OPINION: Do Our Dolls Have To Look Like Us?
From the Wall Street Journal:
When Barack Obama sat down with Russia’s ITAR-Tass news agency last summer, the reporter concluded the interview by presenting the president with nesting dolls of American politicians. “Only Democrats inside,” the reporter said reassuringly, “No Republicans.”
“Excellent,” replied Mr. Obama, laughing.
The president probably wouldn’t have minded either way, but, if only inadvertently, the Russian purge of Republicans is expressive of a trend among those who give and receive dolls: an intensifying concern with matching the characteristics of the figurine with those of its owner.
RELATED: Mattel Introduces Black Barbies With More “Authentic Features”
Some children, of course, have always yearned for a doll that looks just like them, with the same eye and hair color and, for the luckiest, even a matching set of clothes. More commonly, children have enjoyed dolls not for narcissistic satisfaction but for their imaginative potential as hand-held adventurers that can be moved about and made to talk or fly. A corncob doll works as well for those purposes as a custom-made mini-me.
For children who wish to see their own faces reflected back at them, the toy industry has never before strained so assiduously to please. American Girl, the Mattel-owned company that sells 18-inch dolls with realistic hair and moveable limbs (including a line of historical dolls), offers an array of mannequins that can be configured with Godlike genetic specificity: For $95 to $109, parents can purchase a playmate that mirrors their daughter’s hair (blond, red, auburn, caramel, brown, dark brown, brown-black or black-brown), eyes (blue, hazel, green or brown), skin (light, medium or dark), and even attributes such as freckles, bangs, curls and pierced ears.
Even without stipulating exact facial characteristics, it is increasingly easy for families of all colors and ethnicities to stack their toy boxes with dolls that “look like America.” Asian, African-American and Hispanic dolls have joined their fair-complexioned, flaxen-haired counterparts at all points on the price spectrum, from the expensively tasteful (Madame Alexander’s eight-inch African-American bride, $79.95) to the disconcertingly sluttish (Bratz’s “Make Up Magic Sasha,” $17.99).
RELATED: Some Girls Find New Black Barbie Dolls Racist
The Obama epoch, meanwhile, has brought an African-American baby boom to the nation’s dollhouses. Mattel recently introduced a new line of black Barbies with fuller lips, wider noses and curlier hair than any previous black Barbies. In another nod to reality, the complexions of these “So In Style” dolls range from caramel to chocolate brown. Earlier black Barbies were essentially dark-hued versions of the pert-featured, straight-haired, alabaster bombshell.
Next week, Disney will unveil its first black princess in “The Princess and the Frog,” a retelling of the Grimm brothers’ tale “The Frog Prince” set in 1920s New Orleans. Tiana now joins the pantheon of animated lovelies that already includes Cinderella (who is white), Jasmine (who is Middle Eastern), Mulan (from China), and Pocahontas (an American Indian). As with all Disney films, this one brings a flood of merchandise: Tiana tiaras, child-size costumes, plush toys and a figurine of Tiana’s love interest, Prince Naveen.
All this would seem to be cause for cheer. Whatever our segregated past, today children can enjoy whatever dolls they like—right?
Dr. Conrad Murray CHARGED
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those dolls are cute!!… I would buy them..just make them a little darker
More Dumb articles! I swear you Guys Ran by The Klan! Nothing wrong with Those 2 African American dolls! They’re not Exploiting our Unique Features they Celebrate Them! Who ever see’s them as racist hates theirselves 2! MJ Syndrome
this is nice….
(would be better if black folks OWNED the company making the dolls)
maybe the next generation of young females wont be trying to hard to look OTHER thier natural selves, God willing
As a single mom of 4 kids and 2 of them GIRLS, I say it’s about TIME they had dolls that reflected AFRICAN american girls! I NEVER bought my daughters white baby dolls because BLONDE hair and BLUE eyes were NOT in my family, My parents didn’t buy us white babies either. So I always said” If it ain’t BLACK send it back!” That’s just me, my girls had to identify with a baby of color. I think this is WONDERFUL and I have seen the Black Barbies at Toys R us and they are BEAUTIFUL! To each it’s own….
