It always amazes me when PR people don’t do their homework. Anyone who does a quick search of Eco Child’s Play would find it quite apparent that I am not in favor of encouraging children to use tech gadgets, have busted Barbie for greenwashing, and detest her boobs. That’s why I was surprised to be sent announcement about the latest Barbie: Computer Engineer Barbie.
Computer Engineer Barbie is part of the career series. Past careers have included astronaut, news anchor, army medic, chef, ballerina, firefighter, flight attendant, aerobics instructor, business executive, etc. Although many of these roles go beyond typical gender stereotypes, many do not, and in most cases it is a lame attempt at best. Consider Computer Engineer Barbie with her pink laptop and sparkly skin tight pants…
To ensure the doll accurately reflects this occupation, Barbie® designers worked with the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering to ensure that accessories, clothing and packaging were realistic and representative of a real computer engineer. Looking geek chic, Computer Engineer Barbie® wears a t-shirt featuring binary code and computer/keyboard icon along with a pair of black knit skinny pants. Computer Engineer carries a Barbie® smart phone, fashionable laptop case, flat watch and Bluetooth earpiece. With stylish pink-frame glasses and a shiny laptop, she is ready to conquer the day’s tasks on the go or from her desk.
I have to admit I have not met a lot of computer engineers in my day, but the few I have known were never dressed like this. And please, what girl is going to be inspired to become a computer engineer because Barbie made her think it was “cool” when she was young. Randy Atkins of the National Academy of Engineering writes:
Barbie is another wonderful way of introducing girls to engineering, a profession that includes computer engineers and many others all working together on the world’s most important challenges. The National Academy of Engineering shares their passion for portraying engineering as a “cool” and creative career path, because that realization both opens doors for girls individually and is vital to tapping a rich diversity of ideas that will lead us all into the future.
Come on Barbie, let’s just come out with the hairy leg/armpit crunchy girl wearing organic clothes and made out of hemp whose career is tree sitting…that’s a doll that might win my endorsement.
This is my first time to your blog and I was immediately taken back with your comment “that (you are) not in favor of encouraging children to use tech gadgets”. Why not? Tech gadgets are in the future for all are children, the tech is already here, we can’t stop it from continually improving! Many of the materials used to create them, are using recycled materials, there are computers made of bamboo and much more if you are looking for it. Tech gadgets are also helping create a world where we can stay in our communities, in our homes, they provide more time with our children, more time to grow our own food, have any bit of information we need at any moment at our finger tips, etc. Tech gadgets in my opinion are the ultimate way to teach our children how to live a healthy balanced and ecologically desirable life.
Nonetheless, I have never been a fan of Barbie nor have I ever owned one.
I was a huge fan of Barbie as a kid but have not been a fan as an adult, for the obvious reasons. I’m also a system administrator and find it distressing that there aren’t more women in tech fields where there’s a decent future, some stability during a recession, and a good income to boot. Beyond the fact that there aren’t many women currently, the rates of girls entering tech fields in college is dropping. If Barbie helps some girly girls figure out that they can dress all cute AND be a geek, I’m all for it. Overall we need to figure out ways to let women and girls know that IT is a viable and exciting career path and if this is one avenue to reach one market segment than I think it’s ok. I’d rather see this than the ‘math is hard’ barbie and for the Society of Women Engineers to be involved is a step in the right direction for Mattel. Now, if they could only cut out the over-genderization of toys with all the pink…
“Come on Barbie, let’s just come out with the hairy leg/armpit crunchy girl wearing organic clothes and made out of hemp whose career is tree sitting…that’s a doll that might win my endorsement.”
I would totally get that Barbie. Awesome. And she has to have a baby in a wrap sling (not a Baby Bjorn) and a gardening trowel as accessories.
Love it. Although perhaps sitting at a computer would be more comfortable? At least poor little Babs could put those tiny pointy feet up?
As a female computer programmer/hardware engineer who LOVES her job, this Barbie gave me quite a laugh. Though I am not a big fan of Barbie, I do love pink tools, pink computers, pink hammers, pink drills, pink measuring tapes, etc. Why? Because the guys I work with would never “borrow” them. Pink might equal “overly feminine” to some, but to this crunchy bit-cruncher, pink equals “mine.” And PS, I am only one of two women in our company’s local office. Lets get more girls in engineering!
At first I thought this is a stupid idea as well but then I thought about it a bit more. I loved Barbies when I was a little girl. We didn´t have a lot of accessories so my sister and I built houses and made clothes for them. I don´t think a Barbie is a bad toy in general. Depending on what you do with it it´s not much more than a normal doll. And if I had a daughter and she wanted to have a Barbie I´d rather buy her one which wears pants and seems to be more than just the pretty princess. And now that Barbie wears pants she can easily leave her computer on the desk and work a little bit in her garden. 🙂
I think more representations of women as engineers has to be good. True not every (or most) female engineers love everything pink, but many embrace or do not embrace society’s ideals for femininity in their own ways. I think every time a little boy or little girl is exposed to another example of a female engineer is a good thing. The fact that some will like pink and others won’t is a diversity of life and maybe showing a stylish and very typically feminine barbie as an engineer will open the eyes of more people. Afterall, we are not all combat-boot wearing engineers, I have known many whose dress code is within the same vein (though more formal) than computer engineer barbie.
is this toy allready available for sale?
actually there was a vote for what should Barbie be and one of the options was enviromentalist. you should have send her votes and you could have got her!
Hi, I am a girly girl studying engineering.
I don’t like you.
I hope you have found a real job by now.
Sincerely,
A