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Barbie-Q
A flash fiction short story.
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‘Barbie-Q’ short story delivers an important message regarding Barbie’s damaging influence.
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‘Barbie-Q’ short story delivers an important message regarding Barbie’s damaging influence.
2 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
Sandra Cisneros
95 books4,177 followersSandra Cisneros is internationally acclaimed for her poetry and fiction and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lannan Literary Award and the American Book Award, and of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacArthur Foundation.
Cisneros is the author of two novels The House on Mango Street and Caramelo; a collection of short stories, Woman Hollering Creek; two books of poetry, My Wicked Ways and Loose Woman; and a children's book, Hairs/Pelitos.
She is the founder of the Macondo Foundation, an association of writers united to serve underserved communities (www.macondofoundation.org), and is Writer in Residence at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Cisneros is the author of two novels The House on Mango Street and Caramelo; a collection of short stories, Woman Hollering Creek; two books of poetry, My Wicked Ways and Loose Woman; and a children's book, Hairs/Pelitos.
She is the founder of the Macondo Foundation, an association of writers united to serve underserved communities (www.macondofoundation.org), and is Writer in Residence at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
July 4, 2023
Rad with the Short Story Club. At two pages this is more flash fiction than a short story.
Two little Chicana girls play with their only two Barbies. They do not have money to buy more so they imagine the fight between the two dolls over Ken. They also imagine how they change their dolls into wonderful new outfits. It is clear they saw many commercials with Barbies as they seems to know all the models. Besides showing the difference between White Upper classes and the poor, the story also touches the unobtainable beauty ideals that the dolls represent.
I remember my first Barbie and how much it meant for me. It was two year post Revolution and I got as a present from Germany. Almost nobody had it back then in Romania so it was very precious. I never had Ken but over the years I added a few more to my collection. Nowadays, they mean almost nothing, they are cheap and can be found anywhere.
Two little Chicana girls play with their only two Barbies. They do not have money to buy more so they imagine the fight between the two dolls over Ken. They also imagine how they change their dolls into wonderful new outfits. It is clear they saw many commercials with Barbies as they seems to know all the models. Besides showing the difference between White Upper classes and the poor, the story also touches the unobtainable beauty ideals that the dolls represent.
I remember my first Barbie and how much it meant for me. It was two year post Revolution and I got as a present from Germany. Almost nobody had it back then in Romania so it was very precious. I never had Ken but over the years I added a few more to my collection. Nowadays, they mean almost nothing, they are cheap and can be found anywhere.
July 12, 2023
Barbie-Q is a simple story of two young girls who are deprived of financial means of affording the things which people of their age dream of, things which are supposed to bring happiness in life. Well, those are petty things like a doll, a Barbie doll to play with. How difficult could it be for someone to just get the dolls or toys to play with?
The simplicity of the story shields quite a few undertones which are veiled off layer-by- layer as the reader makes acquaintance with the prose and profound themes of existence spring up to life as the reader contemplates upon prose during the in-between pauses. These themes may fill you with sorrow as if you are carrying the burden of entire humanity and looking at your own shame and guilt.
source
The short story is just six paragraphs long, but it makes you stare into the eyes of devils of human society such as poverty, inequality and deprivation wherein the childhood has to give in to the harsh realities of a life stricken with such monsters. However, there is a brighter aspect of such a life too (as everything in life has or at least we maintain so, to keep ourselves riding upon optimism), maturity surreptitiously creeps in the consciousness of such life, well before the time and the childhood has to surrender itself to the harsh realities of adulthood. Isn’t it that we really want in life- to become mature and sensible enough to understand that life is not fair; and the sooner is better but perhaps not at the cost of childhood- the world of dream, enthusiasm and wonder which lays foundation of the miracles of later life whose seeds are sown in this world of imagination.
