Shari Caudron, in the essay “Befriending the Barbie,” explains her transformation after interacting with the Barbie collecting community. Before the interaction, she lacked an understanding about the value of collecting Barbies. However, after meeting the members of the community, she realized that the collection of Barbies is not in vain because it enables the collectors to relive good memories and to develop a community. Shari Caudron‘s wrong preconceptions about the Barbie collectors changed after she spent time at the Barbie collection convention. At first, Cauldron does not believe that a Barbie can evoke feelings in a person, To elaborate, she explains that: “She (Katie) picks up the box and holds it toward me with two hands as if presenting me with a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses. I peer insider ”Nice,” I say, although, in reality, I fail to come up with anything that resembles a reaction to the doll. It’s the same nonfeeling I used to get when conducting séances with my friends as a kid”.
Caudron uses the term “nonfeeling” to demonstrate that according to her, Barbies do not have the capacity evoke any feelings in people. She cannot describe her reaction towards the Barbie because she does not understand the Barbies at all. The lack of understanding is what makes her underestimate the significance of Barbie dolls before meeting with the community of Barbie collectors Nevertheless, after interacting with Judy, one of the Barbie collectors, she understands that the Barbies can evoke feelings in the people. Judy tells Caudron that “the company (Mattel) sent me a special collectible Barbie and a handwritten note the first Christmas after Justin died, My Barbie friends even had a special Angel Doll made for me” Judy’s testimony about her experience with Barbies is sufficient to convince Caudron that Barbies are unique and they give people the opportunity of getting closure after losing their loved ones.
Arguably, Judy’s angel Doll reminds her of her son Justin that is why it is unique in her life, Accordingly, the interaction with Judy, makes Caudron change her views concerning the Barbie dolls concerning the emotional healing that they bring. Furthermore, Caudron did not know how to categorize the Barbie collectors before meeting them. To elaborate, she writes that “when I arrived at the convention yesterday, I had narrowly typecast the group as nothing more than middle-aged Midwestern women, Since then, I‘ve talked to a broad range of people, including Jim Faraone, who designs one-of—a—kind fashion dolls and is the author of five books on the topic”. Evidently, she had stereotyped the Barbie collectors because of the inadequate information about the group. She uses the word typecast to show that she believed the Barbie collectors comprised boring middle-aged western women.
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However, her views about the categorization of the group changed after attending the convention because while at the convention, she discovered that the Barbie collectors comprise various types of people including authors. The convention proofed her wrong because she came across men who also like collecting the Barbie dolls. The women that she met at the convention were not typecast, but rather they were joyful and happy. Accordingly, after interacting with the Barbie collectors, Caudron changed her views concerning the categorization of people that engage in the hobby of Barbie collection. It is noteworthy that Caudron envied the Barbie collectors after attending the convention. The convention gave her the opportunity to understand the significance of collecting the Barbie dolls.
Towards the end of her article, she asserts that “but since spending time with the Barbie collectors, I’ve begun to realize that I’m, well, um, envious of the Barbie collectors. I envy their enthusiasm” Caudron envies the Barbie collectors because they have deep connections with one another. The Barbie collectors are happy and full of enthusiasm, and the enthusiasm gives them the energy to move on with their lives regardless of what they have been in the past, Caudron realizes that the collectors do not collect the Barbies for the sake of it, but they do it with passion Additionally, Caudron understands that Barbie collection is a way of getting closure of the past that is why it is a worthwhile hobby.
All her views concerning the Barbie collectors and the benefits they derive from the collection of Barbies change after meeting the collectors. To conclude, Caudron had the wrong perception of the Barbie collectors, but after attending their convention, she changed her perception. The convention enabled her to understand that Barbies do not evoke ‘non feelings,’ but rather they evoke good feelings that are associated with happy memories, Caudron categorized the Barbie collectors as typecast women before going to the convention, but at the convention, she met men who enjoyed the hobby of Barbie collection, Caudron discovered that there are books that have been authored on the collection of Barbies and this confirms that the Barbies can be understood by any person that has an interest in them.
Caudron’s envy towards the Barbie collectors by the end of the convention indicates that she had changed all the negative views that she held concerning the collection of Barbies and the Barbie collectors. Barbie collection fosters connection among people and energizes them when they feel weak. The Barbie collectors value the Barbies because the Barbies remind them of the happy times in their lives. For one to change the preconceptions that she or she has concerning the Barbie collectors, he or she should interact with them. Eventually, such a person’s views will change after getting firsthand experience with the collection of Barbies and interaction with the Barbie collectors.
