Comedian, actor Amy Poehler gets a Smart Girls Fun Award for developing her web series Smart Girls at the Party . She hosts the show with two of her real life friends. How novel for girls to be encouraged to make lasting friendships.
Here Amy celebrates and interviews preteen smart girls. The girls are allowed to just be themselves. They talk about their lives, their interests and their talents. They are the girls next door. They get to have a little dance party at the end of the show. How refreshing to see girls just being girls. They smile and giggle! They are confident! They are having fun! They are intelligent! They aren't chasing boys around!
Here is one of my favorite episodes. A young writer with a terrific personality.
Wonderful, playful, intelligent interviews Amy!!
I was a little worried when I saw the Barbie ads for Smart Girls at the Party. But seeing the latest marketing of Barbie (and considering Bratz dolls have probably and finally ended their reign) I am hopeful that Barbie is finally getting a wake up call. I hear rumours that the new Barbie (in all her marketing glory, including not only the traditional dolls, but also Barbie Girls virtual game world, the Barbie website and Barbie movies) is becoming more and more adventurous, independent, athletic and goal-oriented. I still see mostly fashion, decorating and gossip on these websites. I don't think a little fashion will hurt anyone, but I really want to see girlhood being mostly about creative fun and adventure. You know, like boyhood.
But maybe, just maybe I will take my dear five year old Barbie into a little Barbie Land. I would love to see dentist Barbie reintroduced wearing something other than just a lab coat. A pair of pants would be great. I think my daughter is smart enough to pick out the fun and adventure from Barbie. And she will definitely be watching the Smart Girl at the Party webisodes.
Hug Your Smart Girl Today!!
Showing posts with label barbie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label barbie. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Breaking it Down to the Numbers
First I have to thank Cindy for telling me about the polka dot patch website. I love it!! It has great stuff. Gender neutral, but not blah stuff for little boys and girls. I especially enjoy these two designs: president not princess and doctor not diva.
So after cruising that website, I started to think of the basic facts. How many female doctors are practicing in the U.S.? A good estimate, I found out from Dr. Google, is over 400,000. Women today make up typically 50% of each medical school class. Women also make up the majority of vet school students and are approaching 50% for law students. When I was in dental school 18 years ago (my how time flies) women made up one-third of the class. I am sure it is much higher now. So the 400,000 is a conservative estimate of women doctors, since that number only includes female physicians and not vets, dentists, PhDs, etc. For a liberal estimate of divas in this country- I am going to say 100. So the docs have them beat hands (and lip glosses) down.
Women earn 35% of MBAs, yet only 2% of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are women. OK I am getting side-tracked. But there are at least 46 women who have been Presidents or Prime Ministers of actual countries. Plus all the women CEOs and business owners. I would say that number is much greater than the actual number of practicing princesses. So realistically and statistically speaking, we should be encouraging girls to hit the boardroom, the courtroom or the hospital and not the mall or the glass slipper store.
Wonder when the marketers will figure this out...................But they will probably ruin it with "Boardroom Barbie" with a pink briefcase, miniskirt and high heels. I hope at least Ken gets her the coffee.
That reminds me- years ago I found "Dentist Barbie" I bought her for posterity. She has flowing long blond hair which is perfect for getting in patients' mouths and/or getting suctioned by the high speed suction tube. She wears a short lab coat that says "Barbie DDS." I guess Dr. Barbie doesn't have a last name or much respect. To complete her professional ensemble: high heels. Did I mention she has no pants? I guess the short lab coat doubles as a micro miniskirt. I am sure she would be a very popular dentist, as it is next to impossible to sit chair-side with your legs together. It also shows off her great tan- because she also has time to lay out by the pool apparently.
I will pontificate on another day why so many talented and degreed women are not earning or careering like their male counterparts. A lot of people actually care and have been studying this phenomenon. Of course, motherhood and careerhood are very touchy subjects. I logged in 10 years as a dentist and 9 + years as a mother (some concurrently) and am now working from home. Am I living up to my potential? I think so, but some researchers don't.
But I digress, better get used to it. LOL. I do welcome feedback, thanks again Cindy. It is great to pull together positive influences for our little blooming presidents. Thanks for listening!
So after cruising that website, I started to think of the basic facts. How many female doctors are practicing in the U.S.? A good estimate, I found out from Dr. Google, is over 400,000. Women today make up typically 50% of each medical school class. Women also make up the majority of vet school students and are approaching 50% for law students. When I was in dental school 18 years ago (my how time flies) women made up one-third of the class. I am sure it is much higher now. So the 400,000 is a conservative estimate of women doctors, since that number only includes female physicians and not vets, dentists, PhDs, etc. For a liberal estimate of divas in this country- I am going to say 100. So the docs have them beat hands (and lip glosses) down.
Women earn 35% of MBAs, yet only 2% of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are women. OK I am getting side-tracked. But there are at least 46 women who have been Presidents or Prime Ministers of actual countries. Plus all the women CEOs and business owners. I would say that number is much greater than the actual number of practicing princesses. So realistically and statistically speaking, we should be encouraging girls to hit the boardroom, the courtroom or the hospital and not the mall or the glass slipper store.
Wonder when the marketers will figure this out...................But they will probably ruin it with "Boardroom Barbie" with a pink briefcase, miniskirt and high heels. I hope at least Ken gets her the coffee.
That reminds me- years ago I found "Dentist Barbie" I bought her for posterity. She has flowing long blond hair which is perfect for getting in patients' mouths and/or getting suctioned by the high speed suction tube. She wears a short lab coat that says "Barbie DDS." I guess Dr. Barbie doesn't have a last name or much respect. To complete her professional ensemble: high heels. Did I mention she has no pants? I guess the short lab coat doubles as a micro miniskirt. I am sure she would be a very popular dentist, as it is next to impossible to sit chair-side with your legs together. It also shows off her great tan- because she also has time to lay out by the pool apparently.I will pontificate on another day why so many talented and degreed women are not earning or careering like their male counterparts. A lot of people actually care and have been studying this phenomenon. Of course, motherhood and careerhood are very touchy subjects. I logged in 10 years as a dentist and 9 + years as a mother (some concurrently) and am now working from home. Am I living up to my potential? I think so, but some researchers don't.
But I digress, better get used to it. LOL. I do welcome feedback, thanks again Cindy. It is great to pull together positive influences for our little blooming presidents. Thanks for listening!
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