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Latinx literature is devoted to its mothers: Motherlands, mother tongues, and the matriarchs who birth our stories (both real and imagined). What better way to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month than with these recent releases from Latinx/e/a writers that explore the many facets of motherhood? From intergenerational narratives to literary inheritances, these diverse books speak to […]

As a child, I had a small collection of Barbies that I played with on a regular basis: Totally Hair Barbie; Ocean Friend Barbie with baby Keiko, the whale; Teacher Barbie. I had gymnasts, ballerinas, and princesses. And while Barbie had already begun to scratch the surface of the hundreds of careers that she would […]

At 7:30 on a Monday morning in the high school office, I listen as the principal explains to my ex-husband how he will mentor, not fire, the wrestling-coach-turned-algebra-teacher who called our older daughter a bitch. “Mr. S is young,” Principal W says. “He made a mistake.”  I am thinking about how twenty-five years ago, I […]

Even now, at 50 years of age, when I hear that a friend or colleague had a Barbie Dreamhouse as a child, the pull of envy in my chest cavity tugs ever so slightly.  My cousin had one. I remember her never wanting to play with it when I was at her home, despite my […]

At the Barbie movie, I wear pink under a black and white polka dot blazer. Ken wears a black shirt and white fur coat when the patriarchy rules. When the patriarchy rules, I feel uneasy wearing pink. My younger sister always got the pink clothes. I was the smart one in blue, and she was […]

Much to her chagrin, I told my daughter, Zadie, I had to see the Barbie movie before deciding if she could watch it. Thankfully, Barbie’s brand of PG-13 is mostly just grown-up jokes that would sail over my 7-year-old’s head as she lost herself in a candy-colored wonderland, so we went together on a Saturday. […]

My father was stationed in Germany in 1973, where he served as the Chief of Pediatrics. My family arrived in Landsthul mid-year. School was in session, and friendships had already been formed. My sister Cynthia and I created an imaginary world in our bedroom that centered around Barbie. This imaginary world became my refuge. Unlike […]

I loved playing with Barbie dolls. As a little girl in Michigan, I spent hours putting my dolls through dramas, creating stories alone in my room, or in tandem with my best friend who lived next door. My first Barbie was conventional with blonde hair and hard plastic legs. Later, I acquired Malibu Barbie and […]

Barbie dolls make me uneasy. Is it their coloring or impossible dimensions? Somethingabout them doesn’t sit right with me as a Gen X woman who lives in the real world.  When I moved from India to the US as a young bride, I expected to inhabit a world in whichpatriarchy was vanquished. I expected to […]

“You don’t need my permission… I always hoped for you, like I hoped for her. We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they’ve come.” Ruth Handler, the literal creator of Barbie, says this when Barbie asks her for permission to become human. The idea seems silly—a doll asking […]

It’s coming: the cooling morning air of autumn and the turning of leaves. Although fall has become a busy season of events. including football games, hayrides, and pumpkin picking, it is also a time of gradual slowing down, the portal to winter’s quiet stillness. Literary Mama contributors have explored this season over the last 20 […]