This “Commuter Barbie” is way too real for any woman in New York

By Karenfratti

April 26, 2017

By Karenfratti

April 26, 2017

If there’s one group of people that likely doesn’t need anymore representation in pop culture, it’s young white women, which is why this fake “Commuter Barbie” is so hilarious. If you’re a young white woman in New York City, it might be *way* too real. But don’t be offended; It’s all done out of love.

The Commuter Barbie was created by two roommates from New York City, Carina Hsieh and Claudia Arisso (Hsieh is an editor at Cosmopolitan, and Arisso is a designer) after they noticed some keychains of tote bags at The Strand, an iconic bookstore in Manhattan. Seriously: keychains of tote bags? It’s pretty ridiculous. They had to do something.

So they made Commuter Barbie, complete with a Strand tote bag with a copy of Zadie Smith’s Swing Time in it. She comes with Trader Joe’s grocery bags, a yoga mat, and a very expensive Canada Goose jacket. She even has her very own Starbucks cup. That will actually spill on the train, inconveniencing her commute to work and everyone else who wanted to sit in the seat later in the days. Of course, her name is spelled “Babrie” on the Starbucks cup, a nod to the fact that no barista ever hears you say your name correctly.

In addition to all of that, Commuter Barbie has huge, expensive headphones to “tune out the creeps” when she gets stuck with the middle seat on the subway. One of the girls in the fake commercial asks:

"But if she can't hear the catcalls, how will she know how to smile?"

True.

In her tote, she has a “super heavy” water bottle, a Cliff bar, a copy of The New Yorker, an iPhone loaded with NPR podcasts, and a crumpled up Metro card. It’s the perfect representation of the young Millennial women all over the Big Apple. But don’t be offended: Hsieh and Arisso told Gothamist that they aren’t the Commuter Barbie type (if only because they can’t afford Canada Goose)…