Issa Rae opens up about feeling less 'insecure' after seeing the diverse cast of Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie'

Many people deal with body image issues. They have the urge to feel less insecure about the way they present themselves in front of others. Issa Rae shares how she felt less "insecure" on the set of "Barbie" as President Barbie. She opened up about her body positivity journey while talking to Glamour. The 38-year-old actress initially felt like she wasn't in "Barbie shape" just like many other young girls who looked up to Barbie as a standard for body shape and beauty. "Right before [the role came to me], I was post-Insecure, post–Rap S**t, and post-the-final-season-of-Insecure-press-tour. I was like, 'Well, I’m going to let myself go. I’m eating everything,'" she told the outlet. 

"And then I got the call to do 'Barbie' and was like, 'Oh, no, I am not Barbie-shape ready.' But then I realized [director Greta Gerwig]'s 'Barbie world' consists of all body types. So, while I was still on my fitness journey, I felt less insecure about my Barbie body or lack thereof," she shared. Rae revealed that she discussed body image and representation with Gerwig and learned that she was prioritizing casting a diverse group of actors. "That was something that I was concerned about too — who are the other Barbies, and what do they look like?" she said. "I saw that immediately on my first day when I was doing the dance sequence rehearsal. There were so many different types of Barbies, and so many different types of Kens. Some able-bodied, ages, genders. Greta did her best to try to include everybody. Barbie Land is perfect. Everyone in Barbie Land is a perfect Barbie. I found that so beautiful." 

"Almost everyone in the world is represented in some way here. That’s not an easy piece. I’m sure someone might be like, 'Where am I?' But know that there was such an effort made to have Barbie Land be inclusive," she reinforced. When asked about how she explains a film whose official synopsis is "To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken?" Rae said, "Everybody has their notions about what this Barbie movie should be, what they think it is, what they want it to be…. You're not going to fulfill everybody's expectations, and you may disappoint some people, but I think the best way to go in is with no expectations and just be excited to see it. Barbie means so much to so many people. People also hate Barbie or aren't interested in Barbie. I honestly think whether you love or hate her, there's something here for you." 

Talking of playing the President Barbie she said, "Greta referenced how devastating it was for her to see such a sprightly vice president next to an old president and was like, “Why haven't we had a woman president yet?” So, in a way, I just wanted to convey that sparkliness, that energetic nature. There aren't many presidents who are very young in our history outside of Obama, but in other countries there are. For me, it was about tapping into what a youthful, fun president would be and then what the childhood version of my Barbie president would be. In that way, it was the most fun, limber, fashionable president I could think of."