Top 5 Feminist Barbie Dolls

You’re a father, you’re a mother, you’re a feminist –you believe in the equality of the sexes and you hope to pass on your forward-thinking values to your daughter, so she grows up knowing that she can achieve anything in a brave new world where women don’t need men’s permission to excel.

So how do you reconcile your vision for her future with the fact that she loves, loves, LOVES Barbies? The doll that’s long of limb and longer of glossy hair, busty and blonde, fashion-obsessed and who, for a generation of women, represents unrealistic body ideals, superficiality, and the sexualisation and oppression of women.

Well, it’s easy. Because Barbie is, and always will be, in the eye of the beholder: though some may see her as a cynical marketer’s vacuous dream, and some as a harmless piece of plastic, it’s more about how your child sees her. And usually that changes hourly – first Barbie’s a princess, then she goes to her high-powered job for a few hours, then she’s got to trek through the jungle, abseil out the window, then go on a mission under the bed to find her lost head.

It’s all in a day’s work for a doll that’s had hundreds of careers since her conception in 1959. She’s been a UNICEF ambassador, a racing driver and a producer; this year, she entered the 21st century properly by doing a stint as a computer engineer. Sure, there’s still Barbie Princess Charm School for those who love to glam it up, but there’s also a Barbie for the technically-minded, for the sci-fi obsessed and the blossoming artist.

So, to give you an idea of what’s available, below is a list of the top 5 feminist Barbies. They’re guaranteed to spark your girl’s imagination in a fantastically feminist direction.

1. Fashion Designer Barbie: This was Barbie’s first job, achieved when she was only a year old. With her natty suit and business-like briefcase, she set out to prove she was more than a clothes-horse – and has continued to do so ever since, with a series of products aimed to get girls designing their own guises for Barbie.
   
   
2. Barbie as Athena: In 2010, Mattel released Barbie in the guise of the Grecian goddess of wisdom – an immortal as famous for her intelligence, grace and strength as she was for forcing her way out of her father’s head after he tried to eat her. You don’t get much more feminist than that.
   
   
3. Barbie as Lt. Uhura from Star Trek: Another space Barbie, but with an added dash of fantasy. Nyota Uhura is a strong, capable Communications Officer at the start of the original series of Star Trek; by the end of the Kirk-era Enterprise, she’s received two promotions and has become Lt. Uhura. In a traditionally male-focused series, she’s a strong female role model and along with Astronaut Barbie she’s turned hundreds of wrinkled duvets into sinister moon surfaces and stuffed toys into threatening aliens.
   
   
4. Barbie as Queen Elizabeth I: Bring the 17th century to life for her with one of the most popular monarchs in English history: Elizabeth I was a strong, uncompromising leader in a historically tough time for women. With her weirdly high hairline and sinisterly pale skin, she’s certainly the only Princess doll that’s more about being political than being pretty.
   
   
5. Presidential Candidate Barbie: In 1997 a ‘George Washington’ Barbie was released, and she obviously enjoyed the taste of power – since 2000 she’s run for president three times. With sharp suits, big hair and a confident smile, your child can dream of implementing pro-equality policies – or just enjoy using her to boss all the other Barbies around.