Just came across this. Thought I’d share: The Barbie Liberation Organization or BLO…gained notoriety in 1993 by switching the voice boxes on talking G.I. Joes and Barbie dolls. The BLO performed “surgery” on a reported 300-500 dolls and then returned them to the shelves of stores, an action they refer to as “shopgiving.” This action resulted in girls opening their new Teen Talk Barbie to hear it say phrases such as “vengeance is mine” and boys hearing their G.I. Joe say “the beach is the place for summer.”
Not allowed to embed this video, but you can watch a news story on it here. It was done by a group who was outraged by Barbie saying such obnoxious nonsense as “Math is Hard!” There is more in a 1993 New York Times article:
The group, which asserts it has surgically altered 300 dolls, says its aim is to startle the public into thinking about the Stone Age-world view that the dolls reflect.
The result is a mutant colony of Barbies-on-steroids who roar things like “Attack!” “Vengeance is mine!” and “Eat lead, Cobra!” The emasculated G. I. Joe’s, meanwhile, twitter, “Will we ever have enough clothes?” and “Let’s plan our dream wedding!”
Included with each doll is a leaflet from the group, claiming credit and calling itself, appropriately enough, the Barbie Liberation Organization. The leaflets list the group’s telephone number, as well as those of television stations and newspapers in the area where the doll was purchased. Buyers who agree with the group’s anti-sexist, anti-violent agenda are urged in the leaflet to call these news organizations.
I also thought it was interesting to read the word “twitter” in a 1993 news article.
