But of course she can’t, not with those feet on tiptoes, ready for stilettos. In fact, with those big boobs, she might not be able to run at all. Barbie might be the most impossible and horrifying model for any young girl, who sees the big boobs and tiny waist, sleek long hair and made-up face, and think ah, that’s how I want to look. And since Barbie apparently now represents the modern woman who has graduated from college and can keep every job possible, earning enough to have her own house (townhouse, 3-story dream house, Malibu dream house, take your pick) with fancy appliances and to party like there’s no tomorrow, then she does become a perfect aspiration, doesn’t she?
Except that Barbie is false, her whole lifestyle is. And even when there are seemingly more powerful images of her as career woman (most recent careers? News Anchor and Computer Engineer!), she has remained the same in many ways: she’s still as thin, regardless of how her hair or skin color have evolved; she still has the same features, the same particular body type, the same… uh… impossibilities. Yes, even when she has already run as Presidential Candidate Barbie (in African-American and White skin colors!).
Because Barbie cannot run, she has no knees for it. Yet as I began to run to get that endorphin high (over the more obvious need to lose weight), I found that much of it was about Barbie. And no, it isn’t about the body, for I got over that (im)possibility long ago, instead it’s about what Barbie does continue to stand for, over and above those jobs she can now have: it’s about being fashionista.
For running? It’s almost worse than just choosing what to wear to a date. Case in point: you can wear running shorts, skorts, long or knee-length running tights, jogging pants; you can choose among racerback tops, spaghetti strapped ones, sleeveless jerseys, singlets, in dri-fit or cotton. In the land of Pinas such a premium is put on the question of brands, where Nike and Adidas stores begin to particularly sell the idea of running, selling things that extend the lifestyle, that make it larger and more, uh, complicated than it actually is. Headbands! Arm bands! Sports bras! Water bottle! Gloves! Watches! Monitors! Armbands! Running shoe wallets! Reflective arms! Caps! Beanies!
In fact all you need to run, and run well, are running shoes.
As with Barbi, she from 90s Pinoy pop culture, when Joey de Leon was raking it in as She-Man (from He-Man), Starzan (from Tarzan), Long Ranger (from Lone Ranger). And yes, in Run Barbie Run as Barbi, a gay Barbara Streisand impersonator on the run from criminals who want his head. This movie also starred The Eraserheads at the height of their career, playing themselves and singing the soundtrack, the band that would help Barbi get those criminals who are after him/her.
Running for dear life, literally, was the name of the game in Run Barbi Run. Running would seem to be the last thing Barbie would do, seeing as she doesn’t allow for the possibility of sweat and, along with her fashionable outfits, wouldn’t be seen with messy hair or smeared make-up (and who would run a race with make-up on, really?). Oh no, Barbie is no woman living in the moment, no contemporary woman who’s taking control of her life by first of all having a fantastic sense of how different her body could possibly be, and how simple she could possibly live.
Because here and now, in the land where more and more people are running purportedly for fitness, there is elitism still, more than about clothes, it’s about how bodies should look, about which bodies are better. It barely matters who is more fit, or who is healthier; instead there is superficiality, the aesthetic of the thinner the better kicking in, it’s almost like going ten steps back in the discourse of good body image for all girls, all women, all Pinays.
Sometimes it really does seem that we all still believe in Barbie. ***
Previously published in the defunct Metakritiko for POC.net, circa 2010.