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Adios, Barbie: Young Women Write About Body Image and Identity
In more than 20 candid and humorous essays, a diverse group of women explore how they have chosen to ignore, subvert, or redefine the standard of beauty. These women break down modern culture's feminine ideal and reinvent it for themselves.
256 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1998
3 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
Ophira Edut
95 books42 followersOphira Edut and her twin sister Tali, known as the AstroTwins, are professional astrologers who reach millions worldwide every month. As the official astrologers for ELLE magazine and the matchmakers on Amazon Prime Video’s Cosmic Love they bring the stars down to earth with their empowering approach to horoscopes.
Bestselling authors, they’ve written a collection of books, including Love Zodiac and Momstrology (their #1 Amazon bestselling parenting guide) and their own brand imprint annual horoscope guides.
With a mission to “empower astrology lovers to create lives of passion and purpose using the stars as a guide,” the AstroTwins have created a suite of courses applying astrology to love, career and home design. Through their Astropreneurs offerings, they teach aspiring and current business owners how to tap into their unique astrological strengths to build careers they love.
Bestselling authors, they’ve written a collection of books, including Love Zodiac and Momstrology (their #1 Amazon bestselling parenting guide) and their own brand imprint annual horoscope guides.
With a mission to “empower astrology lovers to create lives of passion and purpose using the stars as a guide,” the AstroTwins have created a suite of courses applying astrology to love, career and home design. Through their Astropreneurs offerings, they teach aspiring and current business owners how to tap into their unique astrological strengths to build careers they love.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 17, 2012
As I paged through the short essays in this book at the library, I decided to give it a chance. To me it did not live up to the "groundbreaking anthology" it promised to be. In fact, some of the stories even made me feel a bit worse about my body image. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy quite a few essays but almost every ending left me puzzled. The "ah-ha" moment of the different writers. They turn the key to true body acceptance and voila! End of story, good luck finding your own key, kid. Some of the women did not even clue you in on how they reached their magical self acceptance leaving me pretty disappointed in this book.
July 26, 2008
This is a group of essays by young women about body image. It offers a diverse range of responses from a variety of women. The major drawback is that these young women are just going over ground their mothers and grandmothers covered with earlier with a wit, brazeness, and courage that many of these essays lack.
August 9, 2020
I'm still sad they had to change the title in its 2nd ed because Mattel threatened to sue them, if I recall correctly. It's a great title for those times! Barbie has improved significantly in the 2010s and 2020s, probably in part of all the many intersectional feminist complaints for generations.
January 23, 2021
I was recently reminded of this book and thought I'd come rate it on Goodreads out of nostalgia. Back in 2000 or 2001, I was eagerly reading a first edition library copy and blissfully unaware of the Mattel lawsuit which would eventually force the publisher to change the name and redesign the cover to Mattel's specifications. I still remember how much it moved and influenced me as a teenage girl, some essays far more than others. (Even now, I remember that this was a real mixed bag.) Still, 5 stars for sticking in my brain for so long.
August 20, 2018
A very good collection of essays about the body from a variety of women’s perspectives. These are accessible and easily relatable!
April 1, 2021
Margarita’s book club. Not good. Collection of essays about the why and the how girls grow up with the images they do.
April 16, 2021
This book is completely good.
February 27, 2012
When I first picked this book up, I already has some misgivings. While I am definitely a girl, I’m not a very good one. I don’t fit in with the stereotypical primps who spend hours on their hair, makeup, and clothes. But, I’m not exactly a butch-y, either. I’m just kind of plain, don’t really fit in to any specific stereotypes. So why did I choose to read a book that’s solely about women overcoming stereotypes? Because I am interested in other people’s experience…and I think I probably hoped that there would be something in there I could relate to, something that made me normal in my freakish-ness.
After the first few short stories, I was beginning to regret my choice. It was largely based on women who belonged to minority (in the US) racial or religious groups. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand that those groups, and especially the women within them, have many struggles that I don’t, as a white Christian. However…I can’t relate to those struggles. And if I ever did, I’m pretty sure I would get yelled at for faking (maybe this is just my Southern background, but in my experience white people, especially white Christians, don’t have much room to complain). So that was a little harder to really connect too.
But after a while there were more issues about weight (not always tied to ethnicity), tattoos, etc. More “universal” issues, at least to me. Not that I could relate to all the stories, but I felt like there was at least the possibility, KWIM?
