"To create an authentic look, Barbie® designers worked closely with the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering to develop the wardrobe and accessories for... Computer Engineer Barbie®.Wearing a binary code patterned tee and equipped with all the latest gadgets including a smart phone, Bluetooth headset, and laptop travel bag, Computer Engineer Barbie® is geek chic"
And she might just help a few girls realise that this computer stuff isn't just for boys. It's the purest propaganda, aimed at moulding young impressionable minds. Not just the girls who might like to go into Engineering as a career, but those that would never consider it. To make them realise that it's socially acceptable now, with-it, hip, cool, rad, neat, gas, or whatever the term-du-jour will be in 2020.
Today's Younger Geekette looks more like this:
That's Kelly Reeves, Managing Editor of Urlesque.
Here's Marissa Maye, Vice President of Search Product and User Experience at the search engine company Google. A child of the 70's.
And here's a child of the 50's.
And if Computer Engineer Barbie had been around then, my life would have been different. For one thing, I might not have been averse to playing with dolls.
Barbie and Kelly Reeves look too cliched. Like, "this is what a trendy young geek is supposed to look like" cliched. But then again, I live in Silicon Valley, where it seems like everyone is a cliche at times.
ReplyDeleteAmanda in the South Bay