Come on Barbie

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A thing about me is that I love a pop culture moment. So before this particular moment passes, I’m excited to join the ~discourse~ around the Barbie movie.

Never before have I felt like my brain was literally dissected and projected onto a movie screen. But that’s what happened when I saw the movie this weekend, and I know I’m not the only one. (I promise I won’t spoil anything. You’re free to keep reading if you haven’t seen the movie yet.)

“It’s literally impossible to be a woman,” America Ferrera’s character, Gloria, says as she kicks off a monologue that made me full-on ugly cry in the theatre (there are witnesses). She goes on to list contradictions in the expectations society places on women: “you have to be thin, but not too thin” and “you have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas,” among a litany of other smart takes. The full monologue is below, just click on the Tweet and follow it to the website:

No matter our age, we’ve all felt the emotional push and pull of “too much” and “not enough.” But the movie gave us more than just a beautifully relatable monologue.

Barbie (along with Taylor’s Eras Tour, I think) is representative of this era of women choosing to be unapologetically feminine. Tiktok is *full* of young women posting about owning the things that have been in the past considered frivolous or silly: romance novels, friendship bracelets at concerts, pink and sparkly outfits.

I’m excited for this generation. I’ve long battled between the intellectual, serious part of my brain that studied international law and war in college and the one who landed on a pink and purple color scheme for her newsletter. Intellectually, of course, I understand that there’s space for both (as Elle Woods taught us in Legally Blonde). But the fact stands that there is still a trace of irony, even if celebrated, when a woman is super girly and smart.

So, if being super feminine is your thing, we’re all in on it together. If not, that’s cool, too. The point is, if you’re reading this because you’re serious and driven as hell, I think - and pray - we’re creating a world where our feelings and femininity are being taken seriously, too.

For my Kens reading this: I hope you made it to this point. Maybe you can’t relate directly, but I promise you know someone who does. And as I’ve shared before, one of the goals of this newsletter is to promote empathy. This isn’t “girls night every night” vibes (though, those are some fun vibes lol); you’re part of the conversation, too.

In that vein, whether you’re Ken or Barbie, let me know what you thought. Did this resonate at all? You can find me on IG here. I love chatting in the DM’s or just reply to this email and give me your feedback. Responding to these notes is the highlight of my week.