This essay examines the engagement of pop culture aesthetics with trans literatures, indicating societal constraints surrounding doll play.
Through an exploration of pop culture references to the fashion doll franchise Barbie from the late twentieth century to present, this essay presents the concept of plasticity as critical to the study of trans literatures, where plasticity captures the relationship between freedom of doll play and its socioculturally imposed boundaries. Despite a proliferation of a more progressive doll in the last two decades, including the hypervisibility of the 2023 live-action film, Barbie continues to reify white neoliberal values. This paper asks, how does such a fraught aesthetic engage with trans literatures? By engaging satirical writing and classified ads from archived trans and gender-expansive periodicals, with contemporary media and cultural figures, including Nina Arsenault, Dolly Parton, Nicki Minaj, Laverne Cox, and Hari Nef, this essay takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding trans Barbie aesthetics across genres and decades.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Foltz et al. (2025) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: