How Barbie Got Her Geek On Ann Zimmerman Analysis

Even though there is still a lack of diversity in the STEM field and nerd culture, there have been efforts to diversify them. For example, in the article “Revenge of the Nerds: How Barbie Got Her Geek On” Ann Zimmerman discusses how women in the STEM field tried and succeed to get representation through Barbie. Mattel Inc., opened a poll to let the people vote on what Barbie’s next career was. The options were: “architect, anchorwoman, computer engineer, environmentalist and surgeon.” Zimmerman writes, “Female computer engineers who learned about the election launched a viral campaign on the Internet to get out the vote and ensure Barbie would join their ranks.” When the women in computer engineering learned that their field was an option for
Barbie’s next career, they felt that they needed to whatever it took to ensure that computer engineering won. They did this because they know that Barbie is an inspiration for young girls, and if Barbie is a computer engineer that would mean more girls would be interested in being engineers. As Zimmerman states “In 2008, women received only 18% of computer science degrees, down from 37% in 1985.” The percentage of women who receive computer science degrees has been decline.
Women in computer science would like to see more representation of women in computer science fields since there is a lack of females in those fields. Also, in nerd culture there has been an increase in diversity. This is due fact that there is more diverse characters in things nerds are interested in, like comic books. In “What Color Is Your Superhero?” Adam Serwer discusses how comics and its audience have become more diverse. Serwer writes, “Ethnic diversity is worming its way into the panels of superhero comic books and into the legions of people who love them.” Because new superheroes are becoming more diverse, the people who are interested in are becoming more diverse. This example points to a solution in fixing the racial gap in STEM fields; if there is more representation of people of color in STEM related fields, other people of color will become interested in it. Children and teenagers gain inspiration from television shows and movies, and if there were more shows featuring people color in STEM jobs then more children will become interested in going into STEM
fields.
There is a lack of diversity in the STEM fields and in nerd culture. This is because these fields are geared toward whites and males. There have been efforts to combat this problem, but it still remains an issue. Men still believe that nerd culture is their domain and they see women as invaders. While people of color may feel as if there is not enough representation of minorities in comics and other things relating to nerd culture. In the STEM fields, there is still a lack of women and people of color. Reasons why there is lack of representation is due to the fact that people have a misconception about the STEM fields. Women believe that STEM fields are antisocial thus they do not enter those fields, while people of color may believe that math and science are not subjects they should be interested in.