When did you stop playing with Barbies? Why did you stop?

"I stopped playing around the age of eleven. I knew that it wasn't cool anymore. We girls were supposed to channel all of our creative and imaginative energy into attracting boys. A part of me really dreaded that loss of girl-centered play. I knew that the focus was shifting and I was hesitant to make the change."


-Anna, 33, Caucasian, heterosexual female from the USA

Would you buy Barbies for your children?

"If they wanted one, I would. I'd probably buy them one because I played with them, but I would encourage them to play with Barbie in creative ways."


-Marcie, 21, Caucasian, heterosexual female from the United States

Would you buy Barbies for your children?

"It's hard to say. I would like to say that I probably wouldn't, or that I'd have, like conditions or something. I'd like to think that I'd make sure to only give them toys that helped them, um, develop and whatnot, and that I'd try rather to make sure that whatever they played with had more of a creativity/individuality element to it, I guess. However, it is really hard to say for sure. You don't really know for sure what you will or won't do as a parent until you have a child, hold that child in your arms for the first time, etc. ...I wanna say that I know what I would or wouldn't get for them, but I could also see myself not being able to help but spoil the crap out of them. As far as I can speculate, though, I probably wouldn't get them Barbies."


-Addison, 20, Puerto Rican, gynesexual, androgynous individual from The United States