The worm of reality bites the two girls of the short story too and they try to cover up the flaws of their life in the sheath of beauty and transforming the disaster of not being able to afford new doll to the opportunity to look into inner beauty of life and thereby accepting the harsh truths of life to remain sane. The story stands as a fine example of flash fiction and conveys that how people cope up with the reality of life, it rises from the dungeons of nothingness and holds its ground upright as a profound witness to how humanity uses its inherent capacity of fancy and imagination to keep itself moving, sanely amidst the insanity of life.
source
The simplicity of the story shields quite a few undertones which are veiled off layer-by- layer as the reader makes acquaintance with the prose and profound themes of existence spring up to life as the reader contemplates upon prose during the in-between pauses. These themes may fill you with sorrow as if you are carrying the burden of entire humanity and looking at your own shame and guilt.
source
The short story is just six paragraphs long, but it makes you stare into the eyes of devils of human society such as poverty, inequality and deprivation wherein the childhood has to give in to the harsh realities of a life stricken with such monsters. However, there is a brighter aspect of such a life too (as everything in life has or at least we maintain so, to keep ourselves riding upon optimism), maturity surreptitiously creeps in the consciousness of such life, well before the time and the childhood has to surrender itself to the harsh realities of adulthood. Isn’t it that we really want in life- to become mature and sensible enough to understand that life is not fair; and the sooner is better but perhaps not at the cost of childhood- the world of dream, enthusiasm and wonder which lays foundation of the miracles of later life whose seeds are sown in this world of imagination.
The worm of reality bites the two girls of the short story too and they try to cover up the flaws of their life in the sheath of beauty and transforming the disaster of not being able to afford new doll to the opportunity to look into inner beauty of life and thereby accepting the harsh truths of life to remain sane. The story stands as a fine example of flash fiction and conveys that how people cope up with the reality of life, it rises from the dungeons of nothingness and holds its ground upright as a profound witness to how humanity uses its inherent capacity of fancy and imagination to keep itself moving, sanely amidst the insanity of life.
source
November 21, 2025
Two little girls use their imagination to fill the gaps in their sparse toy cupboard. One Barbie each, and “Every time the same story”: the Barbies fight to kiss a Ken doll - that they do not have.
It is quite sweet - and for me, educational: I was never into dolls of any kind and hadn’t realised that Barbies and their outfits had such quirky names: Red Flair, Solo in the Spotlight, and Sweet Dreams.
As an adult, I disliked the little I knew of Barbie: ludicrous beauty standards and, it seemed, exclusively focused on fashion and Ken. But apparently, Barbie has now had over 200 careers - although she has not yet been a mother. I’m still not a fan and I won’t be watching the imminent Barbie film. (UPDATE I did watch the film, on the small screen. It was not at all what I expected, and quite fun.)
However, this piece of flash fiction is primarily about the power of imagination, especially for escapism in moderate adversity. I can certainly relate to the joy and importance of that sort of play. It’s also why I read fiction.
Short story club
I reread this as one of the stories in The Art of the Short Story, by Dana Gioia, from which I'm aiming to read one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 2 May 2022.
You can read this story here.
You can join the group here.
It is quite sweet - and for me, educational: I was never into dolls of any kind and hadn’t realised that Barbies and their outfits had such quirky names: Red Flair, Solo in the Spotlight, and Sweet Dreams.
As an adult, I disliked the little I knew of Barbie: ludicrous beauty standards and, it seemed, exclusively focused on fashion and Ken. But apparently, Barbie has now had over 200 careers - although she has not yet been a mother. I’m still not a fan and I won’t be watching the imminent Barbie film. (UPDATE I did watch the film, on the small screen. It was not at all what I expected, and quite fun.)
However, this piece of flash fiction is primarily about the power of imagination, especially for escapism in moderate adversity. I can certainly relate to the joy and importance of that sort of play. It’s also why I read fiction.
Short story club
I reread this as one of the stories in The Art of the Short Story, by Dana Gioia, from which I'm aiming to read one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 2 May 2022.
You can read this story here.
You can join the group here.
Read
June 30, 2023As the Dutch saying goes "A child's hand is easily filled".
July 1, 2023
A fun flash fiction, pure nostalgia for those of us from the era of Barbie’s infancy and heyday. If you want to re-live your past or see what it was like back then, it’s a quick read here:
http://cottonenglish.weebly.com/uploa...
