Colombian pop singer Shakira caused quite the stir earlier this month when she revealed that her sons ‘absolutely hated’ the Barbie movie, which had a major cultural moment last year. Hot pink came back in fashion, people were hosting Barbie-themed parties and everyone was obsessing over lead Margot Robbie’s vintage Barbie-inspired clothing on the movie’s press tour. It was Barbie-mania, and the film earned $1.4 billion worldwide. Shakira’s family, though, weren’t fans of the global phenomenon. She said her nine- and 11-year-old sons didn’t enjoy the movie because they found it to be ‘emasculating’. And, she added, ‘I agree, to a certain extent’.
To Shakira’s point, the movie tends to paint men and women as adversaries
Critics have slammed Shakira in response, as they do when anyone criticises the uniculture, accusing her of not understanding the movie and missing the point. ‘Barbie is not made for Shakira and her pre-adolescent sons… it’s a story about women coming into power autonomously, independent of the patriarchy and all its trappings,’ wrote Salon
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