Comments on: The Onion poll: Girls = Boys http://www.joannejacobs.com/2008/07/the-onion-poll-girls-boys/ Thinking and Linking by Joanne Jacobs Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:51:22 +0000 hourly 1 By: Math is Hard http://www.joannejacobs.com/2008/07/the-onion-poll-girls-boys/#comment-38421 Math is Hard Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:37:27 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/?p=5707#comment-38421 From <a href="http://createdthings.blogspot.com/2005/02/my-barbie-dolls-not-as-dumb-as-your.html" rel="nofollow"> http://createdthings.blogspot.com/2005/02/my-barbie-dolls-not-as-dumb-as-your.html </a> <blockquote> Surely you remember it? Mattel put out a talking version of Barbie that said "Math class is tough!" Not all parents with girls thought that this was cute. A reporter from the Association for Women in Mathematics interviewed a (female) Mattel executive. The Mattel spokeswoman said that there was no intention to discourage girls from studying math and science. She also said that, since each doll spoke four phrases, and that there were 270 phrases in all of the Barbie dolls, that there was less than a one percent chance that a girl will get a "Math class is tough" Barbie. When the AWM reporter pointed out that 4 divided by 270 is bigger than one percent, the Mattel executive said "I was never any good at math." Thank heavens for GI Joe. <blockquote> From http://createdthings.blogspot.com/2005/02/my-barbie-dolls-not-as-dumb-as-your.html

Surely you remember it? Mattel put out a talking version of Barbie that said “Math class is tough!” Not all parents with girls thought that this was cute.

A reporter from the Association for Women in Mathematics interviewed a (female) Mattel executive. The Mattel spokeswoman said that there was no intention to discourage girls from studying math and science. She also said that, since each doll spoke four phrases, and that there were 270 phrases in all of the Barbie dolls, that there was less than a one percent chance that a girl will get a “Math class is tough” Barbie.

When the AWM reporter pointed out that 4 divided by 270 is bigger than one percent, the Mattel executive said “I was never any good at math.”

Thank heavens for GI Joe.

]]> By: Diana Senechal http://www.joannejacobs.com/2008/07/the-onion-poll-girls-boys/#comment-38420 Diana Senechal Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:53:10 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/?p=5707#comment-38420 I, too, used to feel quite manly when attempting linear algebra... until I took it upon myself to knit my friend a scarf with a design of the identity matrix and its permutations. Then I didn't know what I was any more. I, too, used to feel quite manly when attempting linear algebra… until I took it upon myself to knit my friend a scarf with a design of the identity matrix and its permutations. Then I didn’t know what I was any more.

]]> By: Lori http://www.joannejacobs.com/2008/07/the-onion-poll-girls-boys/#comment-38419 Lori Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:25:33 +0000 http://joannejacobs.com/?p=5707#comment-38419 That was hilarious. :-) That was hilarious. :-)

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