People are just realizing the dark meaning behind Aqua's 'Barbie Girl' and it's leaving them in disbelief.
Now, I'm sure we've all heard the iconic 'Barbie Girl' song - you know the one that goes, "I'm a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie world" - yeah, that one.
But behind the fun lyrics and the catchy beat, some people have suggested that there is a dark, borderline sinister, undertone to the entire tune and it's now left us contemplating everything we thought we knew about 90s Europop.
The hit, which was created by the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua and released back in 1997, quickly had the world hooked, and for good reason, too. Not only was it easy to sing along to, but it was also accompanied by an entertaining music video that played on the lines between fantasy and reality.
However, if you actually dig a little deeper into the lyrics, you'll actually stumble across some pretty disturbing themes which, especially for a children's song, seems completely inappropriate.
Let's go through some of the lines in the song together.
"I’m a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world / Life in plastic, it’s fantastic."
Pretty tame, plus the song is about a Barbie doll, so it kind of works.
"You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere / Imagination, life is your creation."
Now, here's where things get a little risky, especially with the line "undress me everywhere."
As per an article posted to Medium, Bertilla Niveda broke this down by writing: "I mean, if she’s singing to Ken, that’s good for her, but seriously? This is the song that millions, probably billions of kids listened to. Little girls chanting 'Undress me everywhere' mindlessly? Hell no."
Yikes.
Things only continue to get worse the deeper you get into the song.
"I’m a blond bimbo girl in a fantasy world / Dress me up, make it tight, I’m your dolly."
Firstly, the word "bimbo". I'm sure many parents would agree that it may be a tad inappropriate for a child's toy, but beyond that, the second part of the line, especially the lyrics "make it tight" seem to have a double meaning. While they could be referring to outfits, Niveda suggested that it could be referring to something "more sexual in nature."
"Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky," is the next line, which is followed up by: "Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please / I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees."
Now, come on. Let's not be silly. I'm sure we're all thinking the same thing now that we can see these lyrics in black and white.
The entire song is laced with innuendoes!
Now, if you're thinking that Niveda's theories are a bit of a reach - "it's just a fun, little song" - then you would be interested to know that Mattel, the owners of the Barbie brand, actually sued MCA Records who released the song on behalf of Aqua in 2002 stating that it violated the Barbie trademark and "turned her into a sex object."
Though Mattel ultimately lost the case, with the conclusion stating that "the music companies' use of the doll was not an infringement of the toy company's trademark," it looks like many listeners are reassessing their thoughts on the song the older they get:
However, Aqua lead singer Lene Nystrøm doesn't agree with this
In an interview with Nylon, she stated that the song was not meant to be "sexist."
"I do believe that Mattel saw an opportunity to get some attention," she said. "Because the song was quite innocent, and it wasn’t sexist at all; it wasn’t our point to make the song sexist, at least."
She also added: "It was kind of more making fun of the Pamela Anderson kind-of girl that was existing at that time, and still are, of course. But it’s a super-innocent song if you listen to all the other s**t that’s out there, you know?"
However, after breaking down the lyrics, I think some of us would use the word "innocent" very lightly.
Well, either way, you can't deny that the track is an absolute banger!
