My thoughts about the ecofeminist version of the barbie doll concern
the name Malibu (there was a Malibu Barbie as well as a Malibu Stacey, right?).
It's actually a very appropriate name for the new version-- or one
of the new versions-- with a strong irony. Although the name for the
original Malibu Barbie referred to her tan, bleach blonde hair, and whatever
else is associated with present-day Malibu Beach (perhaps including
so-called sex appeal, selfish lifestyle, high consumption...), the term
Malibu is one of the few surviving place names derived from the Chumash
language.
The Chumash were native Americans living in coastal California; they
were enslaved by the Spanish missionaries and soldiers and have virtually
disappeared. Documents of the Santa Barbara Mission, the 'Queen of the
Missions', record the baptism of 4771 native adults and infants between 1786
and 1858 and the deaths of 4645 native adults and infants between 1786 and
1872. These data are taken from Jack Weatherford's Native Roots (Crown,
1991), as is the following quote (which includes a quote, p135):
An exhibit in the Santa Barbara Mission dryly and naively explains
the disappearance of the Chumash. "Conflicts arose between the
missionaries and soldiers, and between the soldiers and Indians.
Health-related problems and opposing ethnic practices proved a
detriment to the Chumash."
Chilling stories of the massacres and enslavement of native peoples on the
american continents can easily be found everywhere but within our textbooks;
Columbus, de Soto, Cortez, etc. were of course mass-murderers and
slave-traders....
Thus the new Malibu Barbie could stand for justice for native peoples.
The new Malibu Barbie could stand for an end to oppression of all groups.
The new Malibu Barbie could represent real voice for women in government, as
several native american societies approached matriarchies....the new Malibu
Barbie could call for communal land or at least equitable land tenure....
I like the idea of an ecofeminist Barbie. Irony is powerful.
Sue Daniels
Dept of Biology
Virginia Tech
