About
Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer Parodies are mock versions of the children’s book Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer by Susan Marenco, which was accused of perpetuating sexist stereotypes in November 2014.
Origin
On November 17th, 2014, blogger Pamie Ribon published a post titled “Barbie Fucks It Up Again,” which argued that the children’s book Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer promoted sexual stereotypes in the story. In the story, Barbie sets out to create a game for her computer class and ends up enlisting the assistance of two boys to fix her computer and create the video game she designed.
Spread
On November 19th, programmer Kathleen Tuite[2] launched the “Feminist Hacker Barbie” web application, which allows users to make their own parody versions of the Barbie book (shown below). That day, several news sites published articles about remixes that were created using the app, including The Daily What[4]
Mattel’s Apology
On November 19th, 2014, the official Barbie Facebook page posted an apology for the children’s book.
“The Barbie I Can Be A Computer Engineer book was published in 2010. Since that time we have reworked our Barbie books. The portrayal of Barbie in this specific story doesn’t reflect the Brand’s vision for what Barbie stands for. We believe girls should be empowered to understand that anything is possible and believe they live in a world without limits. We apologize that this book didn’t reflect that belief. All Barbie titles moving forward will be written to inspire girl’s imaginations and portray an empowered Barbie character.”
Search Interest
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