Oh Sandra Cisneros. It’s like you were there! I played with my neighbor who just like your sister had the other Barbie and the dress made out of a sock that we, like you, used for a glamourous, “off-the-shoulder look.” We also changed their clothes until the glitter wore off, and pretended the dolls were fighting over an imaginary Ken. You and me and how many other kids from our time had this same experience? Knew the whole Barbie clan by name from Tutti to Francine with her eyelash brush?
More importantly, you’ve captured exactly the resiliency of childhood. We wanted the fancy new doll, sure. But similar to the dolls you got at the fire sale, I had hand-me-downs. Their broken feet, legs that dangled, chopped-off hair, they just made for more interesting stories. All we really needed was a few outfits and an imagination!
I hope this resiliency is an aspect of childhood that has survived the generations, at least as well as Barbie apparently has.
http://cottonenglish.weebly.com/uploa...
Oh Sandra Cisneros. It’s like you were there! I played with my neighbor who just like your sister had the other Barbie and the dress made out of a sock that we, like you, used for a glamourous, “off-the-shoulder look.” We also changed their clothes until the glitter wore off, and pretended the dolls were fighting over an imaginary Ken. You and me and how many other kids from our time had this same experience? Knew the whole Barbie clan by name from Tutti to Francine with her eyelash brush?
More importantly, you’ve captured exactly the resiliency of childhood. We wanted the fancy new doll, sure. But similar to the dolls you got at the fire sale, I had hand-me-downs. Their broken feet, legs that dangled, chopped-off hair, they just made for more interesting stories. All we really needed was a few outfits and an imagination!
I hope this resiliency is an aspect of childhood that has survived the generations, at least as well as Barbie apparently has.
June 25, 2023
Two Chicana sisters in a working class family enjoy playing with their Barbie dolls, but they don't have the resources to buy extra outfits for the dolls. It's obvious that they have been looking at the Mattel ads for the dolls and outfits because they can name all the accessories that come in each box. The two Barbie dolls fight over Ken--but he's invisible because they don't have the money for a Ken doll, and he's lower on the priority list than more outfits. Barbie dolls present girls with an unattainable sense of female beauty, and a white upper class sense of fashion.
The girls finally get an opportunity to get additional dolls and Barbie clothes when some smoke and fire damaged goods go on sale. The sisters have fun at home with the dolls, but they are aware that upper class girls have dolls that come in clean boxes that don't smell like smoke.
The girls finally get an opportunity to get additional dolls and Barbie clothes when some smoke and fire damaged goods go on sale. The sisters have fun at home with the dolls, but they are aware that upper class girls have dolls that come in clean boxes that don't smell like smoke.
July 5, 2023
This short story (and do mean short) is from the anthology The Art of the Short Story. It is about two Chicano girls who loved Barbie dolls and their various outfits that could be purchased. They played happily together. Due to economic boundaries, each only had one doll and one extra outfit. Plus an old sock that was fashioned into a dress. Nevertheless, they spent hours with the two dolls fighting over Ken. Ken is invisible. The girls priorities were for more outfits so Ken was an enigma.
They longed for additions to their collection. While visiting a flea market, lo and behold, a veritable plethora of Barbies, albeit smoke and fire damaged, gave them the opportunity to obtain more than they ever dreamed possible in their small and limited life.
Personally I never had any interest in playing with Barbie dolls, or any other doll for that matter. So this didn’t bring any nostalgic memories. However, it was a sweet story that I wish had been longer.
Read for the GR group The Short Story Club.
3* for its brevity. I wanted to read of the girls’ imaginations and what heights they could achieve.
They longed for additions to their collection. While visiting a flea market, lo and behold, a veritable plethora of Barbies, albeit smoke and fire damaged, gave them the opportunity to obtain more than they ever dreamed possible in their small and limited life.
Personally I never had any interest in playing with Barbie dolls, or any other doll for that matter. So this didn’t bring any nostalgic memories. However, it was a sweet story that I wish had been longer.
