The Barbie Exhibit

The Barbie event was amazing. However, I was saddened that 99.9% of the audience was female. It is quite an interesting fact that beauty doesn't just affect women. Men are statistacally more visually oriented then women. I would have thought that they would know that they are just as affected by the image and genre that Barbie betrays.

They had a brief history of the actions that have lead to the Women's History Month (March). Prof. Brenda Cooper was transformed from the rugged natural beauty to her inner beauty right before our eyes.



They had a guest speaker, a alumni from the theatre department. I don't remember his name to same my life. However, he has been a makeup artist and wig designer for the past 10 years for Broadway shows and took the time to give us his take on why beauty is hated and loved at the same time. Barbie is vilianized for her beauty. We hate her because she is beautiful and flawless. But we idolize her for the same reason.

Barbie originated for a sex doll in germany and was turned into the ultimate venue for women to express what they only dreamed of doing through the aspects of a doll. Though dolls have bad original contexts. The first dolls where tied to witch craft, paganism, and taboo of adult entertainment devices. Barbie has managed to wrap the world around her little finger and enslave the idea of what it means to be a 'real woman'.

I thought that the event was success, though, I wished that they had a bigger place for them to present. There wasn't enough room for all the masses of women that came. I am not a feminist, though I believe that women are far too often taken for granted for what they contribute to our society. Perhaps one day, our country will find one worthy to head the mast of President, just as our first black man has. Time is ageless and ever changing. Maybe our society isn't quite ready to see such a change. Then "Equality" would really mean something...