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Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:34 am
by Gob
Barbie maker Mattel has created a doll of the scientist who designed the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert.
Dame Sarah said she found the creation "very strange" at first - but she hoped it would inspire children.
"My wish is that my doll will show children careers they may not be aware of, like a vaccinologist," she said.
Her Barbie is one of six to honour women working in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem).
The others include an Australian medic who helped create a reusable gown for health workers, and a Brazilian biomedical researcher.
Vaccinologist Dame Sarah - who was recognised with a damehood in the Queen's Birthday Honours - began designing a coronavirus vaccine in early 2020 when Covid first emerged in China.
Her vaccine - the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab - is now the most widely used around the world, with doses sent to more than 170 countries.
"I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of girls into Stem careers and hope that children who see my Barbie will realise how vital careers in science are to help the world around us," said Dame Sarah.
In recent years, toymaker Mattel has responded to criticism that its Barbie doll sets an unrealistic image of womanhood.
It now offers dolls themed around careers such as a firefighter, doctor and astronaut - and in a range of skin tones beyond its original white, blonde doll that first launched in 1959.
Sales of Barbie dolls rose to a six-year high last year, as the pandemic saw parents stock up on toys for their children.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58077396
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 2:17 pm
by ex-khobar Andy
Isn't it weird that we reward the Bezoses and Zuckerbergs of the world by making them multi-multi-billionaires while someone who actually saves the world (helps, anyway) gets a Barbie. I'm sure that Dame Sarah is not short of a bob or two - she is part founder of a company called Vaccitech - but I doubt we will ever see her in the Forbes or Rich List.
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 3:24 pm
by Big RR
That's capitalism; those who invest (or can attract investment) best reap the rewards.
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:21 pm
by Bicycle Bill
There you go, ladies ...
you know you've made it when Mattel does a special Barbie doll that looks like you.
(ps ...... I wonder how much – or even 'if' – they paid her to 'license' her image?)
-"BB"-
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:01 pm
by Joe Guy
Why doesn't it look like her?
Are they afraid it wouldn't sell?
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:10 pm
by BoSoxGal
Joe Guy wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:01 pm
Why doesn't it look like her?
Are they afraid it wouldn't sell?
How does it not resemble her?
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:27 pm
by Big RR
From the photo,the doll looks much younger than she does and the physique is much more lean than she appears to be (but her clothes are baggy so it's hard to tell for certain). Perhaps they just put the head and clothes on an ordinary Baribie Doll?
But, to be fair, it looks as much like her as the bobble heads and action figures look like the sports figures they are supposed to portray.
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:57 pm
by Joe Guy
BoSoxGal wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:10 pm
How does it not resemble her?
Her chin is longer than the doll's so she never looked like that unless her face grew later in life. The glasses and hair color (not hair style) are the only similarities between the person and the doll in the photo.
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:28 pm
by Scooter
"Vaccinologist Barbie" doesn't exactly trip off the tongue. But it's nice to see where they are looking for role models.
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:34 am
by Long Run
Joe Guy wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:57 pm
Her chin is longer than the doll's so she never looked like that unless her face grew later in life. The glasses and hair color (not hair style) are the only similarities between the person and the doll in the photo.
This is typical of plastic dolls. When I bought "action figures" for my kids, they rarely looked like the "hero". For example, the Michael Jordon figure would be unrecognizable without the #23 Bulls uniform. If you would take off the head and show it to a person who would know the subject of the figure, most could not come close to guessing the well-known figure. Though, the arms tended to fall off long before the figure became headless, which made it tougher for Jordan to go left.
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 5:59 am
by Bicycle Bill
Back when we still had a "Hooters" in our town, I bought a set of these and gave them to my grand-niece for her Barbie dolls.
My sister wouldn't talk to me for a week ... which I thought was rather narrow-minded of her, considering her first job was as a cocktail waitress at a local night club wearing a slightly more modest 1970s version of the same thing ...
-"BB"-
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 4:42 am
by MGMcAnick
Hmmm, I wonder what the image was.
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:30 am
by Bicycle Bill
MGMcAnick wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 4:42 am
Hmmm, I wonder what the image was.
Found a better one and replaced the original with it.
-"BB"-
Re: Vaccine scientist wins major recognition.
Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 4:12 pm
by ex-khobar Andy
I like the 'Caution' on the package. Health and Safety is everywhere these days.