Barbie Movie is “Robbing Men of Their Possibility to Be Men”

JOCA_PH / shutterstock.com
JOCA_PH / shutterstock.com

Its not all that often that celebrities and pop stars come out on the right side of any political conversation. But pop star Shakira just did…

The 47-year-old Columbian singer was recently interviewed by Allure. During the interview, she was asked what she thought of the new “Barbie” film. Like most in her world, you might assume that she loved it. After all, it’s basically a full celebration of femininity.

But for Shakira, it’s a bit too anti-male.

As she explained, “I like pop culture when it attempts to empower women without robbing men of their possibility to be men, to also protect and provide.”

As interviewer Patricia Alfonso Tortolani noted, the singer gave a “long pause” initially after admitting that she had watched the film.

She then explained it in terms of being a mother.

First, she pointed out that her sons “absolutely hated it. They felt it was emasculating.” Then, she added that she mostly agrees.

“I’m raising two boys. I want ‘em to feel powerful too (while) respecting women.”

She then went on to explain that there’s nothing wrong with women having power or being the lead. However, that doesn’t mean we can ignore what a man, a real man, can bring to the table.

“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 compliment each other, and that complement should not be lost.”

In other words, women and men should both be free to be who they were created to be. Yes, women can be strong, powerful individuals and leaders. But that doesn’t mean men then have to be the opposite.

Sadly, in this day and age, with the help of an extreme transgender movement, society seems to be telling us that both women and men need to be something else. Women need to be stronger, and men less so.

But as Shakira explained, that means losing something essential to who we are as a gender and individual. A woman should be able to be strong and powerful and still completely female. Similarly, men should be allowed to be real men, with all the boldness and masculinity that makes them male.

They do indeed complement one another if allowed to thrive as themselves.

There’s nothing wrong with girl power, with breaking through the glass ceiling. But neither is there anything wrong with men leading or being respected.

As a mother of boys, Shakira wants her sons to be all they can be. To be real men, to be strong and respected, to be given opportunities, just as she would want for her daughters.

One is not better than the other.

But that’s exactly what the Barbie movie seems to instill in viewers as if there’s some patriarchy that we need to destroy.

So if you haven’t seen it yet, perhaps you should keep it that way.