Barbie is part of a growing trend of movies that give female characters a different type of closure. <\/p>
Since the beginning of time, since the first little girl, there has been the promise of a happy ever after.<\/p>\n
In stories as far-reaching as fairy tales to tabloid splashes, a woman\u2019s happy ending has been found in heterosexual romance: the knight in shining armour, a reformed man (different from the others, of course), with true love\u2019s kiss.<\/p>\n
Thus, the blueprint for women\u2019s happiness and success was born\u2026 or so it seemed.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, it appears Hollywood is finally<\/em> changing the narrative.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not in love with Ken,\u201d Barbie<\/a> (Margot Robbie) defiantly says in Greta Gerwig\u2019s billion-dollar pink-culture hit<\/a>. As the dust settles on Barbie\u2019s reality-shattering existential crisis, it dawns on her that Mattel\u2019s man-made ending of a plastic-fantastic boyfriend won\u2019t make her happy.<\/p>\n Barbie rejects the age-old narrative that a romantic relationship will magically solve all of her problems, and chooses to leave the man whose identity is heavily intertwined with her own.<\/p> Barbie knows she won\u2019t find herself if she settles for the familiarity and security of being just Barbie and Ken<\/em>. After all, Barbie has her own<\/em> dreamhouse and dreamcar in a pink matriarchal paradise; would she really give all that autonomy up for a boyfriend?<\/p>\n In response, Ken has a breakdown, as in their subversive land he is extremely co-dependent (as women typically are in the \u2018real world\u2019) on her love as an affirmation that he has value and is \u201cKenough\u201d.<\/p>\n It sheds light on how much of our identity can be lost in a relationship, by over-compromising to the person with higher needs.<\/p>\n Typically, the pressure is on women to adapt, to shrink themselves and their needs for the sacrifice of their so-called \u2018happy ending\u2019.<\/p>\n Equally, if the pinnacle of success is sustaining the stable love of one man, where does that leave queer women?<\/p>\n