Stop trolling me about Barbie

The conversation that's going on in my head right now

Hi, I’m Mia Freedman and this is my newsletter. If someone sent it to you, you can sign up for free here:

I have a suggestion for anyone who wants to feel old: ask a woman under 30 if she feels conflicted about the up-coming Barbie movie.
She won’t understand the question.

This is where I’m at. Powerless to resist a cultural moment but troubled by the seemingly universal agreement that we won’t mention, you know, the part where Barbie embodies every beauty standard women can’t meet.

As the movie’s release date fast approaches, here is how it’s going in my head:

Me: Who should I go to see Barbie with? Should I take my daughter?

Also me: Our daughter? Are you on crack?

Me: Oh yes, that’s right. You gave me so much shit when she wanted me to buy her a Barbie when she was a kid and so I didn’t and yet she still ended up with half a dozen over the years, how did they get in the house? It felt useless to resist. Then and now.

Me: This movie has done an outstanding marketing job in saying it’s for “women who love Barbie and women who hate Barbie”. Five stars. Twice the tickets sold.

This press tour has honestly been next level in terms of effort by

Me: But isn’t it sort of retro to think that being a feminist means rejecting Barbie? I mean, Greta Gerwig directed the film and Margot Robbie is the producer and if that’s not girl power what in the name of our sweet lord Beyonce, is?

Me: It’s definitely better that Greta Gerwig is the director and not, say, Woody Allen, yes. And Margot Robbie is a powerhouse as a producer and has enormous power in Hollywood, also yes. But it’s not exactly transgressive to have the most beautiful young actress in Hollywood playing Barbie, is it?

Me: At least it’s not a Victoria’s Secret model.

Me: They weren’t available because it’s summer in Europe and they’re all on a superyacht with Leo.

Me: Stop dissing women because they’re beautiful. That’s not very….feminist of you.

Me: Stop trolling me.

Me: Stop being such a punish and just take a couple of hours break from your Gen X feminism to put on a pink outfit, drink a cocktail and go a giggle with a girlfriend at the movies. You know you want to.

There have been more than 100 different brand deals done for the Barbie movie.

Me: I do want to. I have enjoyed her red carpet looks. I really have. And I’m not seeing that stupid Oppenheimer movie about a nuclear bomb. That sounds hideous and scary.

Me: Agreed. That’s better. And now that we’ve sorted that out, I have the perfect thing for us to wear to the cinema:

I honestly did buy this dress six months ago with no idea where I could wear it.

But wait, there’s more……

• You can read the first review of the Barbie movie here

• Margot Robbie’s exceptional red-carpet Barbie tour wardrobe

• An in-depth look at the extraordinary Barbie movie marketing campaign