ABSTRACT. The current research offers a critical discourse on the Barbie phenomenon, as seen in Barbie (2003), through the lens of feminist scholarship. Using Mattel’s Barbie brand, Barbie (2023) was marketed as a film for exploring complex issues, including gendered and sexist forms of oppression. Reviews of the film are both overly glowing (e.g., promoting values of societal cohesion) and critical (e.g., further perpetuating marginalization of oppressed groups). Therefore, a critical content analysis of Barbie (2023) was conducted by examining its transcripts, cinematic content, and related lyrics. Through open coding, we explored themes to determine if and where Barbie (2023) held true to their marketed ideals, or if Barbie (2023) has further contributed to a social climate supportive of oppressive affairs. Three themes were uncovered, including patriarchy, hegemonic masculinity, and postfeminism (as well as three sub-themes) ‒ with mixed findings regarding the intended messages Barbie aimed to convey. While acknowledging the positive momentum generated by the marketing of Barbie (2023), one should also recognize that words have impact, and Barbie (2023) may have spread anti-equitable messages to viewers as well.

Keywords: patriarchy; hegemonic masculinity; gender norms; postfeminist; intersectionality; film

How to cite: Qi, Z., and Terry, A. N. (2024). “Ahead or within a Gendered and Sexist Curve: A Critical Content Analysis of Barbie (2023),” Journal of Research in Gender Studies 14(2): 9–37. doi: 10.22381/JRGS14220241.

Received 4 October 2024 • Received in revised form 7 November 2024
Accepted 9 November 2024 • Available online 25 November 2024