November 21, 2014

Mattel apologizes for its book "Barbie I Can Be A Computer Engineer."

"The portrayal of Barbie in this specific story doesn’t reflect the brand’s vision for what Barbie stands for."

What was so terrible? Pamela Ribon unleashed the critique here.
Despite having ruined her own laptop, her sister’s laptop, and the library’s computers, not to mention Steven and Brian’s afternoon, she takes full credit for her game design– only to get extra credit and decide she’s an awesome computer engineer! “I did it all by myself!”

38 comments:

RecChief said...

politicize all the things!!

Sean Gleeson said...

The easiest fix would be to add an apostrophe and the letter 't' to the word 'Can' in the title.

Gahrie said...

Too realistic?

Skyler said...

But in reality, that's generally how it works in engineering, no matter if you're male or female. Most engineers take credit for someone else's work because most engineers are lazy or unwilling to actually think and work.

Well, maybe I should say "many" and not "most."

Original Mike said...

I reserve judgement until I see Steven and Brian's shirts.

campy said...

To be fair, the title wasn't "... I'm Already A Computer Engineer."

There's still a possibility she could learn something useful.

Real American said...

maybe if Barbie was masturbating next to Skipper in their bed while Skipper was asleep, she'd be a true feminist icon.

Jupiter said...

“I’m only creating the design ideas,” Barbie says, laughing. “I’ll need Steven and Brian’s help to turn it into a real game!”

Sounds familiar. Isn't that what that psycho in the middle of the GamerGate mess did? Produce "scenarios" for actual programmers to turn into actual programs?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I wonder if I can still find a copy on ebay. I'd love to give this to my daughter for Christmas. ( She's working on her PhD in electrical engineering. )

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Computer Engineering is hard!

mccullough said...

At least Steven and Brian's shirts weren't misogynistic.

lemondog said...

Appears Barbie does not distinguish a desk top (CRT monitor?) computer from a laptop.

Alex said...

It's like Zoe Quinn taking credit for Depression Quest when she didn't write a single line of code(some man did).

Alex said...

90% of coders are men. Deal with it.

campy said...

"90% of coders are men."

Absolute, irrefutable proof of discrimination against women.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The doll is a collectible now, being offered for $199 on Amazon and $250 on ebay. $41 on ebay fro just the book.

Known Unknown said...

It's just like reading Mein Kampf if you're a Jew.

Or so I've heard.

Revenant said...

It's like Zoe Quinn taking credit for Depression Quest when she didn't write a single line of code

I suspect the men in question were in no hurry to have their names associated with the finished project.

jacksonjay said...

Original Mike and Real American:

WINNERS!

Tibore said...

WTF is a "computer engineer"? Sounds much more like the narrative centered around her being a game developer.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

WTF is a "computer engineer"?

It is an electrical engineer with a focus on computer systems.

It is not in any way related to what Barbie is trying to do.

Known Unknown said...

I'm still waiting for Mattel to apologize for this.

I mean, c'mon ... mermaids? Really?

HoodlumDoodlum said...

But engineering! And computers! And coding! And games!

Computer engineering might not be Mattel's srong suit, but social engineering seems to be going pretty well for those of a certain ideological viewpoint...

Tibore said...

"Ignorance is Bliss said...

It is an electrical engineer with a focus on computer systems.

It is not in any way related to what Barbie is trying to do."


I wrote that poorly (yeah, that's what I get for writing stream-of-consciousness). I really meant "WTF do they mean 'Computer Engineer', sounds (blah blah) developer".

But hey, that's what happens when I just fire off a post. :)

Jupiter said...

I reckon the woman who wrote that book is just hoping they don't find out who she is, so she can keep her job.

Mary Beth said...

Pillow fight!

Bob R said...

Try to imagine exactly how Mattel views computers and computer engineers.

Mary Beth said...

Mattel did apologize on FB.

Fred Drinkwater said...

Bob R: (I'm sure you already know this, but...)
Mattel is a very successful company in a business where production costs are important. The people at Mattel who are paid to actually make stuff and get stuff shipped undoubtedly have huge respect for computers and computer engineers. The people who are paid to wave their hands and yell about how uncool you will be if you don't buy the stuff probably don't.
Signed: An Actual Computer Engineer

The Godfather said...

Per Mattel on Facebook: "The Barbie I Can Be A Computer Engineer book was published in 2010." And we are wasting our time being exercised about this four years later?!!

Joe said...

Mattel also apologized for "Barbie I Can Be A Prostitute" since she used a pimp and not a madame.

They have also taken the "Astrophysicists Shirt and Pants" off the market.

Joe said...

More seriously, the real irony of this is that designers, like architects, have more influence over what the final product will be than anyone else.

Joe said...

Try to imagine exactly how Mattel views computers and computer engineers.

Hopefully better than Home Depot.

Jonathan Card said...

I thought the problem was Computer Engineers build motherboards and stuff and don't do much programming.

Bob R said...

Fred - Mattel is a dying company. They make buggy whips. Computer games are Ford.

n.n said...

It was an infringement of the feminist trademark. Specifically, unlicensed promotion exploiting the feminist brand.

T. A. Hansen said...

Shouldn't she be called a programmer? A engineer would be a person who builds the computer. Connecting the motherboard, ram, rom, fan, cards etc., or better yet the people at Intel or NVidia. Now those people are engineers.

Saint Croix said...

I'll never forget the feminist freak out when Barbie said...

"Math class is tough!"