When my daughter remarked about my summer pastimes “back in the olden days,” I couldn’t help but chuckle. She was astonished to hear that Barbies were a staple of my playtime at the age of 10, a time she believes I should have outgrown such things. But I conveniently left out how I played with those dolls…
Saturdays in my childhood home were dedicated to three essentials: cereal, cartoons, and Barbies—in that precise order. After a hearty breakfast of Rice Krispies and some delightful time with the Muppet Babies and Snorks, my sister and I would whisk ourselves away to our room for hours of imaginative play with those iconic dolls.
Here’s my confession after all these years: My Barbie was quite the flirt.
That’s right! What many viewed as innocent fun, I turned into a dramatic soap opera, complete with scandalous escapades. In other words, my Barbie was living her best life—if you catch my drift! Picture this: a pink canopy bed where Barbie and her handsome Malibu Ken (who sported the most impressive tan lines) engaged in some rather adult activities. My sister, on the other hand, was stuck with a Heart Family Ken who, sadly, came with permanent plastic underwear—a fact she lamented often.
To keep things exciting, we would often cast Barbie and Ken as characters from our favorite shows. I remember a phase where my Barbie and Ken were Eden and Cruz from the soap opera Santa Barbara, while my sister would imagine hers as Ricky Schroder or Joey McIntyre. More frequently than not, though, Barbie took on the role of me, and Ken was whoever had my heart at the time.
This brings me to another secret: My Barbie had a tendency to juggle relationships. When I became obsessed with The Monkees at age 9, I found myself in quite a dilemma deciding between Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz. Initially, I felt obligated to love Davy, the quintessential heartthrob with that charming accent. Yet, I couldn’t help but be drawn to Micky, the goofy one who stole my heart. I felt like I was in my own fictional love triangle, much like Joey Potter on Dawson’s Creek.
Enter Barbie’s relationship therapy! I may or may not have used my dolls to act out my feelings of loving two boys simultaneously. Thankfully, my sister received a Rodeo Ken that year, whose awkward ball-and-socket midsection made him less desirable for leading man roles. With two Kens at my disposal, I often had Barbie officially dating Davy while secretly yearning for Micky. Inappropriate? Perhaps. But I eventually declared my love for Micky, and after that, my Barbie and I were faithful. Davy, I’m sure, took it hard.
Now, before you blame my parents for my creative escapades, let’s set the record straight. It wasn’t entirely their doing—okay, maybe my mom deserves a tad of the blame for letting us watch her soap operas from an early age. Nonetheless, they raised us well. While my Barbie reveled in her escapades, I was the epitome of innocence in real life—well, aside from my own little doll drama. I was naturally curious about the world, but I learned that not every desire warranted action, so poor Barbie had to fulfill those fantasies for me.
So yes, despite my daughter’s disbelief, I indeed played with Barbies at 10 years old. And now that I reflect on it, perhaps it’s for the best that she doesn’t.
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In summary, my childhood Barbie escapades reveal a playful yet complex world of imagination where innocence and curiosity coexisted.