This week, Colombian popstar Shakira appeared on the cover of Allure talking about feminism and pain - and, notably, Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film Barbie. She told the publication: 'My sons absolutely hated it. They felt that it was emasculating. And I agree, to a certain extent.'
The pop-star went on to say 'I'm raising two boys. I want 'em to feel powerful too [while] respecting women.' Shakira's sons Sasha, 9, and Mila, 11, are shared with her ex-partner Gerard Pique, a former Barcelona footballer.
Shakira added that: '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.'
These comments have since gone viral with many people pointing out thetoxicity of such a mindset and questioning whether Shakira misinterpreted the film. The singer’s claim that Barbie was 'emasculating' is unjustified, considering Ken gets an entire redemption arc and storyline on toxic masculinity. Ultimately, Ken (played by Ryan Gosling) is empowered through being 'Kenough', and finds himself outside of his relationship with Margot Robbie’s Barbie.
Barbie, one of the top-grossing films of all time (£1.15bn), was an extremely gentle and primary introduction to feminism, AKA suitable for young children and something to build upon at home. For adults, it’s a film that many have dubbed (myself included) as ‘White Feminism’ for being overly commercialised, sanitised and undiverse. It is hardly a progressive or controversial take on gender politics. And so, the fact it got this response from Shakira shows a worrying lack of understanding. Moreover, it is symptomatic of the 'us' and 'them' mentality instilled by society into young girls and boys - boys shouldn't believe that women's progress means men being sidelined - and is demonstrative of just how much work we have left to do.
Recent research from King’s College London’s Policy Institute and Global Institute for Women’s Leadership found that boys and men from Gen Z are more likely than baby boomers to believe that feminism has done more harm than good, and one in five (21%) men aged 16 to 29 who have heard of Andrew Tate, the self-proclaimed misogynist influencer, say they have a favourable view of him. There is so much work to be done, and that includes internally– women must unpick internalised misogyny and ensure that it does not taint how we educate the next generation. For example, when we discount women as providers like Shakira does in this interview we are boxing them into roles and limiting our collective agency.
Ultimately, Shakira’s comments are not uncommon and point to a larger societal issue, whereby people believe that empowering girls will somehow disempower boys, and that binary ideas of gender are necessary in order to retain boys’ power. One X user reacted to the interview saying 'This is why Barbie is a necessary movie for many women to be introduced to feminism 101 as they still suffer from internalised misogyny.'
We need to socialise boys to see the empowerment of girls as a positive move, and to challenge outdated gender stereotypes. Shakira’s comments no doubt impacted her children’s view of Barbie and instilled this unhealthy understanding – it is parents’ (and all adults’) responsibility to educate children about equality and build a better world. Tripping up on Barbie is disappointing, to say the least.