Barbie is now a Computer Engineer
By Nicole Kobie in Editorial
Posted in Uncategorized on
OMG, this is like so totally cool: Barbie has become a geek.
Okay, that first line sounds a bit sarcastic, but I genuinely think this is cool and adorable. The famous plastic doll has her 126th career — and it’s as a Computer Engineer.
She has a binary themed shirt, pink — of course — laptop, bluetooth headset and geeky looking glasses.
According to the press release, Geek Barbie was designed with help from the Society of Women Engineers to ensure her “accessories, clothing and packaging were realistic and representative of a real computer engineer.”
I’ll try not to get too distracted by the idea of an engineer’s packaging, and instead focus on the comment from Nora Lin, president of SWE.
“Girls who discover their futures through Barbie will learn that they – just like engineers – are free to explore infinite possibilities, and that their dreams can go as far as their imaginations take them… As a computer engineer, Barbie will show girls that women can design products that have an important and positive impact on people’s everyday lives, such as inventing a technology to conserve home energy or programming a newborn monitoring device.”
It’s the usual argument, that little girls need more than just princesses to inspire them. I don’t disagree, but I know if I took my three-year-old niece to the toy store, she’d still be begging for the doll with the fluffy pink dress, not the laptop.
In fact, when talking about self-esteem and inspiration, I think this particular Barbie might have more to offer adult women working in the sector. No, I’m not saying female engineers are all dying to dress in head-to-toe pink and straighten bleached hair every morning, but it’s kind of nice to encourage the idea that it’s okay to be an engineer and still be girlie, too.
Hopefully most don’t need telling to know that, but I do have a feeling that when these are released later this year, more will end up on desktops than in playrooms.
Rated: 100% (1 votes)
Loading ...Trackback by - February 16, 2010 on 12:13 pm
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by Raykoid666: LOL! RT @ITPRO: Barbie is now a Computer Engineer http://bit.ly/92bXCr…
Comment by Zkris - February 16, 2010 on 2:15 pm
“such as inventing a technology to conserve home energy or programming a newborn monitoring device.”
So women “are free to explore infinite possibilities” as long as they involve “the home” or newborn babies?
Trackback by - July 10, 2011 on 9:28 am
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