August 2023

As Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is released, Liara Roux speaks to author Whitney Mallett in regards to the doll’s bubblegum-pop Dreamhouses, and what they'll teach us about girlhood, desire and contemporary society Barbie… this gorgeous plastic doll has been maligned in recent many years, pegged because the reason behind eating disorders, body dysmorphia and cosmetic surgery obsessions, not to say the poster child for American overconsumption. Nevertheless it’s easy to forget Barbie’s origin: she was the primary doll for ladies that modelled a latest type of womanhood. Barbie is a bachelorette and lives by herself in a glamorous home she pays for with a profession of her selecting. She has equally affluent girlfriends; she...