Barbie Unbound: A Parody of the Barbie Obsession

Sarah Strohmeyer looks at Barbie and asks some questions. Most of them are to do with the implausibility of Barbie, but what if she was real, what are some of the issues she'd have to face. Is Barbie a healthy or an unhealthy image and why don't we have healthy female imagery and Role-Models in our culture. These are the Barbies that would never exist, because they would disturb the corporate mentality of Mattel. In some places it's overdone but you can imagine that Strohmeyer getting angry at Barbie and her images and deciding that she was going to make fun of her rather than just rant a little and feel impotent.

Whether you enjoyed Barbies as a child or not, Strohmeyer's text will have you laughing out loud in a room full of strangers. A combination of feminism, politics, and plastic toys may sound odd, but Strohmeyer pulls it together in a very entertaining fashion (no pun intended).

Hilarious! Sara Strohmeyer has taken satire to a new level. By subverting the fictious doll into something unthinkable (a REAL woman) we understand the dialectical struggle between the dolls already accepted image as a sexist and mysoginst doll and what would happen if she thought about and dealt with real issues. Strohmeyer's parodies are intelligent and insightful as we should question the garbage that mainstream media i.e. "Cosmopollution Magazine" throws up in the face of consumeritis.

So your child has Dr. Barbie, Dentist Barbie, Anthropologist Barbie and Equestrian Barbie, but does she have PMS Barbie, and Junkie Barbie? Collecting her is great, but sometimes that perfect plastic body can get annoying and you dream about her being "one of us". Well, the author has put your imagination to words and pictures for everyone to enjoy! She keeps you laughing and saying "Now that's one doll I have to get!"

Barbie Unboud: A Parody of the Barbie Obsession, is the actual name of the book. In it, Barbie is placed in 40 contemporary and historical situations - Barbie d'Arc, PMS Barbie, Barbie at the Salem Witch Trials, Teenage Pregnant Barbie, etc. The photos are great and the text, which is written as a tongue-in-cheek play guide, is really biting. Great satire on Barbie, her always cheerful smile, that impossible body, all those accessories and the ridiculous idea that all women will grow up pink, pretty and perky. Buy it, it's what you've been waiting for.