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'Barbie Can Be A Computer Engineer' Book Gets Hilarious, Damning Amazon Reviews

Basically, never buy this book...

Barbie can be whatever she wants.

It's 2014, after all, so she doesn't just have to teeter around on her pink rubber kitten heels, batting her big fake eyelashes and generally just being a career blonde.

Barbie, if she wants, can be a computer engineer!

[Random House/Amazon]
[Random House/Amazon]

Unfortunately for the book Barbie: I Can Be A Computer Engineer, the authors got it terribly, terribly wrong, creating a tome that is as misogynistic as it is illogical.

As Pamela Ribon documents, it starts off well - Barbie is discovered sitting at her laptop, apparently designing a computer game in which "You can make a robot puppy do cute tricks by matching up coloured blocks!"

Excellent.

Sadly, it soon emerges that Barbie is, in fact, incapable of actually putting the game together herself because, seemingly, she's just a girl.

What's more, she then accidentally injects a virus into, not just her own computer, but also her sister's laptop, at which point she has to twirl her hair and seek the help of Steven and Brian, the male computer tech sparks who swoop in and save the day.

 

Oh Barbie, you silly thing. [Random House]
Oh Barbie, you silly thing. [Random House]

Silly Barbie, thinking she could join in with boy stuff.

The book is clearly setting an appalling example, but some of the reviews on Amazon are brilliant, either for their satire or for their to-the-point bluntness.

Here are some of our favourite lines:

“Great for lighting fires during power outages.”

"Also wonderful for starting your backyard grill," said Jaylin.

Thankfully there were some boys around to help Barbie out. [Random House]
Thankfully there were some boys around to help Barbie out. [Random House]

"I couldn't possibly do a review on this book because I need a boy to help me figure out how to post online," said Jennifer Hoey.

“Really Great toilet paper”... "Even better than Charmin," said Allie Prouty, with the added note: "Not recommended for reading purposes."

Here's one for the tech savvy:

"1. design != computer engineering
2. IT != computer engineering
3. authorsminds.read()
output: 'I don't know what the hell a computer engineer is.'" said reviewer Calla.

“This is really a dumb blond joke hidden within a sticker book for little girls,” explained Michael Sinz.

"This Barbie branded sticker book for young women is really an amazing bit of stinging satire on the number of women that become computer programmers and software engineers."

"(For those who may not recognize satire this review will likely be misunderstood)," Michael finished.

“A Book for the future,” claimed J. Loveman - 'Renaissance Man'

"This book is great. Boys who go into computer engineering would never get laid if girls learned anything about computers and programming. Thankfully, this book exists to continue the next generation of helpless girls getting boys to help them!" he concluded, hopefully as a joke.

Dumb Barbie, helping geeky boys get laid, apparently. [Random House]
Dumb Barbie, helping geeky boys get laid, apparently. [Random House]

We're not sure exactly what to make of this review:

“The taliban will destroy us with this book," claimed Anaxamaxan.

Some of the reviews cut straight to the point though:

"As a computer engineer and the father of two daughters who are both in STEM fields, my only recommendation for this book would be to set it on fire," said Mark.

And Rachel Appel put it even better than we could: "I work as a software engineer, which is a male dominated field. It is exactly these stereotypes and portrayals of girls like the one in this book that are the driving force behind the lack of girls wanting to enter these lucrative technology fields. This book is part of the problem. I hope Random House replaces this book with something more appropriate for children."

[Tripadvisor Madness: Couple Fined £100 For Posting Bad Hotel Review]

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What do you think should be done about this book? Is Random House Books For Young Readers responsible? Let us know in the comments!