Presenters: Carrington Cline, Tanzila Malik, Abby Clator, Nati Acuña (Women's Center)

Mentors: Lauren Allen- Director, Amelia Meman-Graduate Assistant, Zoe Brown-Program Coordinator

Location and Time: Poster Presentation, UC Ballroom, 1-2:30pm

The 2023 film Barbie (Gerwig, 2023) is the highest-grossing live-action comedy film of all time; it has been lauded as a feminist film that cunningly subverts gender roles and thoughtfully addresses issues of diversity that are fraught in most Hollywood films. Barbie is an easily digestible medium that portrays basic feminist principles for the general public. But if Barbie is a feminist film, is it also intersectional? This study examines the limitations of the Barbie movie’s portrayal of feminism and its failings in regard to intersectionality. We aim to inspire critical thinking around media and intersectionality and shed light on the prevalence of White feminism in popular media. Using content analysis informed by intersectional feminist theory, we analyzed instances in the film that demonstrated (pseudo-)feminist principles and themes in order to determine how intersectional Barbie’s brand of feminism is. We also explored avenues by which Barbie could better depict intersectionality and contemporary feminist thought.