Shakira Says ‘Barbie’ Is “Emasculating…To A Certain Extent”

Shakira is not a big fan of last year’s biggest film.

“My sons absolutely hated it,” the singer told Allure magazine of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. “They felt that it was emasculating. And I agree, to a certain extent.”

The Grammy winner went on to elaborate.

“I’m raising two boys. I want ’em to feel powerful too [while] respecting women. I like pop culture when it attempts to empower women without robbing men of their possibility to be men, to also protect and provide. I believe in giving women all the tools and the trust that we can do it all without losing our essence, without losing our femininity. I think that men have a purpose in society and women have another purpose as well. We complement each other, and that complement should not be lost.”

That doesn’t mean, she said, that the patriarchy isn’t real.

“Eve was a story created by misogynists to put women in the little box where we have to remain silent, not speak our minds, and not be a catalyst for change. To keep things as they are,” she said.

So, if not Barbie, is there another Hollywood role model she can get behind?

Growing up, Shakira said, “My idol was Wonder Woman. I think I was drawn to her because she had black hair like mine, but also because she was a symbol of empowerment and strength in a decade where women were not playing the most important roles.”