Women are revealing how they are using Barbie as a “relationship test” on their partners.
After the highly-anticipated film was released in theatres on 21 July, female viewers have taken to TikTok to analyse their boyfriends’ reactions to the movie. In one video posted earlier this week, TikTok user @swagaliciousvr0 shared her belief that, if women watch Barbie with their boyfriends, they’ll be able to decipher whether their relationship is going to last or not.
“I genuinely think taking your boyfriend to Barbie should be your relationship test to decide if he’s good [as] a potential long-term partner. How does he react when you tell him you want to go with him?” she wrote, before questioning how men could respond to pivotal scenes and characters in the film.
“What are his thoughts on why certain things are happening in the movie? How does he feel about Allan?” she continued, referring to one of the main male characters who’s not a Ken, played by Michael Cera. “What are his thoughts on the montage at the end? What are his feelings on the way Ken was portrayed?”
She continued to question how male viewers would interpret the meaning of the movie, which features Barbie - played by Margot Robbie - leaving Barbieland and entering the real world, where she confronts the ideas of the patriarchy. The film has also received praise for America Ferra’s powerful monologue, where she highlights the difficulties of being a woman.
“Is he interested in having an intellectual conversation about the message afterwards?” the TikTok user continued, before claiming that the Barbie movie could show one what kind of person their boyfriend is. “I think these are all very important things that will give you a crystal clear image of what his character is.”
She concluded her video by once again encouraging women to take their partners to see the film, adding: “If you’re testing your relationship, take him to Barbie. If you’re going on a first date, take him to see Barbie. All men should see Barbie.”
In the caption, @swagaliciousvr0 went on to share and praise her partner’s reaction to the film, writing: “I’ve always thought the world would be ran better if women were the ones in charge’ - my [boyfriend].’”
The video has quickly gone viral on TikTok, where it has amassed more than 3.9m views. In the comments, fans have shared their own boyfriends’ reactions to Barbie.
“He gave it a 10/10, said that he’s glad it talked about girl and boy problems. And he hugged me and said ‘Tell me when you’re sad, it’s what I’m made for,” one viewer wrote, referring to lyrics from Billie Eilish’s song in Barbie, “What Am I Made For?”
“He said the other day ‘we should go see the Barbie movie’ all on his own. When I asked why he said ‘to make your inner child happy,’” another added.
A third wrote: “My husband asked me (I’ve never mentioned it to him) if we could go get him a Barbie shirt and if we could go watch it and sneak in pink starbursts.”
However, some expressed that they didn’t think that Barbie was a way to test a relationship, with one writing: “The obsession over girls’ partners and this movie is insane, it’s not as deep as you have been made to think lol.”
Despite the mixed reactions to the praise over Barbie, @swagaliciousvr0 isn’t the first viewer to describe the film as a relationship test. During a recent interview with NBC News, fan Nicole Hoefler described her own “Barbie Test,” which included taking her boyfriend to see the movie, before discovering if he understood the film’s feminist message.
“It’s like the new question on a first date or your dating profile: ‘What are your thoughts on the Barbie movie?’” the 32-year-old, who’s based in Cologne, Germany, said. “Because if a guy really doesn’t want to see it or he’s not open to talking about it or, what’s even worse yet, if he’s seen it and he thinks it’s not a good movie or he doesn’t get the point, I think it’s kind of a no-go.”
In a TikTok video, Hoefler also praised her boyfriend for how he reacted to the movie, writing: “My boyfriend proved to me more than ever that he’s the best. He dressed in pink. He got all the jokes and the moving parts. Afterwards, he discussed with me what a masterpiece this movie is and how hard it must be to be a woman. I’m a lucky girl.”
