Women reportedly using 'Barbie' movie to test if men in their lives support feminism; one even broke up with her boyfriend after his in-theater reaction

Women are reportedly using the "Barbie" movie to test if the men in their lives support feminism.

What are the details?

NBC News said women "around the world" and across social media are encouraging one another to test whether the men in their lives "understand, or are at least receptive to" the movie's "feminist messaging."

Nicole Hoefler — a 32-year-old from Cologne, Germany — calls it the “Barbie test," the news network said.

“It’s like the new question on a first date or your dating profile: ‘What are your thoughts on the Barbie movie?’” she noted to NBC News. “Because if a guy really doesn’t want to see it, or he’s not open to talking about it, or — what’s even worse yet — if he’s seen it, and he thinks it’s not a good movie, or he doesn’t get the point, I think it’s kind of a no-go.”

She added to the news network she didn't expect her boyfriend to want to see "Barbie" until he asked to join her, even donning a baby-pink shirt to match her pink dress for the occasion.

Hoefler and other women who spoke to NBC News said watching the movie for them "felt like seeing their everyday experiences showcased on the big screen." Hoefler added to the news network that she felt "lucky to have a partner who actively wanted to discuss the impacts of patriarchy" after watching the flick.

“He just confirmed many things I always knew, like his empathy and how emotionally intelligent he is,” Hoefler also told NBC News. “I think it’s easy for a woman to understand the movie, but I never expected him to get everything at this level.”

More from the news network:

Part of the shock, these women say, comes from the assumption that men who are willing to engage in supportive conversations about feminism are hard to come by.

Catie Alvarez, 21, of Vancouver, British Columbia, posted in a viral TikTok video this week that she “can’t relate” to all the women lamenting that their boyfriends didn’t understand the movie.

Alvarez said her boyfriend suggested and planned the whole outing, including finding a Barbie-themed outfit for himself that specifically matched hers. After the movie, she said, he listened to and validated the thoughts she shared about navigating the world as a woman.

“I have a lot of friends who had boyfriends who were like, ‘That has nothing to do with me,’ or like, ‘I’m not interested in that, so I don’t want to go watch it,’” Alvarez noted to NBC News. “A lot of men just see 'Barbie' and are like, no, but I think I’m just surprised to have a man who let me have my opinion and not try to put his own spin on it.”

Hasna Bouderra, 18, of Dunkirk, France, said in a TikTok video that “Barbie” discussions can be a compatibility test on future dates with men, the news network reported.

NBC News added that the “Barbie” movie has led some women to end relationships with incompatible partners.

Theresa Arzate, 27, of Dallas told the news network that her ex-boyfriend's in-theater reaction was a “wakeup call" and that she's moving out next month and looking for an apartment.

“There were certain parts where he was like, ‘Oh, are you crying?’ in dislike and total shock, and it just really upset me,” Arzate added to NBC News. “His reaction to ‘Barbie’ just really took me aback. … This isn’t the kind of partner that I want to have.”

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