Greta Gerwig’s highly-anticipated Barbie movie (which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling) hits the cinemas in a couple of weeks and the promo has been on steroids.
You might be wondering why Nigerians should care, but Barbie dolls were quite the big deal for Nigerian millennials as kids, so we chatted with some Nigerian women about it, and here’s what they had to share.
“Is Barbie’s love for pink a curse from an old witch?” — Stella*, 30
I’ve been a Barbie fan-girl for as long as I can remember and my mum indulged me. Most of my birthdays growing up were Barbie-themed; everything I used, down to my school bag, lunch packs, plates and cutleries at home were all connected to Barbie. I started to outgrow it as I got older because I couldn’t get the real gist about the doll. With Disney princesses like Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella, etc., the storybooks told you about them, but with Barbie, there wasn’t a solid origin story I could hold on to. As I got older, my love for Barbie was replaced with the Disney girls. I’m mad excited about the Barbie movie though. Hopefully, I’ll get answers to questions like who Barbie’s parents were, for example, or if the love for pink is a curse from an old witch or something.
“I moved on from my Barbie after getting a glass doll from London” — Lore* (late 20s)
I had a Barbie doll as a kid but I don’t remember her name again. I fed her, backed her, plaited and even washed her hair with shampoo. I eventually outgrew my love for the doll because my brothers would always bend and contort her arms and legs in odd positions. I also had this glass doll that my grandma bought for me from London that was more valuable in my eyes. It was made of glass and was very fragile, so I was only allowed to play with it during school holidays while supervised by an adult. The novelty of this other doll added to me outgrowing my love for the Barbie doll.
“Our househelp used to cook and buy snacks for my dolls” — Hadiza*, 28
I can’t remember if we had Barbie dolls as kids, but I know we had dolls. At least my younger sister did, and we the agbayas used to have naming ceremonies for them every weekend. Our house help then would cook rice and buy sweets, back when it was still five for ₦5 (good times!). Used to love it. I’m seeing the Barbie movie everywhere now and I’m indifferent. Could be fun to watch sha.
“I need to ask my mum what she did with all of my Barbie dolls” — Daniella*, 25
The details are fuzzy now but I know I used to have parties for all my birthdays as a kid, and this meant getting lots of presents. I used to get Barbie dolls every other year. I eventually had a collection of Barbie dolls with different outfits, hair and accessories. I remember it was something my friends and cousins used to look forward to whenever they came to visit. We would play parents, feed and bathe the dolls. My 10th birthday party was Barbie-themed. I remember the cake and how a lot of my friends turned up in cute, pink dresses. I don’t remember what happened to the dolls but this upcoming Barbie movie has gotten me thinking again. I’ll have to ask my mum what she did with them.
“Barbie dolls weren’t common in Ogun state” — Bimbo*, 29
Growing up, I had an obsession with dolls and it wasn’t just Barbie. I didn’t know about Barbie dolls for the longest time because you just wouldn’t find them at the toy stores we had in Ogun state where I grew up. What we had was what people call “baby Kingsway” which were regular locally-made dolls. I’d like to watch the Barbie movie sha, let me see what all the noise is about and see if I’m going to indulge my daughters.
“I don’t recall owning a Barbie doll even though I really wanted one” — Kemisola*, 30
I really wanted a Barbie doll when I was little although I don’t recall ever owning one. I just had the regular dolls and they came in different colours. My grandma and nannies would make clothes for the dolls, and some of them came with extra clothes in the pack. I remember having a family friend whose daughters had several Barbie dolls. They always looked sophisticated to me, so different from the colourful plastic dolls I used to have. But by then I was older and it didn’t make much sense to be pining over dolls.
“My parents were convinced dolls could easily be possessed”— Ada*, 28
Growing up, I didn’t like dolls and I think it stemmed from the fear I had for the Chucky horror-doll movies. It scarred me and I just couldn’t look at dolls the same way. My parents also made it worse because they were convinced that dolls had some sort of connection to the spiritual realm and could be easily possessed. Even as an adult, I still don’t know how I feel about dolls and don’t think I’ll be indulging my kids.
