While I was never what I would call a Barbie Fanatic, Mattel’s iconic fashion doll line holds a special if complicated place in my heart. Like many a queer kid in the 80s and 90s (and probably beyond), playing with dolls was one of the first times I was teased for “acting like a girl”. But my reasoning was “Well, I’m a boy and I want to play with this doll, therefore not only girls play with dolls.” My logic was impeccable, wowed my fellow children, and I was hailed a hero for my bravery. Just kidding, it was still the 90s, but I survived.

It is unfortunate Barbie was (and still is) relegated to strict gender play norms, which made no sense to me as they really enriched the frequent crossovers with the Tonka Truck, Ninja Turtles, and Ghostbusters toy universes. While I was never bought my own barbie (mostly because my first choices for the limited toy budget were usually the aforementioned Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters ), a little sister, plenty of cousins, and an open-minded-enough family meant I always had easy access to them to help act out my sprawling, confusing epics.

That being said I (along with seemingly a large part of the internet) am super pumped for the Barbie movie. Every new trailer and song release looks deranged in the best way. Mattel even seems to have let the dollar signs overcome their grudge with Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” and will have a cover version somewhere on the soundtrack (I really have to assume they decided getting a cut of that song gaining popularity again was better than nothing.)

*Shameless self promotion alert*

I also created a cocktail inspired by the original 1971 Malibu Barbie in anticipation of the film. The full recipe is available on my site and is heavily inspired by the ingredients of Swiss Lemonade/Brazilian Lemonade that commenter Ice Cream Planet turned me on to (thanks again for introducing me to such a treat!)

The full recipe can be found on my website.

Thank you for indulging me, Happy Posting!