Barbie
Classism Debate Unfolds on Twitter
Was It a ‘Rich Kid’ Toy???
5/27/2023 1:48 PM PT
A former toy owner has claimed Barbie was never for the broke and downtrodden but, rather, for the rich/privileged — however, as the Queen once said … recollections may vary.
A fierce debate — which has largely been one-sided — unfolded on Twitter this weekend … this, after comedian Avery Edison posted a tweet that clearly PO’d Barbie fans everywhere, who came out in droves to correct her take on the doll’s affordability, historically.
In her OG remarks, which have been deleted, she wrote … “don’t know if this is entirely fair but when someone says ‘I grew up loving Barbie’ I hear ‘my family was not poor.'” She goes on to describe kids who had Barbies growing up as ones who “had savings accounts and went on vacations.” Avery also cheekily invited Barbie discourse in a follow-up tweet.
Welp, Twitter was definitely up for it — users flooded her comments and retweets en masse with a lot of eyebrow-raising and questions … like, where were you buying your Barbies?
Are we really going to rewrite history and pretend that Barbie dolls were rare exclusives reserved solely for the elites pic.twitter.com/WpVuhxA5c4
— Zoë Rose Bryant (@ZoeRoseBryant) May 27, 2023
@ZoeRoseBryant
The reason … it appears Barbie dolls are actually pretty damn cheap, and perhaps always have been — which flies in the face of what AE was suggesting — namely, that they were indicators of class and wealth, which is something most people don’t seem to agree with.
In fact, some even pulled up old catalogs dating back to the ’60s and ’70s … and there, too, the dolls look to have been reasonably priced. American Girl dolls, by contrast, are the “rich kid” toys — at least that seems to be consensus on Twitter. In other words, Twitter was screaming “WRONG!!!” and quite loudly too. So, what does the original tweeter think now?
No one in my family was into Barbies, but I don’t remember them being expensive. I pulled up an old ad, and they are reasonable priced. I am sure if you got all the gear it could be expensive. My daughter was into American girl doll. That shit was expensive. pic.twitter.com/bqJ6ZmjrDH
— Dr. Gonzo (@tinhornpolitics) May 26, 2023
@tinhornpolitics
Well, she’s lamenting the fact this has turned into such an aggressive virtual dunking at her expense, and she’s defending herself by saying she was simply sharing her personal memories and offering musings/light-hearted analysis as it relates to the upcoming movie.
AE also slams people resorting to personal attacks for her take, noting how toxic the app truly is … regardless of who owns it. It’s a double-edged sword, really — Twitter is the town square for debate, but dogpiles are common … oftentimes over something as silly as this.
Meanwhile, the “Barbie” film’s waiting in the wings amid a highly-anticipated release. Ya gotta figure Warner’s banking on all these Barbie defenders to come see her in real life.
