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A book that suggested Barbie would need the help of men to code a video game has been criticised by its own publisher.
‘Barbie: I Can Be A Computer Engineer’ featured the following exchange:
Your robot puppy is so sweet,” says Skipper. Can I play your game?”
I’m only creating the design ideas,” Barbie says, laughing. I’ll need Steven’s and Brian’s help to turn it into a real game.”
The discovery of the content led to an uproar on social media, including the creation of website ‘Feminist Hacker Barbie‘.
The Barbie I Can Be A Computer Engineer book was published in 2010. Since that time we have reworked our Barbie books,” a statement on Barbie’s Facebook page said.
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 apologise 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.”
