Just three months after Barbie listed her famous Malibu beach house for the first time in 41 years, the world's first-ever life-size Barbie Dreamhouse, a 10,000-square-foot fuchsia spread outfitted with 350 dolls, an elevator, and, of course, the dream closet, has opened in Sunrise, Fla. Design fare on offer: a vibrant sitting room, super-classy shoe-patterned wallpaper, a bright-pink baby grand piano, and a somewhat Art Deco-ish façade—interesting, as Architect Barbie always seemed more like a midcentury modern kind of girl. More thrills/horrors below.
Also inside this joint venture by Mattel and EMS Entertainment: a make-up station, a ginormous bathroom, a virtual kitchen, and a doll showcase. As a columnist for South Florida's Sun Sentinel—a father who's super-enthusiastic about the house—writes, "I want to see all things pink. The endless closet. The wall-to-wall shoes, Corvettes and mansions. Nobody blings like Barbie."
With an even larger 27,000-square-foot version, complete with a runway and "virtual cupcakes" set to open in Berlin on May 16, a band of German activists are staging an "Occupy Barbie Dreamhouse" protest, formally taking issue with Barbie's "pink mush and stereotypes."
"For 22 euros ($29), you can have two careers—model or pop star! What kind of image is that presenting to young women?" Michael Koschitzki, the leader of the Dreamhouse opponents, told Jezebel. The protesters believe the "Dreamhouse harmfully represents domesticity as an integral part of femininity, and once that 'cliché role is strengthened in childhood, [it] runs through the whole life.'"
Mattel Germany responds: "Barbie has again become a tool for some to advance their own agenda." And get ready, New Yorkers: she might be hitting Manhattan next.
· The Barbie Dreamhouse Experience [official site]
· Life-Sized Barbie Dreamhouse Comes With 'Occupy Dreamhouse' Protest [Jezebel]
· Barbie The Dreamhouse Experience moves to South Florida to mixed reviews [Sun Sentinel]
· All Barbie coverage [Curbed National]
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