And now for something completely different

No, Barbie and her lookalikes no longer captivate my play time as they did once upon a time.

Yes, there have been many criticisms of Barbie over the years, including some perfectly reasonable ones. But brainwashing young girls into becoming playthings and objects? Nonsense!

If my own offspring is anything to go by, the Barbie experience meant arranging tea parties, concerts and shows, taking part in celebrations and quarrels, creating clothes and props with low-budget materials, subjecting Barbies to rants… the list is endless. Now that I think about it, her enthusiasm for get togethers, organising events, low-cost outfits, arguments and rants continues.

There was a phase when stiletto heels crammed into decapitated Barbie heads with shock haircuts was the order of the day, but the improvised coffin, a plush-looking pink-lined toiletries box, never got used as intended.

And in spite of repeated clearing-out rituals, there is still a bagful of Barbies lurking around.

As one daughter of the 80s put it, “Cellulite went out of fashion with Barbie, but Barbie was not the cause, just the last wheel of the wagon representing aesthetic changes for the body”.

Do you think playing with Barbies was bad for you? “No, I’m proud of my cellulite dr freudy”.

Just goes to show: playing with Barbies doesn’t stop you from using your loaf, and leaves your sense of humour intact.