Episode 97: BARBIE! And the 'messy contradictions of motherhood'

Loading player...
It’s been a hot damn minute, guys and dolls! And not because we’ve been beaching. Nope, our fate has us suffering cold showers, walking in flats, considering the inescapable fate of death, drowning in a few existential crises, and pondering the fact that the patriarchy isn’t actually about horses.

In this episode of The Great Equalizer, we’re finally unpacking Barbie (the movie) and how it reflects the very messy contradictions of being a mother.

As author Eliane Glaser put it, motherhood is ‘feminism’s unfinished business’ and, to us, the Barbie movie captured this in a myriad ways, reflecting so much more than the cognitive dissonance of being a woman under patriarchy – an important central message of the movie, nonetheless.

To us, Barbie holds a mirror up to the reality of trying to mother in this world, the often fraught mother/daughter relationship, and the hamster wheel of existing as we try meet impossible societal parameters.

Team TGE unpack our personal experiences watching the movie, discuss our own relationships with Barbie growing up, and go into detail about the many ways that the movie delighted and infuriated us, and how it hit us in all the feels in very many ways.

Come on, Barbie. Let’s go party.

🎧 LISTEN. 💛 LIKE. 🗣 SHARE. 🟡 SUBSCRIBE

––
#thebarbiemovie #barbie #motherhood #motherhoodunplugged
14 Oct 2023 English Explicit South Africa Kids & Family · Relationships

Other recent episodes

Episode 102: TRADWIVES! and professional girlfriends (the #nojudgies deep dive)

From Nara Smith to Ballerina Farm, social media goers worldwide have been captivated by #TradWives. This is a growing trend of women choosing homemaking and traditional gender roles rather than having a career or earning an income independent of their partners. But what does that economic dependence on men cost…
11 Dec 2024 1 hr 15 min

Episode 101: HIV AWARENESS with author and philanthropist Nozibele Mayaba

On this episode of The Great Equalizer: Sam has merit, Charlene’s perpetually hormonal, and we chat to author, content creator and philanthropist Nozibele Mayaba. Nozibele Mayaba has a long list of accolades: HIV activist, internationally recognised podcaster and TV host. She's partnered with Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio to…
30 Aug 2024 1 hr 13 min

Episode 100: M O T H E R H O O D! The least/most important job in the world

It's a significant milestone for The Great Equalizer team, as we proudly hit 100 episodes. That's more than 100 hours of talking about the wild ride that is parenting in the 2020s. Sam and Charlene reminisce about where the show started and how it's grown over the years. We also…
28 Jun 2024 2 hr 04 min

THE LAUREN DICKASON TRAGEDY and IVF care, with Raylene de Villiers (PART II)

On this episode of The Great Equalizer, we continue to unpack maternal mental health in South Africa, against the backdrop of the trial and sentencing of Lauren Dickason and, more specifically, the IVF journey. Lauren Dickason is a mom of three and fellow South African who was convicted in the…
2 May 2024 1 hr 12 min