17 May 2013

Barbie’s Berlin Brouhaha

Barbie Dreamhouse Experience Berlin Germany Protesters
My school boy reading of the banners carried by the protestors above translates them as Barbie take off (perhaps they mean get lost) and Hermione Granger did not play with Barbie. True, true – one cannot imagine the Hogwart’s pupil swapping accessories and outfits with her friends even stretching the imagination to the upmost. Not in any shape or form. Yet, surely, haven’t these Berliners had since 1959 to get used to the doll’s somewhat inane take on femininity and, indeed, the female form? What’s got their goat? The answer is this...

Barbie Dreamhouse Experience Berlin Germany
Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. At almost 27,000 square feet, the Barbie Dreamhouse Experience, which opened yesterday in Berlin attracted acerbic (not to mention noisy) protests from Women’s Rights groups such as Femen. Even if you are ambivalent about Barbie’s use as a plaything for girls, you can see their point. One can only ponder what horrors of a fuchsia, salmon, or rose hue lie within.

Barbie Dreamhouse Experience Berlin Germany Protesters
Myself, this has made me wonder why these demonstrators were not joined by architecture aficionados who must surely see this monstrosity in pink as the affront to creative planning, design and construction it truly is. Shudder.

First Image Credit Flickr User Libertinus