Computer Engineer Barbie: Aspiring or Insulting?
Recently an online Barbie poll was completed by the toy giants Mattel and it would seem that the two career options that Barbie has now are computer engineer Barbie and News Anchor Barbie. However is this a good thing or just another stupid idea to get people to buy the doll?
One of the main points to focus in on is the fact that I do not think I have ever come across a computer engineer that looks and talks like Barbie. You do not expect the typical, annoying blonde girl to be able to crack on with the tasks that a computer engineer can manage. This isn’t to say that they cannot do it but on the whole you do not expect it. Surely this is a very insulting thing for the women that currently work in the industry.
Surely every girl that gets this doll is going to think that the women that actually do work in the industry are going to look and talk like this. One of the comments was “This is insulting, Barbie already creates unrealistic expectations of what a girl should be”. What is surprising is the amount of votes that this Barbie got, I mean I thought geeks didn’t really care about the superficiality of the Barbie doll? Personally I think it is a stupid idea and it will make children grow up thinking that the hard working women in the IT industry all wear rubbish pink glasses.
There is a plus side to the argument, could having a doll on the market like this one make children think that being a Geek is not all that bad. Perhaps there will be less bullying in the playground because of this doll.
All in all I think that this doll has just outraged the women working in the industry more than anything, who wants to see Barbie in another pair of cheap glasses anyway? Barbie should stick to her Prada glasses and stop getting in on the industries that do not want her. Why does Barbie not just stick to doing what she does best, driving a pink sports car with Ken next to her!
