In a first, the fifty-ninth episode of The Pop Culture Lens podcast finds friend of the podcast Noelle Lynn Blood joining Christopher Olson and I to discuss the legacy of the famous fashion doll, Barbie.

The episode comes out of Noelle’s interest, as a scholar and a fan, in the Mattel creation. The discussion focuses on Barbie’s relationship to feminism and what she is teaching girls when they play with her. We also discussed the issue of simulation and role-playing on gender identity, as well as plasticity and issues of body modification.

Primary editing on the episode was done by Jean-Michel Berthiaume, and end music comes from Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” song.

As always, you are encouraged to become a part of this conversation by visiting any of the podcast’s social media sites. You can also talk with Christopher Olson on Twitter (@chrstphrolson) and at his academic blog seemsobvioustome.wordpress.com. And you can talk to me on Twitter (@mediaoracle).