I find the number of non-binary people hailing Allan as a non-binary icon hilarious, but not in a ‘ha ha that’s silly’ way, more of a ‘ha ha I get it’ way. Allan is the outsider, fitting in nowhere, and there’s only one of him. He breaks the fourth wall and responds to the narrator, in a movie where nobody else does. He wants to escape the world built for him to find a place for himself where he belongs, and that’s highly relatable for a lot of queer people.
He seeks community, actively escaping a situation that feels hostile to him – at the very least, he just wants some peace and quiet and to not be oppressed by Kens. He allies with women because he sees the flaws in patriarchy, and you cannot tell me Allan isn’t queer-coded, I will not hear it. He dances with the Barbies!
I’m an avowed Michael Cera stan, because my favourite genre of man is ‘weird little guy’. It gave me great joy to see him using his deadpan powers for good, and it surprised me that out of all the incredible actors in Barbie, his smaller role was one of my favourites. I’m perfectly happy to follow in Twitter’s footsteps and hail Allan as a non-binary icon, but even if the community hadn’t claimed him, his portrayal of masculinity is the healthiest in the film. In a world of Kens, he’s just Allan, and he’s fine with that. We should all have that same level of self-acceptance.
