A Brief History of the BLO

Founded in the early 1990s, the Barbie Liberation Organization was a collective of artists and activists who aimed to challenge societal norms perpetuated by popular culture, particularly through children’s toys. In a watershed moment, they garnered attention by conducting “surgery” on hundreds of Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe action figures. By switching the voice boxes of these toys, they transformed the narratives associated with them, giving voice to unconventional phrases that questioned established gender roles. Teen Talk Barbie, for instance, suddenly asserted “Vengeance is mine,” while G.I. Joe dolls proclaimed “The beach is the place for summer!”

Motivations and Context

The BLO’s actions were driven by a deep-seated desire to challenge the gender stereotypes entrenched in American culture. Their movement was spurred by Mattel’s release of a Barbie doll that infamously said, “Math class is tough.” This incident, taking place during the culture wars of the 1990s, provided the ideal backdrop for the BLO’s rebellion against…read more