Giga-what?
Barbie Gets Her Own Computer

IN FALL 1999, Mattel began marketing two gender-stratified flavors of home computer. For fellas, a Hot Wheels system, decorated in you-bet-I'm-a-straight-boy blue, and covered with flames. For girls, there's a Barbie version, which is silver and covered in pink and purple flowers. Then there's software that comes bundled with the package. Boys get adventure games like Oregon Trail, while girls get creative writing software and—yes—a program called "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing."

Apparently, someone thinks the daughters of the Information Revolution need to learn a special lesson about the "proper" place for girls. Who cares if a 6-year-old girl can boot up a hard drive, design her own web page, and would rather play adrenaline-pumping action games? Mattel wants her hunting and pecking, improving her words-per-minute rate, and solidifying her chances to land a modest secretarial position when she grows up.

Complicating matters is the PC's extremely low price tag—$599 for a monitor, speakers, hard drive, and software. At such an affordable sticker price, Barbie could bring computers en masse into the homes of girls. This would be great, if she wasn't also bringing along her own social programming—meant to hardwire girls in their place when they're most impressionable.

Do we sample her wares or eject her data? The silicone princess has us trapped between a rack and a hard place. I, for one, want to see girls become fluent in the complex language of the Computer Age. Too bad Barbie still programs in basic.

—Words & illustration by Ophira Edut