Comments on: Super Engineers vs. Fashionable Cuties

By: Confessions of a Tomboy | Holly Glo.

Confessions of a Tomboy | Holly Glo. — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 05:15:18 +0000

[...] I rejected the vapid, trite, boring activities and products marketed toward girls. There is empirical evidence that what is marketed to boys is bright, active, interesting and empowering. Products for girls [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 04:33:54 +0000

I think toys have gotten a lot more gendered. See Legos, for instance. Used to be a fairly unisex kit. Now there’s a lot of garden/pet/princess kits for girls and robot/pirate/spaceship kits for boys.

By: I. Am. Terrified! « Uplift Magazine

I. Am. Terrified! « Uplift Magazine — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:51:22 +0000

[...] no big secret that feminists aren’t massive Barbie fans. The impossible physique, the stifling gender stereotyping, the emphasis on playing dress-up, the dubious tokenism and ham-fisted racial diversity, the crappy [...]

By: Sarv

Sarv — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:50:36 +0000

Why can’t they ever wear pants? >:(

By: C. V. Reynolds

C. V. Reynolds — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:51:32 +0000

This is Mattel. They made Avatar: The Last Airbender toys and made none of the female characters, despite more than half of the main characters being female and the show being very progressive. They instead opted to do alternate outfit versions of the male characters and made more minor characters because they were male.

I never react with surprise when I hear, “Mattel is being sexist” because that’s their gig.

Doesn’t stop their BS from being continuously irritating anyway, of course.

By: Les chasseurs et les fermiers « Une Souris en Goguette

Les chasseurs et les fermiers « Une Souris en Goguette — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:06:03 +0000

[...] (Mais ceci n’est pas sensé être une différenciation homme-femme, contrairement aux Barbies Trois Mousquetaires.) [...]

By: Derangierte Einsichten - Piraten-Rant

Derangierte Einsichten - Piraten-Rant — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:17:38 +0000

[...] oder Online-Spielerinnen oder Amazon-Rezensentinnen((beide via Mädchenmannschaft)) , seien es Ken-und-Barbie-Puppen, bei denen bei Ken immer noch steht: “Ich will Erfinder werden” und bei Barbie: “Das Kleid [...]

By: Meg

Meg — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:52:33 +0000

Thirded!

By: Linkurile săptămânii « Down the Rabbit Hole

Linkurile săptămânii « Down the Rabbit Hole — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:26:26 +0000

[...] La ce se gândesc Barbie şi Ken? [...]

By: nykol

nykol — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:34:39 +0000

Barbies do it over and over again, reinforcing Barbie’s perfectly feminine roles- supposedly expanding the imagination but only reinforcing sexist ideas of society. Yes, i agree that Barbie (or, Matell is the company i think) has made some progress in the I Can Be campaign as mentioned in another comment but i knew it was all downhill when Barbie glorified pregnancy, pop-on belly and all. Barbie is interested in fashion, Ken in a career. Of course we have to put this into context and remember that Barbie has mainly been all about the fashion, clothes, etc so her “cute” thought bubble doesn’t seem totally out of place, but next to Ken’s we see Matell should be trying a little harder to avoid being critized for sexism.

By: dead lex

dead lex — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:53:30 +0000

I would have loved these when I was little. I hated having to make my own weapons for my Barbies. My main Barbie was a genetic engineer. I made her a white lab coat with my poor sewing skills and a little clip board. There were no noble reasons behind it, I just needed an excuse so she could have a pet dinosaur. My other Barbies were ninjas and secret agents and one was a space alien who was always worried about being deported back to alpha centari.

By: Gen

Gen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:30:41 +0000

Barbie1 looks like Dominatrix Barbie, complete with pink riding crop–though I presume that’s her “sword.”

By: Victoria

Victoria — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:15:18 +0000

haha! I loved this entire exchange. Too true.

By: K

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:43:45 +0000

You’re right, I forgot about that! But none of the women in this story is a musketeer when the story begins. So alas, it’s still a mystery.

By: BlueFairy

BlueFairy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:42:58 +0000

For “play” Barbies, I like some of the others from the “I Can Be” line, which is what the computer engineer will be released under. Yes, one of them is “I can be a bride”. (Ouch.) But the others include a race car driver, a marine animal trainer, a preschool teacher, a doctor, a rock star, a vet, etc. Many are still feminine careers/activities, and have an excess of pink, but there’s some progress there, and they come with accessories for imaginative play. If you’re willing to spring for a huge playset, there’s even a TV Chef Barbie!

(Of course, you have an older girl who likes music and can be trusted with nice (expensive) things, you could go for the new Joan Jett Barbie. I think she’s awesome.)