Someone Please Explain To Me How You Can Tell A Barbie Is A Drag Queen
Barbie released a new collector’s edition doll today. The Blonds Blond Diamond Barbie Doll is officially for sale and can be your’s for the incredibly reasonable price of $125. The limited edition doll was created by the design team David & Phillipe Blond. And apparently, according to sources, this new collector’s doll is the first ever “Drag Queen Barbie.”
There’s just one confusing fact about this story, which was covered by DesignTaxi and Babble, how can one tell that Barbie is a drag queen? The assumption seems to be because the doll’s appearance is based on Phillipe Blond, who is an actual drag queen. The Barbie has long blonde hair, lots of glittery make-up, a jewel-encrusted dress and her very own fur. By the way, that describes at least a dozen Barbies sitting in my daughter’s toy bins at the moment, though they didn’t cost $125. That describes the Barbie you see on this piece, but it’s actually the Isaac Mizrahi special edition.
On Mattel’s own page to sell the collector’s doll, Barbie Collector, there is conspicuously little mentioned about the doll’s supposed gender identity. “Our favorite blonde celebrates The Blonds, dressed for an amazing adventure. Barbie wears a stunning silvery mini corset dress””designed by The Blonds themselves””featuring countless sculpted faux gems and a full length faux fox fur.” And it’s not as if The Blonds only design for drag queens, they’ve created costumes and clothing for the likes of Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and Katy Perry.
Think about the technicalities here friends. What exactly separates a drag queen from another woman? What exactly is a normal Barbie missing?
Someone please explain to me how a Barbie becomes a drag queen.
It’s almost ironic for Barbie to be so reserved about their supposed Drag Queen edition. After all, the dolls have a really big place in gendered parenting. For years, little boys who played with their sisters’ Barbie dolls were “feminine.” They were considered odd. The idea of boys playing with these dolls, dressing them up and driving them around in pink convertibles, made some parents worried or angry.
So wouldn’t it be awesome to see Barbie actually take a position? Wouldn’t it be great to see them embrace that tired old stereotype. No, not by creating a collector’s doll styled by a drag queen that may or may not represent the real thing. Wouldn’t it be great for Mattel to actually come out and say that Barbie is not a girl’s toy or a boy’s toy? It’s a kid’s toy.
Mattel could actually do something progressive, if they really had a mind to. Maybe give all of those Barbie movies and television channels a new storyline that includes at least one non-gender-conforming character. Why not do anything other than letting other publications hype a possibly Drag Queen Barbie that’s only identifiable as such because it was designed by an actual drag queen? Anything other than that.
(Photo: WENN.com)