Read for the GR group The Short Story Club.
3* for its brevity. I wanted to read of the girls’ imaginations and what heights they could achieve.
June 30, 2023
This is very short and can be read in just a few minutes. It’s a bit stream-of-consciousness and was quite fun. How the title is tied in the last paragraph is quite funny.
July 2, 2023
Yours is the one with mean eyes and a ponytail.
And so this tale of imagination begins. Barbie has inspired countless inventions and fantasies, and has been a vehicle for longing, dreams, and storytelling. (Just don't make a movie using the dolls, or you'll get sued!)
This vignette explores two friends (or perhaps sisters), and their small world of make believe growing out of two dolls and limited wardrobes.
This is a slighter offering, in terms of a short story, and feels like a vignette more than something fully realized.
And so this tale of imagination begins. Barbie has inspired countless inventions and fantasies, and has been a vehicle for longing, dreams, and storytelling. (Just don't make a movie using the dolls, or you'll get sued!)
This vignette explores two friends (or perhaps sisters), and their small world of make believe growing out of two dolls and limited wardrobes.
This is a slighter offering, in terms of a short story, and feels like a vignette more than something fully realized.
February 2, 2019
At the beginning and just having the name, I thought the story would be about eating disorders and the struggle of women in their way to be perfect, but then when I read the text, I found that through the story Cisneros describes much of her own life as a child and having 7 siblings, as well as many issues of the society, such as: the consumerism showed with all the dolls that Mattel sales as part of the Barbie world, poverty and status quo, the ideal look of femine beauty portrayed with the Barbies and all the items they wear, and the things that people do in order to please others.
I enjoyed reading even though it was quite quick.
I enjoyed reading even though it was quite quick.
August 11, 2024
I so appreciated this micro story as it shared the experience of young girls growing up who were poor who loved Barbie too. I was so very glad to hear their Barbie joy / voices included.
August 21, 2023
Cisneros used such a unique style of writing Barbie-Q, and it was a success! The short sentences drove home to the reader the salient points the young girls were thinking.
Two thoughts came to reading this piece. There has always been those through time of ‘the haves’ and ‘the have nots’. I think my first Barbie was given to me back in 1962, she was not new… I never owed a new a Barbie doll or a Ken doll. I usually received my Barbie dolls in a state of undress as a hand ‘me down’ from my cousins or bought from a local tag sale. She never came unmarked or with pretty clothes in a new box. That was for the lucky girls. Times have not changed any.
The second thought I had was the initial Barbies all looked like the perfect Jacqueline Kennedy, or the perfect airline stewardess. The perfect body and perfect state of dress at all times, that was what was expected of women in the late 50’s and 60’s , perfection. I am glad Barbie and society has evolved in that fashion, to allow women to express themselves in dress, and lifestyle to allow their individuality to shine through.
Two thoughts came to reading this piece. There has always been those through time of ‘the haves’ and ‘the have nots’. I think my first Barbie was given to me back in 1962, she was not new… I never owed a new a Barbie doll or a Ken doll. I usually received my Barbie dolls in a state of undress as a hand ‘me down’ from my cousins or bought from a local tag sale. She never came unmarked or with pretty clothes in a new box. That was for the lucky girls. Times have not changed any.
The second thought I had was the initial Barbies all looked like the perfect Jacqueline Kennedy, or the perfect airline stewardess. The perfect body and perfect state of dress at all times, that was what was expected of women in the late 50’s and 60’s , perfection. I am glad Barbie and society has evolved in that fashion, to allow women to express themselves in dress, and lifestyle to allow their individuality to shine through.
August 30, 2019
Always appreciate what you have.
June 27, 2023
Not one of my favorite short stories by Cisneros. I recommend "Eleven" for a bittersweet look at one day in a young girl's life.
July 9, 2023
“Barbie-Q” (1991) by Sandra Cisneros was first published in Woman Hollering Creek. It’s flash fiction, just two short pages, focusing on two girls who play with their Barbies together, though they are not rich and don’t have elaborate wardrobes or even a Ken doll to enhance their play. But it doesn’t matter, it’s all imaginative play. The always do the same scenario; they imagine that one girl’s Barbie steals the boyfriend of the other Barbie, and they fight over the imagined boy.