The story that really made the book worth reading for me was one of the last ones. It talked about feminism, and how the feminists of today are facing different struggles than the feminists of the past. I have always had a problem referring to myself as a feminist. I know too many people who claim that label, then turn around to spew hateful words about men. I haven’t ever understood that logic. “You make me feel bad about myself, so I’m going to trash you.” To me, that is not equality, or even maturity. I have huge problems with generalizations, however, and that’s really something for my personal blog more than here, so I’ll get off my soap box.
Anyway, the story by Amelia (Amy) Richards called Body Image: Thrid Wave Feminism’s Issue? was the one I enjoyed the most. In it she mentions the different things that feminism has fought for over the past, and how different “feminists” are today- both from their predecessors and from each other. She speaks of people like me, who don’t identify as a feminist but still care about similar issues. She also talks about how being a feminist doesn’t mean you don’t get body conscious, or have doubts and insecurities.
I appreciate this point of few because I feel that too often the focus of feminism is on overcoming insecurities or blocking out the part of the world that causes them. And to me, that is very harmful to those women who want to be part of the feminist movement but feel like they aren’t good enough. Like any cause, if you push too hard in one direction you can turn more people away than you can bring in.
After the first few short stories, I was beginning to regret my choice. It was largely based on women who belonged to minority (in the US) racial or religious groups. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand that those groups, and especially the women within them, have many struggles that I don’t, as a white Christian. However…I can’t relate to those struggles. And if I ever did, I’m pretty sure I would get yelled at for faking (maybe this is just my Southern background, but in my experience white people, especially white Christians, don’t have much room to complain). So that was a little harder to really connect too.
But after a while there were more issues about weight (not always tied to ethnicity), tattoos, etc. More “universal” issues, at least to me. Not that I could relate to all the stories, but I felt like there was at least the possibility, KWIM?
The story that really made the book worth reading for me was one of the last ones. It talked about feminism, and how the feminists of today are facing different struggles than the feminists of the past. I have always had a problem referring to myself as a feminist. I know too many people who claim that label, then turn around to spew hateful words about men. I haven’t ever understood that logic. “You make me feel bad about myself, so I’m going to trash you.” To me, that is not equality, or even maturity. I have huge problems with generalizations, however, and that’s really something for my personal blog more than here, so I’ll get off my soap box.
Anyway, the story by Amelia (Amy) Richards called Body Image: Thrid Wave Feminism’s Issue? was the one I enjoyed the most. In it she mentions the different things that feminism has fought for over the past, and how different “feminists” are today- both from their predecessors and from each other. She speaks of people like me, who don’t identify as a feminist but still care about similar issues. She also talks about how being a feminist doesn’t mean you don’t get body conscious, or have doubts and insecurities.
I appreciate this point of few because I feel that too often the focus of feminism is on overcoming insecurities or blocking out the part of the world that causes them. And to me, that is very harmful to those women who want to be part of the feminist movement but feel like they aren’t good enough. Like any cause, if you push too hard in one direction you can turn more people away than you can bring in.
December 8, 2007
This book was revolutionary to me. I'd grown up hating my body because it is fat. (Among other reasons--just flip through your average women's magazine for many, many more reasons why we should hate our bodies.) I thought I was a slob and that I was deficient and undisciplined. I thought obviously I "needed" to lose weight and I couldn't be "acceptable" until I did.
And then this wonderful book came into my life. I realized that what it said was true: God made my body exactly as it is and God made my body beautiful, just like everyone else's. I could not only just resign myself to being fat, or just accept that I'm fat, but I could learn to love my body just as it is. I came to see that I am fat, yes, and I am also strong and substantial.
I loved this book.
It's a collection of stories told by many different women about lots of different body issues. Some I could relate to more than others. There's one from a handicapped woman in a wheelchair--I'm not handicapped, but I enjoyed reading her story. Same with lesbian women and women of color, but I did relate to the woman who decided to stop shaving her legs and pits. :-)
This book now has a different title....because a certain toy company couldn't bear to have their precious self-esteem-banishing toy slandered in such a way. I still love the title Adios, Barbie, but if you're looking for it new, you'll have to look under Body Outlaws.
I wish I'd found this book or a book like it before I was 30 years old! I think every women should receive this message.
And then this wonderful book came into my life. I realized that what it said was true: God made my body exactly as it is and God made my body beautiful, just like everyone else's. I could not only just resign myself to being fat, or just accept that I'm fat, but I could learn to love my body just as it is. I came to see that I am fat, yes, and I am also strong and substantial.
I loved this book.
It's a collection of stories told by many different women about lots of different body issues. Some I could relate to more than others. There's one from a handicapped woman in a wheelchair--I'm not handicapped, but I enjoyed reading her story. Same with lesbian women and women of color, but I did relate to the woman who decided to stop shaving her legs and pits. :-)
This book now has a different title....because a certain toy company couldn't bear to have their precious self-esteem-banishing toy slandered in such a way. I still love the title Adios, Barbie, but if you're looking for it new, you'll have to look under Body Outlaws.
