Flicking through the headlines I saw a birthday photo of a 61-year-old ‘woman’ without any blemishes and very smooth skin — Barbie — the Mattel doll.

It is surprising to see that she is still in very shop when the retirement age for many is 60. It’s time to put her to bed and let her rest. Her work as a role model has been rather chaotic with Wikipedia listing over 200 different occupations, including US President — might be an improvement, TV Chef — well everyone else has tried that, McDonalds Cashier — a job many young people start with, and even a Bee Keeper — there might be a sting in that job though.

With the changing world and the need for good role models there should be a wider range of possibilities beyond one piece of plastic. We need to look for role models in the real world but therein lies a problem as so many ‘stars’ and ‘influencers’ have complicated histories and a few stories to hide.

It’s time to move beyond the influence of social media and find a better inspiration that a plastic one that has a body shape that is physically impossible. I don’t know who it should be, but I can give a long list of who it shouldn’t be.

Dennis Fitzgerald,
Melbourne, Australia