This story is set in Chicago, maybe in the seventies, where the girls get dragged one Saturday to the flea market on Maxwell Street (gone, alas, torn down to make way for Mayor Daley’s public university in Chicago, UIC ), where. . . Eureka! There’s a lot of Barbies and outfits and other dolls on sale there!! Unreal moment! And what is the occasion for the sale? A toy manufacturer on Halsted burned down, so the smoky merchandise gets sold on Maxwell Street! Gender, poverty, Chicago, joy. I can feel it.
Reading conducted in conjunction with the short story group but also because of the Barbie movie, summer 2023.
This story is set in Chicago, maybe in the seventies, where the girls get dragged one Saturday to the flea market on Maxwell Street (gone, alas, torn down to make way for Mayor Daley’s public university in Chicago, UIC ), where. . . Eureka! There’s a lot of Barbies and outfits and other dolls on sale there!! Unreal moment! And what is the occasion for the sale? A toy manufacturer on Halsted burned down, so the smoky merchandise gets sold on Maxwell Street! Gender, poverty, Chicago, joy. I can feel it.
Reading conducted in conjunction with the short story group but also because of the Barbie movie, summer 2023.
August 12, 2023
read at: http://popcultureandamericanchildhood...
Oh Sandra Cisneros of The House on Mango Street fame, I think you're lovely and amazing.
In searching for this short story online I also came across some analysis that I want to save here so I guess.
Oh Sandra Cisneros of The House on Mango Street fame, I think you're lovely and amazing.
In searching for this short story online I also came across some analysis that I want to save here so I guess.
February 4, 2025
Sandra Cisneros’ "Barbie-Q" is a well crafted snapshot of childhood—vivid, raw, and bursting with emotion. In just a few paragraphs, she captures the pure excitement of playing with Barbies, the thrill of new outfits and accessories, and the unshakable resilience of children who make magic out of whatever they have. As someone who played with her Barbies alot in the mid60-70s, trust me - she nailed it.
Told in an energetic, breathless voice, the story feels incredibly real, pulling the reader into the world of two young girls whose imaginations turn imperfections into possibilities. Beneath the surface, Barbie-Q subtly explores deeper themes of class, consumerism, and the quiet inequalities that shape childhood—but it never loses the joy and creativity at its heart.
Cisneros’ writing is deceptively simple yet deeply powerful, making "Barbie-Q" a must-read for anyone who remembers the magic of make-believe. It took me right back to my Barbie memories.
Told in an energetic, breathless voice, the story feels incredibly real, pulling the reader into the world of two young girls whose imaginations turn imperfections into possibilities. Beneath the surface, Barbie-Q subtly explores deeper themes of class, consumerism, and the quiet inequalities that shape childhood—but it never loses the joy and creativity at its heart.
Cisneros’ writing is deceptively simple yet deeply powerful, making "Barbie-Q" a must-read for anyone who remembers the magic of make-believe. It took me right back to my Barbie memories.
June 26, 2023
the printout I got with this had Eleven first, so luckily I read that first, which almost gets an eleven spinal tap rating, well not really, but it did have a few neat moments in a quick span, so I was hungry for Barbie-q, but it turned out to be toast and water, Okay at that, a fair but somewhat second rate story about second hand fare, well the inevitable doll fights were mildly amusing. For my short story group, it's funny how for a recent story I had brought up toys, value by condition, for consideration, a debate these girls will not have to worry about. Well they can always pretend their dolls just returned from one of those commonly smoky bars back in the day.
July 26, 2023
A story about two children, who don’t have the means to own new Barbie dolls, so they use their imagination to create stories and pretend to have other dolls. Then one day a warehouse burns down and they are happy with the chance to get some new Barbies, despite them being “imperfect”.
