Barbie/YMMV: Difference between revisions

** The book ''I Can Be a Computer Engineer'' was seen as a laughably condescending insult to aspiring female computer programmers, as while Barbie was initially portrayed as being (ostensibly) competent in designing games and programming "cute puppy robots", the book goes downhill when it is revealed that ''she's merely doing the design ideas'', with her friends Steven and Brian doing all the dirty work for her. And it didn't help that her computer got messed up royally with a malware infection, again soliciting Steven and Brian's services instead of fixing the computer on her own. One rant from author and voice actress Pamela Ribon later and backlash ensued, prompting Mattel to pull the book from circulation as it "doesn't reflect the Brand's vision for what Barbie stands for."<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2014/11/22/365968465/after-backlash-computer-engineer-barbie-gets-new-set-of-skills After Backlash, Computer Engineer Barbie Gets New Set Of Skills]</ref><ref>[https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/sexist-barbie-book-is-sexist Barbie's "I Can Be A Computer Engineer" Book Is Almost Laughably Sexist]</ref> One female computer specialist took to crowdsourcing [[The Moral Substitute|a more appropriate substitute]] by having the panels re-captioned to better reflect what the book should have depicted, though the scandal took a turn for the worse when the original book's author received hate mail and is afraid to open her inbox as a result of the controversy. So much for that "hacker" themed outfit that came with the doll when she was more of a ditzy script kiddie...