Visitors to these worlds could be anyone or anything they wanted — no matter who they were or weren’t back in the so-called real world. And while VR has transported its users to places where they can be adventurers, warriors and heroes, Barbie seeded a world where women graduated from college, held independent careers, and earned income of their own. In 1959, when Barbie was invented, this was still a wild idea. Back then, women did little else with their lives than bear children, tend to household chores, and cater to their husbands.
