In 1989, a group of culture jammers known only as the Barbie Liberation Organization(BLO) pranked the infamously litigious Mattel Corporation through its most prized brand: Barbie. Barbie and Hasbro, Inc.’s military action figure G. I. Joe are notorious for reinforcing unrealistic, even dangerous, gender stereotypes. But, for the BLO, Mattel’s Teen Talk Barbie proved to be the last straw. The doll, enhanced with a computer chip “voice box,” was programmed to giggle random phrases when a button on her back was pressed. Mattel’s chosen phrases included: “Math class is tough!”; “I love shopping!”; and “Will we ever have enough clothes?” (Culture Jammer’s Encyclopedia). In response, the Manhattan-based BLO organized a prank that continues to generate discussion on feminist and culture jamming websites.Taking advantage of the mechanical similarities between Teen Talk Barbie and her male counterpart Talking Duke G. I. Joe, the BLO purchased hundreds of each doll from local stores, took them home and switched their voice chips. At the height of the Christmas shopping season, they returned the dolls to stores so they could be resold to unknowing shoppers. When children opened their toys on Christmas morning, instead of Barbie chirping cheerful affirmations of American girlishness she growled, in the butch voice of G. I. Joe: “Eat lead, Cobra!”; “Dead men tell no lies!”; and “Vengeance is mine!” Meanwhile, Joe exclaimed: “Let’s plan our dream wedding!”
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