Naked Barbies, Warrior Joes and Other Forms of Visible Gender.(Book Review)

Naked Barbies, Warrior Joes and Other Forms of Visible Gender. Jeannie Banks Thomas. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003.

As popular culture and gender studies have gained more relevance in the contemporary world, so too has the study of the everyday items that inhabit our world. The observation of how simple three-dimensional items reflect the roles and perceptions of gender is the focus of Jeannie Banks Thomas's fine book, Naked Barbies. Thomas is quick to note early on that her areas of study (funeral statues, lawn ornaments, and dolls like Barbie and GI Joe) have taken on a life of their own in folklore, legends, and perceptions of gender. She uses anecdotes effectively to convey the role of gender. The book is divided into three general areas of visual gender. The first chapter deals with gendered statues in cemeteries. Often, the statues of any particularly striking figure take on a role in urban legend or myth, terrorizing the locals from the vantage point of a jealous lover, lost love, or wandering spirit. As with many current venues of visual media, funeral statues are most often women, and more likely than not have very feminine features. She notes that the aesthetic beauty of female statues represent the "lost love" aspect of society. Statues of men are more often in austere poses, without any perceived role of sexuality. The grieving aspect of the statues, and their occasional foray into urban legend (statues coming to life to represent some injustice done in life), makes the aspect of gender rather one sided.

The second aspect of the book deals with gender in lawn ornaments. Thomas discusses the gender roles imposed by the ornaments themselves (garden gnomes, peeing boy statues, and the posterior of a granny) and by the accessories ...