'Drag Queen' Barbie Is Basically Just Barbie
David Wagner Aug 16, 2012
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/08/drag-queen-barbie-basically-just-barbie/55851/Mattel's apparently gender-bending Blond Diamond Barbie, designed by glitzy New York duo The Blonds, might be based on a drag queen, but it looks pretty similar to classic Barbie. Mattel isn't explicitly marketing it as a drag queen doll, but some are calling the new figure 'Drag Queen' Barbie because of its striking resemblance to Phillipe Blond. The connection seems pretty obvious:
But even with her dramatic make-up and over-the-top outfit, 'Drag Queen' Barbie is nearly indistinguishable from the old Barbie, which raises all kinds of questions about the doll we thought we knew. Barbie was once seen as a plasticized ideal of femininity. Has the anatomically ambiguous doll been fooling us all along?
Maybe 'Drag Queen' Barbie is just a sign of drag's increasing mainstream popularity. With the latest seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race drawing droves of viewers and lots of people rediscovering drag documentaries like Paris is Burning, the time seems right for Mattel to subvert Barbie's traditional gender norms. However, this isn't the first time the company has gotten creative with the Barbie brand.
