Blog
February 3rd 2010
Barbie - Today’s Career Woman
At just over 50 years old, Barbie is getting a career makeover. And you can have a say in which job field the iconic figure tackles next.
As reported in the Toronto Star this week, Mattel Inc. is asking fans of all ages to vote for the whether the 36-18-38 proportioned doll will become an architect, news anchor, environmentalist, computer engineer or surgeon, at http://www.barbie.com/vote.
As noted in the article, Barbie has held nearly 120 careers in the past five decades, including babysitter and rockstar in the 1980s. The Mattel website, in promoting its new campaign, “I Can Be…” gives tips and shows accessories needed to be successful in various jobs. It even offers advice to young budding professionals including, “It helps to play an instrument if you want to be a rockstar.”
While I applaud the somewhat provocative choices of male-dominated roles like architect and surgeon to promote the idea of busting the corporate glass ceiling to the upcoming generation of little girls, I still have a few questions.
When this new profession is chosen for the fabulous and fearless female idol will the new doll include extensive university applications to institutions across the country? Might Mattel consider creating a prequel version of this career woman that shows her passed out after endless hours of studying amid piles of textbooks and coffee cups?
Will consumers be able to purchase a gaggle of classmate Kens who will be uncomfortable with a strong, confident woman looking to excel in a job field surrounded by men?
Maybe there should be a double package attached to the news anchor or environmentalist that includes ‘Waitress Barbie’ that must work double shifts after long days of classes in order to pay the rent in her windowless basement apartment.
Will Barbie be able to convey the emotional and economic trials that professional women face when forced to choose between a successful career and raising a family?
Perhaps I’m expecting too much of a plastic toy doll. But when the undercurrent of gender politics plays such a significant role in the lives of professionally employed women, I think what we teach tomorrow’s generation is crucial. In this case, promoting women’s ability to achieve such coveted positions is a positive.
However, without a shot of reality alongside these new professions, Barbie’s new career is no more realistic to young women than her measurements.
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