How did other people affect how you played with Barbies?

"I usually re-enacted soap operas. My favorite character as a child was Erica Kane from "All My Children." I do think that playing with barbies allowed me to be creative. I developed a real flair for storytelling."


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

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

"I think it encouraged me to build stories inside of my head, to put myself into a story rather than just take it in. Creating the story lines allowed me to build a story in an interactive way rather than just on paper. Because I played with Barbies, I'm pretty good at building fantastical worlds with lots of potential for characters and stories, but, since we usually abandoned a story half way through, I'm not good at finishing my ideas. But my experiences taught me to play in my own mind. I think if I ever became a fiction writer, my experiences with Barbies would play a big part in a subconscious way."


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

How did other people influence the way you played Barbies?

"My best friend Carolyn and I would set up these elaborate story lines that would last months. We would build these stories and worlds together, but our characters always stayed the same. The same dolls would have the same names and the same personalities and the same significant others. She was a lot older than I was, so I usually followed her lead in story ideas or projects, like building cardboard cities for them."


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

"[M]y best friend and I had an on-going game of several barbie families, I rarely played alone"


-Jeanie, 19, Caucasian, pansexual/questioning, female from Canada