Timothy, Robyn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5955-8746 (2024) Reading the Barbie movie through cyberfeminism: Barbie Land as cyberfeminist utopia. Feminist Theory.

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Abstract

In this paper I explore Barbie (2023) through the lens of cyberfeminism to argue that Barbie Land can be conceptualised as a cyber feminist utopia. I draw specifically on Haraway’s (1985) concept of the cyborg, and Plant’s (1997) literature, to examine how Barbie herself is produced as a cyborg in the film and how Barbie Land draws parallels to virtual spaces. Themes of boundary blurring and transgression are central to this discussion, and I apply these concepts to key moments in the film to highlight how Barbie (2023) can be read as a nuanced feminist film. By placing Barbie (2023) in conversation with cyberfeminist thinking I challenge the notion that Barbie is a postfeminist figure, instead advocating that the Barbie movie offers Barbie Land as a space for conceptualising Barbie as inherently political.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	Published
DOI:	10.1177/14647001241291462
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
School/Department:	York Business School
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/9351

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