Were your Barbies ever in interracial relationships? What about same sex relationships? How did they act within these relationships?

"Yes and yes. I only had two boy Barbies so LESBIANS EVERYWHERE. I really didn't think anything of it at the time. I thought a lesbian was just someone who married their best friend and that sounded pretty cool."

-Maggie, 23, Caucasian pansexual female from the Bible Belt, USA

What occupation did your favorite Barbie doll have?

"From what I remember my Barbies never had a job, they were always house wives with kids and about 14 pets. Ken was the bread winner, but I do recall one or two Barbies being the teacher or a vet, but they never had families"


-Yasmin, 22, Caucasian, heterosexual female from England 

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to your female dolls?

"I never owned a Ken doll, but my brother had GI type dolls. I would steal them from him so that I could use them. Often times, I would dress the girls up in the military gear that they had. For the most part, I believe they had all equal roles. My parents have an equal partnership of cleaning up, taking care of us, and cooking at the time so I believe that rubbed off on us. Depending on the game, however, if it was something to do with fighting, the male dolls always lost in a physical fight."


-Sarah, 20, Caucasian, heterosexual female from Boston, MA, USA 

Has playing Barbies as a child affected who you are today?

"Totally. it contributed to my feministic views. i remember how i used her to act out my sexual and lifestyle fantasies as a kid, and i still have the same inclinations to this day. another thing- we were poor growing up. i had a couple barbies, and no ken. ken was more expensive. so my barbies were lezzing it out in the sink i referred to as the "hot-tub." i wouldn't mind being in a human version of that playtime to this day..."


-Shelly, 36, Caucasian, bisexual female from the USA 

How often did you play with your Barbies in family scenarios?

"Almost never. Sometimes I had Barbie and Ken couples, but the relationships were usually platonic. I had some Kelly dolls, so sometimes my Barbies were aunts or babysitters."


-Deborah, 21, Caucasian, pansexual female from the USA 

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to your female dolls?

"I had like three. They were pretty equal to Barbie in their roles, although I think Barbie was a little tougher and smarter."


-Deborah, 21, Caucasian, pansexual female from the USA 

How often did you play with your Barbies in family scenarios?

"Not very often. They were mostly all friend scenarios because I didn't have but maybe one or two Skipper or Kelly dolls. Also because I didn't have very many Ken dolls, most of my family scenarios were just mother/daughter."


-Eva, 20, Caucasian, heterosexual female from South Carolina, USA 

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to female dolls?

"[Y]es [I] had ken dolls, in play they were always the one driving the car, the first one [I] dressed (because he went to work) and then not much was seen of him once he was at work."

-Sara, 18, Caucasian, heterosexual female from Long Island, NY

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to female dolls?

"I did. Some of them were the typical plastic haired ones, some with actual hair and some Disney (such as Aladdin and The Beast from Beauty and the Beast). The number of female Barbies always outweighed that of the male Barbies so they weren't as primary to the play."

-Scarlet, 25, Caucasian, heterosexual female from the United States

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to female dolls?

"I had one Ken dolls. He usually dated my favorite Barbie. But they were pretty equal and usually my Barbie owned both the house and the car."

-Nicole, 22, Caucasian, heterosexual female from Germany

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to your female dolls?

"I had 2 Ken dolls that i never played with unless it was to make them try on Barbies clothes."


-Sandra, 23, Caucasian, lesbian female from North Carolina, USA

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to your female dolls?

"I never did have Ken, nor any older siblings army guys to use. If I wanted a guy I had to choose between Woody and Buzz Lightyear, both of whom already had distinct personalities. Buzz was a playboy, but all the girls knew it so he never broke their hearts. Woody was a sweetheart. A little stubborn but he was alright. Only ever had one romantic relationship in all of my storylines. Other than that, if I needed a male, he'd have to be a toilet paper roll."


-Tasha, 17, Caucasian, heterosexual female from Central California, USA 

How do you feel about Mattel announcing this Valentine's Day that Barbie and Ken are officially back together?

"They're dolls. I think its kinda annoying and weird. And demeaning considering Ive always been single on valentines day but they're saying that you need somone on valentines day?"


-Susan, 14, Caucasian, heterosexual female from Maine, USA

How often did you play with your Barbies in family scenarios?

"I had single mothers, never single fathers (I didn't like my Kens as much as my Barbies, so I usually picked a woman)- I believe I had some "orphanages", some teen moms, and of course homosexual relationships"


-Denise, 14, Caucasian, pansexual female from the USA

Did you ever play with imperfect dolls?

"One of my favorite Barbies had a chewed hand. But I thought she was really pretty. If anything, her hand made me like her more. My all-time favorite was a Kira doll with an orange swimsuit. She was a gift from a babysitter. I kept it her pristine. But she had a skin thing. It was starting to deteriorate. I thought it looked like skin-peeling. It made sense to me ('cause she was always out in the sun!) and I liked her more for it. I hated the few Ken dolls I had. They were either douchey or dudebro-y and they held zero attraction for me or my Barbies. They were not treated with care. And they were always naked."


-Melinda, 23, multiracial (Hispanic/Caucasian), bisexual female from Indianapolis, IN, USA

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to your female dolls?

"Yes. Ken didn't do much. Sometimes he drove the Corvette but then his head popped off so he was removed from that job. The male dolls were pleasant to the female dolls, but I didn't play with Ken much."


-Louella, 16, Multiracial (Caucasian/Hispanic), questioning female from Berkeley, CA, USA

Did you have Ken dolls? How did male dolls act in relation to your female dolls?

"I had a few Ken dolls. Gender roles were pretty much smashed. I had stay-at-home-moms, but I also had stay-at-home-dads. I didn't really have any gender roles besides clothing belonging to one gender or another."


-Denise, 14, Caucasian, pansexual female from the US

How often did you play with your Barbies in family scenarios?

"My Barbies were frequently in family scenarios, though there wasn't always a father, mainly due to my lack of interest in the Ken doll (it wasn't his fault, though. He just had ugly clothes)."


-Luz, 21, Mexican-American, heterosexual female from the USA

Did you ever play with imperfect dolls?

"I continued to play with my imperfect dolls. Several Barbies' feet fell victim to my teething puppy, a Ken lost an arm at a sleepover, and one unfortunate Barbie was tragically decapitated. I worked my Barbies' various disabilities into my play narratives, except for the headless Barbie. (I did, however, keep her head and play with her around Halloween.)"


-Glenda, 24, Caucasian, queer female from Connecticut, USA

Do you remember doing anything violent to a Barbie doll?

"I'm not proud of it-- but I defaced my Britney Barbie pretty horrifically. It's just that I didn't want the doll. I don't know why anyone thought I'd want it. But I think I also ripped Ken's head off. It was squishy. I put it back on but he never looked the same."


-Melinda, 23, multiracial (Hispanic/Caucasian), bisexual female from Indianapolis, IN, USA