Katniss Everdeen, Feminist Hero, Barbieified

Everyone from The New York Times's Manohla Dargis to Nerdy Feminist is proclaiming The Hunger Games' heroine, Katniss Everdeen, a 21st-century feminist icon. In the book and movie adaptation, Katniss takes over as family provider following the death of her coal miner father (maybe she's Loretta Lynn's great, great, great, great, great granddaughter)--she hunts, she saves her sister, she rescues boys as she's fighting for her life in The Hunger Games, which pits 24 teenagers together in a fatal, televised duel.

So, does the fact that Katniss is now a Barbie lessen her fem-credentials? Mattel has decided to turn the character into a doll, complete with arrows and boots. It does help that the Katniss doll is dressed up for battle or hunting, not in one of the gowns she's forced to wear by the forces of the totalitarian Capitol (Katniss does use her beauty to her advantage, but it plays a smaller part in her survival than her brains and compassion).

OK, so back to the doll. It retails for nearly $30. Would you buy the Katniss doll for your daughter (or son)?

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