I love this. When I was married to my kids dad, we decide that our daughter will have only ethnic dolls that look at least similar to her. I never grew up thinking that white dolls were better but I don’t know what she will grow up thinking. I want her to know that color is beautiful. I want her to know that her features are beautiful. Its all about pride. I want to give my daughter the things I didn’t have as a child.
hmmm.I have yet to see an african american doll that represents us.They still comprise of white features on brown skin which just doesnt cut it with me.IF YOULL GONNA GO THERE, THAN GO ALL THE WAY!however i must say that this is a huge improvement from what it was.I didnt have a black baby doll to play with growing up in the 80s…once upon a time…there was a white baby doll and that was about it,lets atleast be thankful for the progress.
there are so many ethnic groups that exist in the world,lets also keep in mind that some ethnicities have no true representation nor do they have a say in the U.S regardless of whether or not they’re a citizen of this country.I say,lets be thankful for our progress in the U.S today…
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I’m going to submerge my thoughts on this one and state from the cosmic mind.
The subconscious mind is the great discriminater, it takes logical & syllogistic scenario’s and design’s a map on how to get there in your present form/environment/situation.
With that being stated I will tie it into syllogism: Black women who played with whites dolls growing up will more than likely (from the law of the subconscious mind) design their aesthetic’s to look like what they consider “beautiful”… And with that being said: WHAT BLACK GIRL DO YOU KNOW THAT’S EVER PLAYED WITH A DOLL SHE THOUGHT WAS UGLY?
Concluding: The self-hate that is instilled in the minds of the black communities across the United States is evident when girl’s of color are complaining a doll is racist (in order to have it removed) because the features on the doll are more accurate to what blacks look like.
Agreed, not all blacks have big lips or wide noses… but most of us DO! And that is NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF! BIG LIPS AND FAT NOSES ARE BEAUTIFUL! PERIOD! And if that’s what you have enjoy that gift from God, EMBRACE IT!
Also kinky hair does not grow straight up and lay down. So if the doll has a baby fro, let it go… we see these women in the store, at the club or AT HOME! They do exsist. WE do exsist!
No doll can represent all black people or any race for that matter. Darker skin tone and maybe slightly fuller lips should be enough.
THE MOST PROFICIENT SYSTEM OF RACISM EVER
The present despairing state of Black America is neither a baffling phenomenon, nor the result of some innate racial deficiency among Blacks; but rather instead the result of a more sophisticatedly evolved racist system that is commonly used against Black populations as a means for maintaining white dominance and control. And although this method is less blatant than those earlier racist systems used in the past against Blacks, its affects are detrimentally real. In fact it is by far the most proficient racist system ever deployed against America’s black population-and yet most Black people are totally oblivious it. It is imperative that Black people recognize how racism has sophisticatedly evolved if we are to be apart of the future.
The national media’s distorted portrayal of Black America that amplifies the negative to the point that it distorts reality is more than just biased media reports. They function as media manipulation psychosocial programs. A covert system that maintains white dominance and control by ensuring that Blacks remain the most racially divided, devalued and most economically exploited group in America. It was implemented by America’s true ruling white elites; they that actually run the country from behind the scenes and maintains their positions of power and prestige regardless of who is actually president.
The constant relentless bombardment with deplorably negative images of themselves that of which African Americans are so inundated with, through a white controlled media, is a very carefully and deliberately designed psychological conditioning program. It is designed to adversely manipulate and shape the minds and collective consciousness of its African American population by subjecting them to seeing only the fraudulent worst in themselves while implying that they admire, respect, and trust only whites.
This media psychosocial program conditions Black people to accept white dominance over their lives by convincing them that it is now they that are their own worst enemies. Its unrelenting daily assault on the Black psyche is designed to break down African Americans’ sense of racial unity and allegiance, mold the character of self-hatred, engender self-doubt, self-loathing, and distrust among their group.
When most people hear the term of psychological manipulation they usually think in terms of the classic “conspiracy theory” that refers to overt mind control such as mind altering drugs with carefully hypnotic programming. However, the real and true dangers are the well proven methods of affecting the unconscious mind by using deception, and manipulation. It is neither magical nor mystical, but a process that involves a set of basic social psychological principles.
To learn more visit http://www.DivineBlacktruth.org
Well it’s for certain, I still haven’t seen a true African-American doll. They are usually too light for the kinky hair that the doll is givin, or they are too dark with the white girl hair. Come on now, get the dolls to look more like us. We come in many colors, and we all have different texture hair. At least they can find one of us that looks right in their eyes.