, it feels personal. It feels like a rejection so cutting, that my instinct is to turn my back on her, writing her off as yet another victim fatphobia.
After seeing Ferrera deliver this monologue, I wanted to be angry. I wanted to point out with righteous indignation the hypocrisy of a thin actress railing against fatphobia- particularly one who had so recently surrendered to its pressures. I wanted to say, “How can we be expected to believe her as someone who later in the film overthrows a Barbie Land version of patriarchy when here she is embodying its oppressive ideals?!”
But I can’t bring myself to feel it. Why? It’s not wrong. And then it hits me: I can’t feel rage because I look at America Ferrera and the earnest gaps between her teeth, and I remember. I remember when she was boldly fat on screen proudly yelling things like, “…Unlike you, and your daughter [I] have an ass that the tailor didn’t have enough bolts of material to cover!” (Kwapis) and “My weight says to everyone, ‘fuck you! How dare anybody try to tell me what I should look like or what I should be?!’” The scene continues with Ferrera proudly disrobing to compare cellulite and stretch marks in a show of solidarity with the other women around her, ending it all with “This is who we are Mama, real women” (Cardoso). I remember this former powerful Ferrera every time I look at her, even now, even thin.
I think the creators of the Barbie movie knew this. And worse, I think they capitalized on it. They (ironically) got to have their cake and eat it too by appeasing the fat activists with someone we associate with our liberation movement, while still getting to have a thin actress star in their film to increase mass appeal. They were counting on us remembering Ferrera in her Fat Liberation prime in order to get away with valuing thin bodies over fat ones in the public arena. Once again, thinness is rewarded and centered. This is not new, but it adds insult to injury when the typical run of the mill fatphobia is masquerading as fat representation. It is deceptive and sneaky. So, it is not anger that I feel, but disappointment. I feel taken advantage of, lulled into not just complacency, but full-on feminist support, for an ideology that is antithetical to the valuing of fat bodies that I stand for.
Ultimately my relationship to the Barbie movie is complicated. There are aspects of it that really resonated with me: its insightful commentary on the contradictory expectations imposed upon women by the Patriarchy and the role men play within it, feminist solidarity, and mother-daughter bonds. I caught glimpses of substantive and impactful fat representation. In these small ways, it is a step for the Fat Liberation movement toward a world in which fat bodies are valued as much as thin ones without harmful associations or stereotypes. Simultaneously, I am greatly challenged by this movie because, in many ways it let fat women, down. It undercut its own message in several significant ways around this topic and as such does not embody the progress in this area that I hoped it would.
I will leave you with this: let Rooney’s Barbie just be in Barbie Land. Let her rippling upper arms fly free along the perfect plastic streets if she wants them to. For the love of god cast fat actors who are proud of the fat body they have and want to represent others who feel the same way! Let fat people just exist alongside everyone else without explanation or justification or virtue signaling. When I see that, when I see unapologetically bare shoulders on screen and can scroll Instagram without the betrayal of a formerly fat celebrity sucking in what remains of her stomach to distance herself even further from me and my body- then will I finally feel represented: seen and valued as not just a woman- but a fat woman.
Sources
Anderson, Tre’vel, & Hill, Jarett, hosts. “This Barbie Is On Strike!” FANTI, episode 180, https://maximumfun.org/episodes/fanti/this-barbie-is-on-strike/. Accessed 26 Jul. 2023.
Cardoso, Patricia, director. Real Women Have Curves. HBO Video (Firm), 2002, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biT9FTo0lcQ&t=4210s. Accessed 10 Aug. 2023.
Clements, Ron, & John Musker. The Little Mermaid. Buena Vista Pictures, 1989.
Gerwig, Gretal, director. Barbie. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2023.
Hava , Juila, & McLamb, Eliza, hosts. “Barbietopia.” Binchtopia, https://shows.acast.com/binchtopia/episodes/barbietopia. Accessed 02 Aug. 2023.
Horta, Silvilo, & Gaitán, Fernando, creators. Ugly Betty. ABC, 2006-2010.
Kwapis, Ken, director. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Warner Home Video, 2005.
Marshall, Rob, director. The Little Mermaid. Walt Disney Studios Motion Picutres, 2023.
Morris, Abby Rose, host. “URSULA: FAT ICON.” More Than Tracy Turnblad, https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/abby-rose-morris3/episodes/URSULA-FAT-ICON-e2cq7gd. Accessed 10 Jul. 2023.
Simons, Sasha-Ann, host. “Bias Against Bodies: Why is it still legal to fire someone for being fat?” Reset, https://www.wbez.org/stories/why-is-it-still-legal-to-fire-someone-for-being-fat/328df85b-d8b1-44eb-9e91-b93dfd3f037f.Accessed 03 Jan. 2023.