This month archicritic Alexandra Lange takes to Dwell for an insightful, incisive look at the gender implications of Architect Barbie, which Mattel released in Feb. 2011. Never mind the "outdated hot-pink blueprint tube" or "skyline-print dress": "Architect Barbie and other gender-specific toys [...] narrow girls’ play to what manufacturers think they already like: playing house, not building one. To become an architect after playing with the Barbie [...] would be like choosing the profession because you like the glasses." And: "It’s not only the 17 percent [of women in the AIA] we should be alarmed about. It’s the fact that a seven-year-old in the 21st century could think all architects are men." [Dwell; previously]
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