"Barbie bondage" can refer to one of three concepts, depending on context. Used figuratively, "Barbie bondage" is a metaphor for girls and young women adapting, partly due to outside influence, to the stereotypical bubble-brained, glamour-obsessed gender role that Barbie dolls are said to promote. Used in a more literal sense, "Barbie bondage" refers to actual Barbie dolls being bound. In one sense this can be a humorous connotation to the fact that new Barbie dolls are secured very tightly to the cardboard backing of the boxes they are sold in.