Friday, February 12, 2010

BARBIE IS A COMPUTER ENGINEER!!!!!!

Watch Out, Computer Engineers: Barbie Wants Your Job

Thanks to all you guys who voted to make Barbie a computer engineer, this occupation won the popular vote!!!!!

This is so exciting to me. I might actually buy this Barbie and put her in my office. I can't describe how....validating this feels. Part of me feels that is pathetic, but part of me feels proud that the forces of the world united to show Mattel that people want Barbie to be a nerd. Can you imagine? How many women (and men) nerds out there joined together for this? This tells me that I am not as alone as I feel sometimes. That there are other women out there like me, and men (like CPP who voted for Computer Engineer!!!!) who are supportive. This is not some little online poll, this is a vote that made an international toy giant choose Computer Engineer for Barbie's next career! I am gushing. I am embarrassed by my joy.

The other part of this which I think is important is that, apparently, the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering both had a hand in designing her outfit. And let me say, I would wear this outfit. Computer Engineers don't have to be Mountain Dew-addled guys who haven't showered in 4 days. I know a few of those, but they are vastly outnumbered by nice normal people - and this is a truly widespread way of reducing that stereotype. Computer Engineers can be girls. Computer Engineers can wear cute (albeit geeky) cloths. Computer Engineers can have long, lustrous, beautiful hair. Computer Engineers....can be Barbie. And maybe now, so will a lot of little girls. Who knows, maybe I'm putting to much stock into this. But it's such a lonely world out there for us girl geeks....that this makes me really quite happy.




Happy Hacking, Barbie :).

5 comments:

Alyssa said...

This is frickin' awesome!!! You should totally buy one and put it on your desk!

I really like that they still dressed her like a "girl". I really hate that stereotype that girls in science dress like men - you can be smart andstylish, damnit!

Congrats :D

PhysioProf said...

Did they really have to stick one of those douchebag bluetooth doohickeys in her ear? I mean, seriously, is there a single person on the entire face of the earth walking around with one of those things in their ear that is *not* a complete utter douche?

iosparkletree said...

Hey Phizzle, sharing your joy!

Frozie

Nicky said...

I'm right there with ya! I've never owned a Barbie in my life, not even as a kid, but I told my husband that I may need to order several of these. (One for my office, one for my kids, one for my girlie-girl doll-obsessed niece, ....)

But yeah, the bluetooth earpiece is getting ripped off of all of them.

Cath@VWXYNot? said...

Cool!

I wouldn't wear that outfit though - it's giving me severe 80s flashback! :)