All I need to know about Womenzwerk I learned from Barbie

What did Barbie teach us and is it a good thing?

This is Barbie's 50th birthday week. Since Barbie and I are roughly the same age, I feel compelled to write this ode to all I learned from Barbie about women, for better or worse.

1. You can do anything as long as you have the right outfit.
Whether your Barbie wore fancy store-bought clothes or ones that you lovingly made her with your own hands, everyone knew that Barbie had to have the perfect outfit for every possible task or event. I find this to be a general truism about women. We can be incredibly strong, we can multi-task like crazy and we can be the most responsible person in the family...but we can't do it if we feel badly about ourselves and the way we look to the world. We spend a good deal of time steeling ourselves from the stress of our over-worked lives by putting on the face of what the world needs and wants to see from us. This is how we get by. Some might call it ingenuous. I call it a survival tactic. If we look and act on top of things, somehow it propels us to BE on top of things. It's not just the clothes, but they do help. Is this why so many of us drink too much wine, or is it a good thing?

2. Life is one big march in high, spiked heels and it's OK.
Barbie knew that the heels were ridiculous. She knew that her feet were morphed into permanently arched and aching shape. She knew that life could be tough, and her feet would hurt. But Barbie never lost her smile and her sunny disposition. She found a way to stand up straight (remember those little black metal stands?) and even (in the newer models) bend her legs to sit. Like Barbie, women learn to find hope in the hopelessness of life and to share hope and certainty with those who depend on them. When life throws you a foot wrenching pair of spiked heels, she taught us to at least find the joy in the fabulous things they do for your legs and carry on. It's what Barbie would do. But is it really Womenzwerk to be the bright spot for everyone no matter what?

3. Bad hair days happen.
I don't know about you, but my Barbie was perpetually hair challenged. It might be because I felt I could improve her look by washing it, or cutting it, or otherwise damaging her long blonde locks. Poor, Barbie. I've never seen a well-loved Barbie that didn't have bad hair. I think it's good to know that despite her otherwise fabulous gift for always making things seem upbeat and in control, even Barbie had issues. Sometimes because of the other things we've learned from Barbie, we try too hard to be perfect all of the time. It's just not possible. So when bad hair days happen, we've learned to put on our pink Barbie robe and slippers, grab a Coke and a pedicure, and hide away until we can face the next day. It's called a rest and we all deserve one once in awhile. Is it OK to hide when the world gets too scary for us?

4. Fast cars and fast boys can be fun.
OK...let's face it, Barbie was a dish. Between the Corvette and that dreamy Ken, she had it all. Well that and a body to die for. We all have a need to just go out and raise a little heck, have a little fun and not be serious. Even moms with careers and moms with little ones and moms of teenagers and moms with moms of their own to care for. Time out to just raise a little trouble is definitely what the doctor ordered once in awhile. If you've never had a time in your life, or a day in your year, to just let loose of your 'good girl'...give it a try. See if you don't feel better. (By the way, I have never forgiven my parents for refusing to buy me a REAL Ken doll. I did, however, have a groovy Corvette.) Do we take this lesson to an extreme sometimes or does it simply give us balance?

5. Everything is OK if you have a best friend or a sister.
Midge and Skipper were must haves if you were a Barbie fan in the day. Barbie knew that surrounding herself with other women who cared for her and understood her was the secret to a complete and fulfilling life. Sometimes and in some life stages we have a tendency to focus on work or husbands or children and forget that one of the most healing things we can do is to be there for each other and to reach out to our sisters, whether they be biological or in our hearts. Like Barbie, we are stronger for the unity of our sisterhood. I hope that you are reaching out to yours on a regular basis. On this point, I think the wisdom of Barbie is pretty undeniable.

Happy Birthday, Barbie! Whether or not we agree with your lessons, you taught us alot about being women and handling Womenzwerk.

So what do you think...did Barbie teach us things that helped us or hurt us?