I wish I'd found this book or a book like it before I was 30 years old! I think every women should receive this message.
August 23, 2008
A collection of essays written by women of various backgrounds and body-types, including one transgendered female. Honestly, I had higher hopes for this book. A few of the essays started out well, but I can only guess that the editor really affected the writing styles of these authors, since EVERY story seemed to end in an incredibly preachy manner.
The anecdotes and interesting historical perspectives were often lightly touched upon and then rapidly pushed away to make a "and-the-moral-of-the-story-is:" ending. I feel that even if I had read these essays when I was younger and more impressionable, I wouldn't have been too impressed by anything the authors say. They always started out interesting and quickly became boring. All of them.
Ultimately, I think this book fails any objective it might have hoped to accomplish. The writing is too academic to appeal to uncertain teens, and not personal enough to appeal to curious adults. Not to mention that anyone who thinks to seek out this book and read it, has probably already internalized the seemingly-forced morals.
Overall, an interesting concept which could have been much better executed.
The anecdotes and interesting historical perspectives were often lightly touched upon and then rapidly pushed away to make a "and-the-moral-of-the-story-is:" ending. I feel that even if I had read these essays when I was younger and more impressionable, I wouldn't have been too impressed by anything the authors say. They always started out interesting and quickly became boring. All of them.
Ultimately, I think this book fails any objective it might have hoped to accomplish. The writing is too academic to appeal to uncertain teens, and not personal enough to appeal to curious adults. Not to mention that anyone who thinks to seek out this book and read it, has probably already internalized the seemingly-forced morals.
Overall, an interesting concept which could have been much better executed.
August 13, 2009
This was a great book for me. Some of the stories I related to more than others, not being 'ethnic' other than looking quite Jewish (and that probably being part of my heritage) or physically disabled. I understood these were women like me, women who weren't what they were 'supposed' to be sometimes and that so much of my self-hatred has been linked to my culture and my upbringing (therefore not being integrally me).
I was also quite interested in the fact that two of the contributors live in my area although that was only slightly shocking because where I live is known for its pushing of the standards.
I was also quite interested in the fact that two of the contributors live in my area although that was only slightly shocking because where I live is known for its pushing of the standards.
April 8, 2017
Though I found some perspectives of a couple women a little out-dated, this book was fabulous in terms of relaying the amazing impact innocent dolls and shows and media can have on a girl - and even woman's - self esteem. This book DID focus solely on the affect pop culture has on women as opposed to all genders, but I was very happy with this read. Most of the contributions (stories) were by women of color (WOC) which I think is very important, and was informative for me as a middle-class, young white woman.
A recommended read - especially for the cause of feminism.
A recommended read - especially for the cause of feminism.
August 28, 2016
I got this little gem free in the library "take home" section, & I'm glad I snatched it up.
I have long struggled with my body image, having gone through full blown anorexia and bulimia and made it out to the other side. Therefore, I found this book entirely relateable.
There were stories about things I have not struggled with, ie - disability, lesbianism, POC, but I strongly feel we can bond by sisterhood.
A must-read for feminists and those who struggle with their body image, femininity, &/or sexuality!
I have long struggled with my body image, having gone through full blown anorexia and bulimia and made it out to the other side. Therefore, I found this book entirely relateable.
There were stories about things I have not struggled with, ie - disability, lesbianism, POC, but I strongly feel we can bond by sisterhood.
A must-read for feminists and those who struggle with their body image, femininity, &/or sexuality!
February 1, 2008
One of my other favorites! This book helped me deal with a lot of my own body image issues. I would suggest to anyone who has ever had any body issues. It also helped me with the other side-people who find comfort in eating. It is also a good book to talk about women and girls having a strong self-image
June 27, 2007
One of the first feminist books I read, as an image-conscious, insecure preteen. I think I was pretty lucky to have essays like this to turn to when I wasn't scouring Seventeen magazines for fashion tips about how to fit in and make myself as invisible as possible.
February 3, 2015
I wasn't quite interested in reading this book but flipping through the pages one story stood out to me. After reading about Marisa Navarro, I decided to give the book a try. Turns out I really did like this book.
June 28, 2008
I plowed through this enjoyable collection of essays in several hours. If you're looking for a good by-the-pool read that actually has substance, this is it.
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January 15, 2010books I've read,essays,women's studies
October 17, 2013
I read this book when I was in high school and I think every young women would benefit by reading it once in their lives.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews