The internet is still buzzing over singer-songwriter Shakira's criticism of the movie "Barbie." Mind you, the movie came out last summer to mixed reviews, and despite making a ton of money, and garnering eight Oscar nominations, won only one at the Academy Awards. So, why is anybody still commenting about it like it's even still a thing? Because Hollywood demands you think like they want, and will beat a dead horse raw to get that point across. In an Allure magazine profile titled "Shakira's She-Wolf Feminism," the writer sat down with Shakira to dig deeply into beauty, fashion, and Shakira's Lamborghini. Not exactly hard-hitting journalism, but this is Allure, after all. In the middle of the article, this seemingly throwaway question was asked about the "Barbie" movie.
Now, I can’t help but ask a question that’s been on my mind since we began this conversation, “Did you watch the movie Barbie?”
“I watched it, yeah.” Long pause.
“And?”
“My sons absolutely hated it. They felt that it was emasculating. And I agree, to a certain extent. I'm raising two boys. I want 'em to feel powerful too [while] respecting women. I like pop culture when it attempts to empower women without robbing men of their possibility to be men, to also protect and provide. I believe in giving women all the tools and the trust that we can do it all without losing our essence, without losing our femininity. I think that men have a purpose in society and women have another purpose as well. We complement each other, and that complement should not be lost.”
Well, slap me around and call me Susan! Shakira not only likes men and wants to raise strong sons, but she doesn't believe female empowerment automatically means male emasculation. Who would have expected profundity coming out of an entertainment pop star? While Shakira was cheered for her comments in some sectors, the Hollywood crowd and the feminist circles were not pleased with her break from orthodoxy.
Braided with shades of a misconstrued notion of feminism, Shakira's statement is problematic, not for the personal views she lays out, but for how she projects them onto "Barbie"'s agenda.
For starters, Shakira's take on the Oscar-winning blockbuster falls uncomfortably in line with conservative critics, who panned the film as "propaganda" and an example of "toxic femininity."
Ginger Gaetz, wife of far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., shared a tweet over the summer detailing a pros and cons list after watching the film, advising people to skip it because, "The 2023 Barbie movie, unfortunately, neglects to address any notion of faith or family, and tries to normalize the idea that men and women can't collaborate positively (yuck)." Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall shared on a panel that women "don't need to put men down to lift yourself up as a woman." And Rep. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in perhaps the most ludicrous of all the "Barbie" backlash, peddled a conspiracy theory that claimed the movie was advancing "communist propaganda" for its depiction of a map that shows contested territory in the South China Sea.
#Shakira point of view re #Barbie movie comes very natural to Hispanic women. We are a culture of confident, hard-working women who fully embrace their femininity & maternal role (largest % of stay at home moms) while loving men & desiring for them to flourish within their… https://t.co/SReZZOzEik
— Rachel Campos-Duffy (@RCamposDuffy) April 1, 2024
#Shakira point of view re #Barbie movie comes very natural to Hispanic women. We are a culture of confident, hard-working women who fully embrace their femininity & maternal role (largest % of stay at home moms) while loving men & desiring for them to flourish within their masculinity and provide for their families. The sexes were designed by God to be complimentary.
And therein lies Shakira's sin. How dare she mirror comments from Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz's wife, Republican Senator Ted Cruz, and Fox News pundit Rachel Campos-Duffy? She's supposed to be one of us!
ppl surprised about Shakira’s Barbie take 💀 Are we surprised that Shakira (a Zionist) is also a misogynist who saying women’s success in society is linked to our femininity??? Shes from an ultra conservative family. Whats worse is that her sons are being raised that way too pic.twitter.com/gWkeBKsI4B
— 🧡 (@ChelseaStanler) April 1, 2024
It was a clutch-the-pearls moment that had Hollywood and the left-leaning "mansplaining," why Shakira did not mean what she said she meant. Then there were those who felt Shakira confirmed how necessary the movie's message was because of "internalized misogyny," or something like that. <insert *eyeroll* emoji>
this is why barbie is a necessary movie for many women to be introduced to feminism 101 as they still suffer from internalised misogyny. https://t.co/u4a2X1BqGQ
— Conducive Coder (@mehtabackupacc) April 1, 2024
It's obvious that Shakira is in personal transition after her breakup with the father of her two sons, and musically, since much of her talk about her new album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry), is about rebuilding herself, working through pain, and creating a transformative experience for other women. For the album, Shakira did a song and a video called "Puntería" with that other bastion of feminism, Cardi B. Cardi has been known herself for stepping outside of the bounds of leftist orthodoxy. All this to say that it is refreshing. By no means do I assume Shakira will come out as a conservative or start espousing those ideals; however, unlike her colleague Taylor Swift, who is the equivalent of a left-wing bot who spouts every cliché and talking point that supports those causes, Shakira not only appears to give her sons space and agency to speak their mind and supports their growing confidence and discovering their place in the world, but she gives herself space as well to not have to toe the typical Hollywood lines. Brava to her for that.
