On Friday night, Mohammed al-Sayed donned a pale pink shirt and denim overalls to join a friend at a movie theater in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where the men settled in to watch a film about a doll on a mission to dismantle the patriarchy.
They watched as the movie imagined a matriarchal society of Barbie dolls where men are eye candy.
They laughed when a male character asked, “I’m a man with no power; does that make me a woman?” They snapped their fingers in delight as a mother delivered a monologue about the strictures of stereotypical femininity.
Then, they emerged from the darkened theaters to contemplate what it all meant.
“The message is that you are enough — whatever you are,” said Mr. al-Sayed, 21, echoing the Ken doll’s revelation.
Persons:
Mohammed al, Sayed, “ Barbie, ”, Barbie, “, Ken doll’s
Locations:
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia