2018: "Toy" — Netta

2018’s winning song, Toy, was not the first ESC entry to compare a woman’s situation to that of a doll. In 1965 France Gall won with Poupée de cire, poupée de son, and Sandie Shaw won in 1967 with Puppet on a String. The lyrics of both songs are open to interpretation: are they a subtle critique of patriarchy or do they perpetuate sexist ideas about women as easily controllable objects? 

Only Israel’s 2018 winning entry left no room for doubt: “I’m not your toy, you stupid boy!” sang Netta, making it clear that “The Barbie got something to say!”