Transgender actor Hari Nef recently claimed that Warner Bros. upcoming Barbie movie, based on the venerable girl’s fashion doll toys, will be an inspiration to transgender and gay people everywhere.
The live-action film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling from director Greta Gerwig also features the trans actor as one of the many “Barbies” in the film, hers being the “doctor” version of Mattel’s Barbie toy line.
Trans icon Hari Nef says Barbie will empower trans women to 'let go of the checklist'https://t.co/uD068ed7pi
— PinkNews (@PinkNews) July 7, 2023
Nef posted a message to fans saying that he almost wasn’t able to take to role because of a scheduling conflict, but was able to work it out with Gerwig after writing a long, heartfelt letter about how important his part in the film will be for the transgender community.
The Mapplethorpe star claimed that trans people often call themselves “dolls” as a nickname, and this movie will help solidify that notion. “We yell the word because the word matters. And no doll matters more than Barbie,” he says he wrote in his letter.
But the besides securing a job for himself, Nef also says that the film will serve to further legitimize transgenders. Nef said that Barbie will be a source of inspiration for trans people of all ages, according to Pink News.
“As much as there’s a celebration of femininity and being a girl in this [movie], there’s also an encouragement of letting go of the checklist we ascribe to living and living your life, and being in your body, your way, on your own terms,” he continued.
“The best that we can do as women, as trans women, is be there for [one another] and take ourselves at face value, without relying on the green light from anyone else,” Nef said.
Nef also insisted that Barbie is also inspired by drag queens.
“I’m a lover of drag. I’m a lover and admirer from afar of ballroom culture,” Nef insisted. “It felt kind of like a legacy that I could honour on-screen dolls dolling, dolls dressing up. The category was something different every day.”
“I’ve joked before, it really did feel like Greta Gerwig’s Drag Race,” Nef said referencing drag performer Ru Paul’s long-running cable TV show.
“Because I was doing acting, dancing, comedy, and the whole time I was cinched, wigged, painted from head to toe, padded, heels, it’s a very specific kind of femininity,” Nef continued.
“It’s not a kind of femininity that I live every single day of my life in, but it’s one that I come back to time and time again. It’s also one I feel very comfortable wearing in public, when the cameras are on and when people are watching,” Nef said.
Still, even as Nef thinks Barbie will help further the radical trans agenda, he thinks it isn’t enough. He wants to see trans nudity, trans sex, and trans love stories along with expanded roles for trans actors.
“’I’m excited for trans assholes on screen. I’m excited for trans anti-heroes on screen. I’m excited for trans scammers on screen. I’m excited for trans sex on screen. I’m excited for trans nudity on screen,” Nef exclaimed.
Warner Bros. Barbie opens on July 21 nationwide.
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