In 2014, Mattel released the latest doll in their “I Can Be” career collection: “Entrepreneur Barbie”. This Barbie was marketed as a self-starter, someone “ready to make a bold business move and strike out on her own to achieve her career dreams”. She was, like every Barbie product, designed to capture the zeitgeist and, specifically, a relatively new cultural ideal at the time: the enterprising self. Unlike her astronaut, doctor and interior designer sisters, this Barbie wasn’t defined by a single job role, but by a general approach to work. She was flexible. Autonomous. In control. She was a girlboss – a 11.5-inch tall distillation of burgeoning hustle culture.
It’s easy to mock Mattel’s blatant attempts to sell cultural trends back to us in miniature. But with Entrepreneur Barbie they certainly sensed which way the wind was blowing. For the last decade, culture has been ruled by two figures: the entrepreneur and the influencer. These figures – who are really two sides of the same coin – have come to represent “success”. Careers are over. Now, the “career dream” is to make your job up yourself. Make a hobby a side hustle. Have multiple side hustles. Quit your day job and be your own boss. Get paid to do what you love.
