For some women in China, “Barbie” is more than just a movie — it’s also a litmus test for their partner’s views on feminism and patriarchy.
The movie has prompted intense social media discussion online, media outlets Sixth Tone and the China Project reported this week, prompting women to discuss their own dating experiences.
One user on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu — a photo-sharing site similar to Instagram that’s mostly used by Gen Z women — even shared a guide on Monday for how women can test their boyfriends based on their reaction to the film.
According to the guide, if a man shows hatred for “Barbie” and slams female directors after they leave the theatre, then this man is “stingy” and a “toxic chauvinist,” according to Insider’s translation of the post. Conversely, if a man understands even half of the movie’s themes, “then he is likely a normal guy with normal values and stable emotions,” the user wrote.
I bet that challenging some of the movie concepts would also be considered misogynistic. I mean if I think that there is no patriarchy in western civilization at present. That means I don’t agree with a feminist argument and therefore i must despise all women right? It’s the only logical conclusion you would reach “in good faith” 🙄
Edit: thanks for admitting it. I just wanted to make it clear to those who engaged in good faith with the argument.
It’s fun seeing the actual test the article is talking about playing out in real time.
Indeed it’s fun to call them out and show what they actually mean. So much good faith discussion. /s
Actually, it’s a bit like watching a couple of toddlers on the playground throw sand in each other’s faces and then scream at mom and dad saying they hate us.
It’s not our fault that you’re childlike in your inability to empathize with other people.
I am sure you believe that. Don’t worry i am not even trying to educate you. You do you and live with the consequences.
So what, you think that Joe Biden is a transvestite in drag? And that 80% of corporations in the US are actually ran by more trans people???
Yeah buddy okay whatever
Hell I’ve worked at least a half dozen companies where there were no female employees at all.
Wait. Sorry, I’m trying to understand, are you saying you actually don’t think patriarchy exists in the West?
I agree liberals will just be reactionary and any critique will be received in bad faith, same way if you’re a Leftist and critique Democrats or Hillary Clinton then they think you’re really a fascist mysogynist, but I’m not sure if that’s what you meant.
Ok let me give my hot take: Patriarchy doesn’t exist in the same way god doesn’t: It’s a bullshit way to analyse the world ultimately more trouble than it’s worth because it obscures instead of clarifies social relations.
That’s evidenced by the theoretical drift the term has taken, from “oh it’s the men” (classical definition: rule of men) to “oh no it’s certain social forces and we’re calling them patriarchy even if propagated by women” (feminist definition starting whatever-wave), leading to stellar analysis such as “female beauty standards are internalised misogyny” which make my head hurt, it’s women saying “look how high status I am I have so much free time to care about non-survival stuff”, pure female competition, men really don’t give a fuck ultimately we like you best in pyjamas and bed hair. So, uncharitable take, “patriarchy exists” means “certain forces exist and I’m uncomfortable acknowledging my own participation in them so I’m deflecting”. Which is why you then see takes such as “the favourite past-time of feminists is to enforce patriarchy” from people who understand academic feminism, referring to what’s happening in political feminism and somehow those sides have stopped talking quite a while ago because what they’re doing is fundamentally irreconcilable as what they share is equivoke terminology, not ideology. QED.
So: Throw out the terminology, re-do it from the ground up with a focus on precision and clarity and without regards for hysterical raisins.
Wait. Sorry, I’m trying to understand, are you saying you actually don’t think patriarchy exists in the West?
Yep, extremely dumb point they were trying to make.
same way if you’re a Leftist and critique Democrats or Hillary Clinton then they think you’re really a fascist mysogynist
Two questions:
- which critiques?
- If you don’t want this country to be fascist or misogynist, how are your critiques helping?
Correct, if you don’t think there is any patriarchy then you might be a shitlord.
It’s not an issue of if there’s any patriarchy, but that Universal and Mattel obviously limited how much the film makers could critique capitalism, corporatism, and this general issue of forced competitiveness (of which patriarchy is a symptom - make 10 people fight over 5 sticks, act surprised when whichever people end up grabbing the sticks first use them to leverage an advantage and beat down the others, and it eventually turns into things like patriarchy and white supremacy and class systems).
So instead the film has to pretend that patriarchy is the core issue, despite undermining that notion itself multiple times (eg. multiple powerless male characters in both worlds, Ken being unable to get a job, most of Gloria’s grievances about being a woman being grievances many men share or basic human insecurities, etc.) The film even tries to lampshade some of its own shortcomings (“thanks, white saviour Barbie” and the line about Margot Robbie being the wrong casting choice).
Thematically, the film is a hot mess. It degenerates into bullshit twitter mottos and catchphrases from about 10 years ago and dance numbers instead of plot resolution.
If you’re using this, of all movies, to “test” your boyfriends and partners - well a) testing your partners is not a great sign in itself, but also b) you may be an idiot.
How dare you. Recently in my university there was a free course only for women ( i.t. related) men are directly not allowed to participate.
So instead of equality we’re going for revenge. And no one dare deny it. The problem is many young adults only have lived through this all his life if they are like 18-20. They didn’t get to see how bad was it and are only receiving this biased reality, and some of them being radicalized in both directions.
Of course there are many patriarchal things still worth fighting for. But this kind of blind religion "islam make women slaves (true) so we women are all victims of slavery ( not true)… Said a civil worker with exactly the same rights as me, or more, since she can attend that course in my university.
