Did you ever wish to look like Barbie?

"No, that was never an issue to me. I still have a hard time believing that people want to be the models in magazines or they wanted to be barbie. In my house, we weren't taught that looks get you far. We never owned a weight scale, weight was never an issue. My parents looked after our individuality, something I think we also gained through playing various tales and adventures with our dolls."


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

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 

How did your parents feel about Barbie?

"My parents bought me second hand barbies. My mum encouraged it by making us clay food which she then cooked so that it turned hard. They liked that my sister and I made things when we needed them, instead of making them buy us stuff. They always made us look at the alternatives of barbie for the houses, clothes, etc since actual barbie accessories and stuff were expensive and mostly cheap, breakable plastic. My mum was sort of upset when I stopped playing with them since I think she also liked making the things with us."


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

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

"The only families my barbies had were siblings. My parents were divorced, and I didn't know or like the portrait of a "normal" family."


-Helena, 15, Persian, heterosexual female from Toronto, Canada

How did your parents feel about Barbie?

"They let me do what I wanted. I liked making movies with my barbies, usually involving one of them being a princess, and my parents would sometimes watch."


-Helena, 15, Persian, heterosexual female from Toronto, Canada 

Who bought you your Barbies?

"My parents and family members mostly, but my friends and I always bought each other dolls for birthday presents too."


-Maureen, 20, Caucasian, gay female from Oregon, USA

How did your parents feel about Barbie?

"My parents were always fine with the different toys I wanted to have, as long as I actually played with them once I got them."

-Nicole, 22, Caucasian, heterosexual female from Germany

Do you remember doing anything violent to a Barbie doll?

"My grandmother gave me ONE Barbie doll, against my parents' will. My brothers and I tore it limb from limb and tied its head to a piece of string to use as a toy for the family dog."


-Leah, 17, Caucasian, heterosexual female from Australia 

"As a young child my Barbies held traditional gender roles, but as I grew older this changed (I specifically remember ripping one of my favorite Barbie dresses trying to put it on Ken and then hiding it from my parents because I knew they wouldn't approve)."


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

How did your parents feel about Barbie?

"They were against the whole Barbie doll phenomenon. In fact, in my entire childhood, I had one Barbie doll, given to me by my grandmother against my parents' will."


-Leah, 17, Caucasian, heterosexual female from Australia 

How did other people influence the way you played Barbies?

"When I played by myself by Barbies were usually naked! I remember my Barbies frequently having "sex" with eachother...or whatever my child mind thought sex was. I definitely did not do that with friends or my parents around."


-Nancy, 23, Caucasian, heterosexual, female from the United States