美国国家公共电台 NPR Mattel Introduces 17 'Shero' Barbies To Celebrate International Women's Day

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

OK, I'm going to throw out a few names and let you guess why we're talking about them. Here we go. Frida Kahlo. Chloe Kim. NASA mathematician¹ Katherine Johnson. Filmmaker Patty Jenkins. OK, if you're thinking what an impressive lineup of accomplished² women, you would be right. You're on to something. I'm guessing you might not have been thinking about Barbie. Well, those four women and about a dozen others are part of a new line of Barbies that Mattel has rolled out to mark International Women's Day. The company says it's honoring female role models as a way to inspire girls. So can a Barbie - any Barbie - really be empowering?

Well, we're putting that question to Aisha Sultan, parenting columnist³ with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Welcome.

AISHA SULTAN: Thank you so much.

KELLY: All right, so these new barbies, they are women in all different fields. We mentioned there's a snowboarder. There's a boxer⁴. There's a journalist, which warmed my heart. They're dressed in all kinds of different outfits⁵. But they still all look like a Barbie doll, right? I mean, they're all still completely unrealistic proportions on these women.

SULTAN: They absolutely are. And I'm a huge fan of every woman that they chose to make a Barbie of in this line. They're incredible role models. And I would be thrilled to have this as an option to give as a gift or for a child that I know. But here's the thing. They don't necessarily look like the women that they represent. They look like a glamorized, Barbie-ized (ph) version of that - for example, Frida Kahlo. I mean, Frida doesn't have her signature trademark⁶ unibrow...

KELLY: No unibrow.

SULTAN: ...Which was her way of speaking against conventional beauty standards of her time. It was a very powerful statement. So I feel like Mattel could have gone a little further and really made a huge statement with these dolls.

KELLY: These new dolls, we should mention, are part of the Shero collection, as Mattel calls them. And they do have a doll for the plus-size model Ashley Graham. They had Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who wears a hijab.

SULTAN: Yes. And I think that kind of representation - I mean, really all of it should be applauded. I would just love for them to take it a step further because that, to me, is when a corporation goes from its like, oh, let's be smart marketers and let's be smart product makers⁷ into let's really advocate for some kind of social change. You know, some kind of social improvement where women or little girls or little boys who play with these dolls can think, yes, I could be this or I could be that, or look at what this amazing person did. But I don't have to look like a perfect 10.

KELLY: When I was a little girl, I had kissing Barbie. There was actually a button on her back, and you pressed it and this poof of air came out. She made this smooching sound. And I loved her. And it was not because she was a role model or I thought I had to look like her, but because she was pretty and she was fun to play with.

SULTAN: Well, I had a Barbie that it was like Texan cowgirl Barbie because I was...

KELLY: Oh, that's a good one.

SULTAN: I grew up in Texas. And you pushed a little button on her back and she winked⁸. And I loved her, too.

KELLY: (Laughter).

SULTAN: I did. I thought she was so glamorous⁹.

KELLY: So does it matter that she maybe wasn't the role model? You haven't grown up, I assume, to be a Texas cowgirl.

SULTAN: No, I have not. Although, you know, you never know. There's still time.

KELLY: There's time (laughter).

SULTAN: But (laughter) - but I will say, though, that I think only seeing dolls and images in the media and glamorous women like that probably has impacted how I think I should look or the struggle to, like, always be losing five pounds and chronic¹⁰ dissatisfaction that women feel with their bodies. It's never just one thing. It's like the whole culture you grow up in. Now imagine how powerful it would have been had Barbie come out with a line of dolls that challenged that or pushed back on that even in the slightest bit. And we've seen Barbie as an astronaut, as a doctor. I mean, she has been progressive in her careers for a long time. So it would amazing to see her be progressive in the way she looks.

KELLY: Aisha Sultan, columnist and home and family editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, thanks so much.

SULTAN: Absolutely.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "UNICORN (SCORE)")

1 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

2 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

3 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

4 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

5 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

6 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 winked   

v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮

参考例句：

• He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was. 他冲她眨了眨眼，她便知道他的想法和她一样。
• He winked his eyes at her and left the classroom. 他向她眨巴一下眼睛走出了教室。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

10 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。