Barbie’s birthdate is March 9, 1959. I was born a bit later on August 3rd. Barbie has always been with me. Good or bad, she has been woven into the cultural zeitgeist of this here baby boomer.
Of course, I had Barbies, but I think my mom was more into her than I was. My mom made my Barbie clothes. For Christmas one year, I got a whole box. It seems Mom spent her days while I was in school making tiny evening gowns.
It was impossible during my youth, to put girls of a certain age together without the dolls coming out When I was 10, I had a book of short stories about Barbie as a high school student. Funny, I always thought her much older. What high school student in the 60s traipsed around in stiletto mules and ballgowns all the time?
I didn’t have, nor do I remember wanting, the Barbie dollhouse or any of the other large accessories. I was content to put on clothes and change them ad nauseum. The tiny snaps probably taught me fine motor dexterity. I do confess that as an adult I am a sucker for a new outfit and insistent on the right shoes for the ensemble
Is my self-esteem affected by Barbie? I don’t know Like just about every woman raised in this milieu I have body issues and insecurities. There’s a meme going around that says something like Barbie didn’t give me insecurity, she taught me you can’t reattach a head once you’ve taken it off. Something like that. I’m mangling it badly.
The truth is we had so much bombarding us to be perfect, thin, beautiful, and talented. Hardworking, kind, good students. Up to the minute with fashion. To get married. To have careers. To have children. To keep a nice house. I can just as easily blame a thousand other things for the fact that my generation grew up abandoning the girdle only to adopt it again. Now we call them body shapers.
Perhaps had I a daughter that I could have seen interact with Barbie, I could add more depth to this. But I didn’t. I have a son. And I’m here to tell you that body issues in this culture are not reserved for the female. The male gender is now struggling with it.
I won’t see the Barbie movie. I don’t generally go to the movies or even watch them at home. I can’t see any reason why this one should be different. Barbie, I submit, was a symptom of the toxicity, not a cause.
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W. Va. Fur and Root 
I won’t see the movie either. I pre-dated Barbie, so I never had one. My two daughters did, however, and many of the accessories. I didn’t like them at all (Barbies) and tried to discourage their purchase, but I was outvoted.