A BRIDGE TOO FAR
BS"D
There has been a photo going around on the internet which, altho' very popular & rather funny (in a good way), I find counter-productive to Feminist Judaism. As someone who is committed to Orthodox Feminist Judaism, I spoke out against in on Jewschool:
BS"D
I'm going to have to agree with Cole, Jabotinsky & RM.
I welcome any opportunity for discussion about women in non-trad roles.
Although this took a great deal of time & skill to make, I find it offensive.
My concern is Jen's deliberate choice of Barbie iconography, given the associations. Most women of our generation (the over-30s) find Barbie to denote "trivial". Barbie is a cultural shorthand for plastic, superficial, brainless, and demeaning. It's the ultimate non-feminist icon.
This image says to me that basically feminist Jx women are bimbos just "playing" real Jews & that feminist Jx women who CHALLENGE tradition for the love of Torah, are really playthings. Either the women or the traditions.
So since I'm sure that Jen's intention here was NOT to trivialize feminist women in Judaism, perhaps it could have been better thought out.
Shabbat Shalom!
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posted by Soferet | 1:45:00 p.m.
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2 Comments:
This over-30 woman doesn't find Barbie to universally denote "trivial," and is anything but offended by the playful--even, to me, empowering--image of Davening Barbie (as Mike & I call her: she's got a tallis as well as tefillin, so she's more than just Tefillin Barbie by me! Weekday Davening Barbie, to be precise...).
Not all feminists are anti-Barbie, nor is Barbie or her history necessarily anti-feminist. Barbie was created by a Jewish businesswoman, Ruth Handler, who named Barbie and Ken after her daughter and son; after undergoing a mastectomy for breast cancer, Handler developed a better type of breast prosthesis (along with post-mastectomy swimwear) as the "Nearly Me" line. (See her entry on the PBS "They Made America" site, where she's honored among the Innovators: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/handler_hi.html)
Barbie need not be a bimbo, and the woman who created her certainly wasn't one. I'd definitely allow (even encourage!) any daughter (or son) of mine to play with Davening Barbie as well as the proposed Egal Minyan Ken. :)
BS"D
Hey, Becca!
Great to have you commenting on my blog again :)
As I said, most women of our generation/GenX-ers/however we categorize ourselves share my opinions & reactions to Barbie. You're not one of those women :)
I knew this history of the Barbie Doll you cite, & have zero problem with ther inventor & the process she went through. What I take exception to is the end product & how that has ultimately taught girls to hate our bodies, sent non-white women the message that we are not beautiful & generally been used as a tool to undermine women's self-value. It's Women's Studies 101. The superficiality/publicity ploy can be separated from its inventor, but not from the doll, IMHO.
ps - I really miss hanging out with you & Mike! Hope you guys are doing super!
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