Perimenopause Barbie?
The million-dollar product idea that came from a broken pool toy
My 4 year old son was playing with a beat-up pool toy this weekend - hair falling off, arms missing. He looked at her and said, “Momma, what’s wrong with her?”
Without thinking: “Oh, that’s just Perimenopause Mermaid.”
My friend next to me lost it. Hysterically crying laughing.
But then I actually started thinking about it. Why doesn’t Mattel make Perimenopause Barbie? Hair thinning. Joint pain. Mysteriously missing her patience and half her sleep. Comes with a CGM, a magnesium supplement, and a glass of wine she’s been told to stop drinking.
I genuinely think it would sell.
Because there is an entire generation of women - high-functioning, still running everything - quietly navigating a phase of life that has almost no cultural representation. No doll. No mascot. No mainstream conversation.
So if we can normalize it in culture, for our kids, for ourselves, maybe it’ll make it feel a bit more acceptable — this massive shift we’re going through, involuntarily?
We have a toddler Barbie. A pregnant Barbie. A CEO Barbie. Even an equestrian Barbie.
Where is the woman in her 40s who is somehow doing the most important work of her life while her body is doing something completely unrecognizable?
Because if we can’t laugh about it, we’ll lose our minds. And Perimenopause Barbie has already lost her arms.
Happy Monday. Lighter content this week - hope you enjoy.
As always, thanks for being here,
Alexis