MY DAUGHTER says she wants a smart doll. I assumed, being all technically minded and totally digitally aware, that this was some manner of doll that answers back, walks, talks, tells you the time in Hong Kong and on which one can make a phone call should one wish.
But apparently not. It's a doll who is actually smart looking – as in it is wearing thick-rimmed glasses – and comes with a snazzy science kit containing either a working volcano, lava light, glow stick or blueprint skateboard among other really cool things.
The dolls are from a new line of geek-chic toys from American company MGA Entertainment. All the dolls come with science experiences that have been developed through negotiations with members of the CIA and scientists and are designed to light a spark of enthusiasm for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and maths) in young ladies.
Geek-chic is now a term. Whereas in times of old you would have rather stuck canteen forks in your eyes rather than be called a 'geek', these days 'yoofs' are tripping over themselves to achieve geek status. Now the intellectual computer, technology and chess club enthusiast has never been cooler. There has even been a geek fashion trend in recent years, with stars like Justin Timberlake donning the thick-rimmed specs.
As long as this trend is not superficial and people actually match the effort they put into their school work with the energy of picking out their nerdy outfits and accessories, it can only be a good thing and the toy companies are certainly catching on.
The character dolls – McKeyla McAlister, Adrienne Attoms, Bryden Bandweth and Camryn Coyle – are the plastic version of the real thing on a new TV show called Project MC2 which has been running on Netflix since the middle of August.
The show, which features four super-smart tweenies, revolves around a top spy organisation that snags bad guys through maths (who knew?) tech and science. It is admirable that they are pushing hard to make these subjects cool and interesting. Hopefully the waves of interest will result in a tsunami of young female scientists, tech queens and super mathematicians in the future.
Isaac Larian, the CEO of MGA Entertainment told PR Newswire this week: "My goal with the Project Mc² franchise is to encourage girls everywhere to be interested and pursue STEAM-based careers, so in my lifetime, I can see the CEO of Apple, Amazon or Intel be a woman. It is a dream come true for MGA to bring this entertainment franchise to life in order to empower young girls to learn, play and explore the world around them on all of the platforms where they are engaged; from retail, to TV and online."
Amen to that, brother. We didn't have this type of thing growing up. We had Barbie. She left all the smart thinky stuff to brainy Ken, and goodness knows he wasn't the sharpest tool in the box. Nevertheless the lovely Barb's only job was to look impossibly thin and perpetually pretty. She wasn't allowed to operate anything more taxing than a pink vacuum cleaner. She wouldn't have been allowed within a 100 yards of a science kit, unless she was draped all over Ken who was modelling white doctor's jackets for a medical supplies catalogue.
How times have changed. In an age where Kim Kardashian and a never-ending cast of intellectually challenged reality TV stars get famous for less than admirable reasons, and often stay famous because of a litany of even less than admirable reasons, it's good to see toy manufacturers giving our daughters something else to aspire to.
Smart has always been cool in my eyes, now we have the TV show and associated merchandise to prove girl power is alive and well. I'll be buying the whole set.
