Teen Talk Barbie

Doll

Teen Talk Barbie was introduced at the 1992 American International Toy Fair and became available for sale July that year. Approximately 350,000 models were produced. The dolls contained voice boxes pre-programmed with a random selection of four phrases from a pool of 270 possibilities. including "Will we ever have enough clothes?", "Let's plan our dream wedding!", "I'm studying to be a doctor", "Wanna have a pizza party?", "Want to go shopping?", "Okay, meet me at the mall", "Wouldn't you love to be a lifeguard?", "Let's have a campfire", and "Math class is tough".

Controversy

The phrase "Math class is tough" sparked criticism from educators and advocacy groups, including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, who argued that it discouraged girls from pursuing math and science. The American Association of University Women also condemned the phrase, citing a report on girls' poor education in these subjects. and later apologized to the American Association of University Women, withdrew the math class phrase from those to be used in future dolls, and offered an exchange to purchasers who had a doll with that phrase.

The criticism gave rise to the 1994 "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" episode of The Simpsons, in which Lisa Simpson objects to sexist utterances by a "Malibu Stacy" doll such as "Thinking too much gives you wrinkles." , the collector's price for one of the estimated 3,500 Teen Talk Barbies including the phrase "Math class is tough" was around $500.

Voice box exchange with G.I. Joe

In 1993, to draw attention to what they regarded as outdated gender stereotypes exemplified by the dolls, a group of East Village performance artists calling themselves the Barbie Liberation Organization orchestrated an exchange of voice boxes between 300 Teen Talk Barbies and Hasbro Talking Duke G.I. Joe action figures, which were replaced on store shelves. They were found in stores in New York and California.

References

References

1. 978-0-313-33910-3, pp. 423–24.
2. [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/21/business/company-news-mattel-says-it-erred-teen-talk-barbie-turns-silent-on-math.html?scp=1 "Company News: Mattel Says It Erred; Teen Talk Barbie Turns Silent on Math"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 21, 1992.
3. 9780896891678, p. 81.
4. John Boone, [http://www.etonline.com/news/154308_the_14_most_controversial_barbies_ever/ "The 14 Most Controversial Barbies Ever"], ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'', November 24, 2014.
5. David Firestone, [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/31/us/while-barbie-talks-tough-g-i-joe-goes-shopping.html "While Barbie Talks Tough, G. I. Joe Goes Shopping"], ''The New York Times'', December 31, 1993.
6. Susan A. Nolan and Thomas Heinzen, ''Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences'', 2nd ed., New York: Worth, 2012, {{ISBN
7. 978-0-313-33909-7, pp. 41–42, p. 41.
8. 9780786418374, pp. 34–35 and note 18, p. 183, citing Ken Schroeder, "In Brief ... Barbie Doesn't Add Up", ''The Education Digest'' 58 (December 1992) 72–75.
9. The News-Journal]]'' (Daytona Beach, Florida), October 3, 1992, p. 6A.
10. According to van Laren, "Math Class Is Tough", Mattel only promised that the phrase would no longer be juxtaposed with "Want to go shopping?" and "Okay, meet me at the mall".