"Hetero Barbie" Summary

     Chapter 14, titled Hetero Barbie, begins by explaining how the lives of heterosexual females begin to revolve around men usually during puberty. They face pressure to have the "right" body size, shape, clothes and even hair. Barbie, a famous childhood doll, captures this ideal look. However, she is seemingly single and childless, which makes her "abnormal" in the feminine world. Since she is meant to represent the "perfect woman," but also is so abnormal when it comes to the life of a stereotypical woman, this leaves her with many more levels of interpretation and a variety of consumers.
     The author of this article, Mary F. Rogers, states that Barbie may not even be heterosexual or a woman, but rather a man in drag. This theory is supported by her long legs, flat hips, and her ultra-feminine wardrobe and makeup. Due to these characteristics, she has sparked the interest of many homosexual men. Rogers suggests that Barbie's world is seemingly free of heterocentrism and heterosexism, which makes this toy appealing to people in the non-heterosexual world. Barbie's gender is so open for interpretation that she can be constructed to fit almost any. RuPaul, a known drag star, even has a Barbie specifically made to be him, which lies in the collection of Michael Osborne. This extensive collection is extremely valuable and near-and-dear to the heart of Osborne, said to be homosexual.
    The terms non-normative/normative occupations are introduced in this article, which refers to jobs that attract and are known to be for a certain gender. For example, some non-normative occupations would be ballet and hairdressing for men, and for women it would be military careers and auto mechanics. Osborne admits that his dream careers of becoming a hairdresser or the president of Mattel, Barbie's designing company, are non-normative. However, Osborne, alone with many other people interested in Barbie's interpretations, see this doll as a way for Mattel to influence society; they can use Barbie to "define, commodify, and mutate sexual identity." The statement a Barbie Doll can make in society can be huge if Mattel uses this power wisely.