The impossibility of being a woman: gendered expectations and rhetorical appeals in Barbie

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film (2023) has attracted much attention within and outside of academia, although research from a linguistic perspective has not to date been extensive. Barbie is a satirical, subversive comedy and key themes include patriarchy, feminism, gender roles, beauty standards, capitalism, existentialism, and unrealistic expectations placed on women. Towards the end of the film, the character Gloria, played by America Ferrera, gives an impassioned speech related to the paradoxes of gendered societal pressures to which women are often subjected, and this becomes a turning point for the narrative. The monologue is conceptualised here as a form of telecinematic discourse. The focus of this paper is predominantly on applying Aristotelian rhetorical strategies (especially appeals to pathos and logos) to the speech, considering how the linguistic techniques are intended to provoke an emotional response in the audience(s). The analysis is situated within relevant literature on constructions of both femininities and feminisms, especially the film’s relationship to popular feminism and consumption.