The reason I’m giving this 1* is the fact that the story did not speak to me. Maybe because I was raised in Eastern Europe and Barbie in particular was never a part of my childhood (neither I ever felt a need for it to be), but I felt like like for me it was a miss. I couldn’t connect to the story, neither I feel like I understood the meaning completely.
The reason I’m giving this 1* is the fact that the story did not speak to me. Maybe because I was raised in Eastern Europe and Barbie in particular was never a part of my childhood (neither I ever felt a need for it to be), but I felt like like for me it was a miss. I couldn’t connect to the story, neither I feel like I understood the meaning completely.
November 21, 2025
This very short story is kind of cute. I think it shows how the little things -- literally! -- can mean a lot to those who have very little. Kids who don't have a lot of money really appreciate the gifts they receive. I think this shows the resilience of the human spirit because the two sisters know their Barbie dolls and their outfits were bought at a discount after being saved from a fire, yet the girls don't care. They don't need perfection. It reminds me of when I was a little girl in the '70s. I had a Barbie and several outfits. My Barbie wasn't rich, and several of her outfits were handmade, but I liked them all.
February 2, 2022
the ending - a soft sledgehammer - love the tone of this story, how it carries itself up to this theme with finality,
spoiler
the voice saying even if the foot is melted, even if the hair smells like smoke, you can dress them up nice and cover the damage and no one will notice, right? right? these girls, poor as shit, will never be able to hide where they came from. not with pretty clothes or new shoes, because it's on them, in them, part of them; it's their irreversible, inescapable beginning.
spoiler
the voice saying even if the foot is melted, even if the hair smells like smoke, you can dress them up nice and cover the damage and no one will notice, right? right? these girls, poor as shit, will never be able to hide where they came from. not with pretty clothes or new shoes, because it's on them, in them, part of them; it's their irreversible, inescapable beginning.
June 6, 2024
always a good reminder that adapting yourself to a first person perspective from a child when you haven't been a child for a long time can be something so beautiful to see. shout out to the ppl in my class who had a late realization about the barbeque pun, you've deeply influenced my positive feelings for this
*3.25
*3.25
August 13, 2024
The Short Story Club
Short, dense and meaningful.
Fernando Pessoa said 'Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.' These two little girls could say 'Barbie (and her family, friends and other attributes) is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.' Especially when this life is unlike Barbie's.
Who can blame them?
Short, dense and meaningful.
Fernando Pessoa said 'Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.' These two little girls could say 'Barbie (and her family, friends and other attributes) is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.' Especially when this life is unlike Barbie's.
Who can blame them?
July 9, 2023
I read this ultra-short short story in connection with Good Reads’ Short Story Club.
I would have given this story 0 stars, if possible. I didn’t get that what was presented here was material enough to constitute a story, not to mention the fact tht the subject-matter was, for me, totally unappealing.
Two friends, presumably girls, each have a Barbie doll, plus an extra outfit.
Then at the flea market, next Sunday, they apparently get hold of two new Barbie outfits in a fire sale, water-damaged and smelling of smoke.
That’s it. That’s everything. That’s the story.
I would have given this story 0 stars, if possible. I didn’t get that what was presented here was material enough to constitute a story, not to mention the fact tht the subject-matter was, for me, totally unappealing.
Two friends, presumably girls, each have a Barbie doll, plus an extra outfit.
Then at the flea market, next Sunday, they apparently get hold of two new Barbie outfits in a fire sale, water-damaged and smelling of smoke.
That’s it. That’s everything. That’s the story.
August 8, 2025
Hay un secreto en lo minimalista, porque no es un texto simplón sino profundo, que en pocas palabra busca lo más significante y lo resalta, excelente texto sobre las diferencias entre clases sociales, hasta el título es sencillamente como debe ser.
February 9, 2023
(read for school)
October 29, 2023
3.25*
the title 😭😭😭😭
the title 😭😭😭😭
November 13, 2024
A cute narrative about girls and their dolls with a double meaning.
April 3, 2025
divertido !!! gracias intro a la literatura i guess
May 8, 2026
good to discuss beauty standards but not my favorite
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews