New girl action figure named Goldie unveiled
A commercial for an action figure doll for girls is challenging the conformity of fashion dolls.
In a video entitled "GoldieBlox vs. the Big Sister machine," a woman on a TV screen says, "You are beauty and beauty is perfection."
Girls in high heels and fur vests file one by one to pick up a fashion doll from a conveyor belt. Then a wild-haired girl in overalls runs to the machine pumping out fashion dolls and smashes it.
The commercial was inspired by Apple's 1984 ad introducing the Mac computer, said Debbie Sterling, founder and CEO of GoldieBlox.
The company is selling a yellow-haired doll with a tool belt named Goldie, the girl-inventor character who has previously appeared in the company's story-based construction sets.
The action figure, selling for $24.99, comes with a tool belt, wrench, wheel ends, axles and a zip line.
GoldieBlox's overall goal is to help girls develop an interest in science, technology, engineering and math, according to its website.
"We aim to disrupt the pink aisle and inspire the future generation of female engineers," the website says.
Sterling, who studied engineering at Stanford University, launched GoldieBlox two years ago after a conversation with a fellow female engineer. The friend said she had become interested in engineering because she grew up with her older brothers' construction sets.
Sterling, who grew up playing with fashion dolls, said she never thought of becoming an engineer until a high school teacher encouraged her.
"We scratched our heads thinking, Why are boys playing with building sets and girls playing with dolls? Maybe there's a correlation to why girls aren't interested in these fields," Sterling said.
The answer for her was to create a character that was "less about fashion and more about action," she said.
Using these sets to build a spinning machine or a dunk tank allows children to see how machines work, she added.
"You start to see the world in a different way, and the world becomes a prototyping tool to build the ideas in your head," Sterling said.
Follow @JolieLeeDC on Twitter.
More stories