Mattel Releases Black Barbies...and of course people are bitching about it

[Tomcat0403]

Dont ask why i read it, but basically figureheads of the black community are saying shit like.....it reinforces a bad image for young black girls, why can't they have short kinky hair, or an afro or something? Bunch of other BS too...

Jesus I'm bored this morning:D

Mattel Introduces Black Barbies, Gets Mixed Reviews

Friday, October 09, 2009

AP

This photo released by Mattel shows "Barbie So In Style" shows the Trichelle and Janessa dolls.

NEW YORK — Mattel has launched a new line of black Barbie dolls with fuller lips, a wider nose and more pronounced cheek bones — a far cry from Christie, Barbie's black friend who debuted in the 1960s and was essentially a white doll painted brown.

The "So In Style" line, which hit mass retailers last month, features BFFs Grace, Kara and Trichelle, each with her own style and interests and a little sister she mentors: Courtney, Janessa and Kianna. The dolls reflect varying skin tones — light brown, chocolate, and caramel — and Trichelle and Kianna have curlier hair.

Barbie designer Stacey McBride-Irby, who is black and has a 6-year-old daughter, said she wanted to create a line of dolls for young black girls that looked like them and were inspirational and career-minded. For example, Kara is interested in math and music.

"I want them to see themselves within these dolls, and let them know that black is beautiful," she said.

Many black women are praising Mattel for its efforts — Black Barbie hit the shelves in 1980 with white features shared by many of the dolls following her.

But some say the dolls with long straight hair are not "black enough" and do not address the beauty issues that many black girls struggle with. In the black community, long, straight hair is often considered more beautiful than short kinky hair.

Chris Rock highlights the issue in his "Good Hair" documentary, which opens in select cities on Friday and shows black women straightening their tight curls with harsh chemicals and purchasing thousand-dollar hair weaves.

"Why are we always pushing this standard of long hair on our girls?" asked Gail Parrish, 60, a playwright in Alexandria, Va., and a mother of four grown children. "Why couldn't one of the dolls have a little short afro, or shorter braids or something?"

McBride-Irby said she originally designed all the dolls with long hair. Combing her Barbie's long hair when she was a girl was the "highlight of my play experience," she said. She was advised to create some dolls with curlier hair, so she did.

There is a So In Style hairstyling set so girls can curl, straighten and style their dolls' hair over and over. (It costs $24.99, more than a pair of dolls at $19.99.)

That is troubling to Sheri Parks, an associate professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland in College Park, because it actively involves girls in the process of straightening hair. She worries that it reinforces the message that there is something wrong with natural hair.

"Black mothers who want their girls to love their natural hair have an uphill battle and these dolls could make it harder," Parks said in an e-mail.

Aside from the hair, some black women are concerned about the dolls' thin frames. Barbie, which celebrated her 50th birthday in March, has for years come under fire for promoting an unrealistic body image, with her long legs, tiny waist and large breasts.

While white girls also deal with body-image issues, Kumea Shorter-Gooden, co-author of "Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America," believes Barbie has a more negative impact on black girls. They are already struggling with messages that "black skin isn't pretty and our hair is too kinky and short," she said.

Despite those complaints, Mattel seems to have gotten several things right.

Andrea Slaughter, 38, a mom of two in Newnan, Ga., said she likes how the designer highlighted values that are critical in the black community, such as education and mentoring.

Sheila Adams Gardner, 41, a mother of three in Woodbridge, Va., praised the varying skin tones. She said when her daughter was 4, she became very self-conscious about being lighter than everyone else in her family.

"She has always had African-American dolls, but rarely dolls with skin like her own," she said. "Often the lighter dolls were Hispanic or Indian. It was very heartwarming to look at a series of African-American Barbies and hear my daughter, now ll, exclaim, 'She looks like me!"'

Even Shorter-Gooden acknowledged the facial features "look like real black people."

Mattel doesn't release sales figures. But Michelle Chidoni of Mattel said the dolls are resonating with girls of all colors and ages.

The line will be expanding next year with Rocawear clothing, new dolls Chandra and her little sister Zahara, and Darren, who will have a little brother he mentors.

[Kosmo]

as if "bratz" didn't exist

[RVTPilot]

as if "bratz" didn't exist

[redkow97]

there's always going to be someone to bitch and complain.

If they had mad the dolls 'black enough' (you know, by giving them big asses, nappy hair, and a propensity for yelling shit out in a crowded movie theater), there would be a whole contingency complaining about how racist they were.

how the hell are you ever going to make something "'black enough,' but not too stereotypical?"

damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

[RSVDon]

If they had mad the dolls 'black enough' (you know, by giving them big asses, nappy hair, and a propensity for yelling shit out in a crowded movie theater), there would be a whole contingency complaining about how racist they were.

[redkow97]

Wow.. I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head at that statement.

just laugh. the absurdity of suggesting that ALL black women have no social etiquette is what makes it a joke. The reality that SOME black women actually do yell shit and talk on their cell phones during movies is what makes it funny.

[SAMBUSA]

[wrillo]

there's always going to be someone to bitch and complain.

If they had mad the dolls 'black enough' (you know, by giving them big asses, nappy hair, and a propensity for yelling shit out in a crowded movie theater), there would be a whole contingency complaining about how racist they were.

how the hell are you ever going to make something "'black enough,' but not too stereotypical?"

damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

just laugh. the absurdity of suggesting that ALL black women have no social etiquette is what makes it a joke. The reality that SOME black women actually do yell shit and talk on their cell phones during movies is what makes it funny.

you're all right in my book.

As far as the dolls, you wanna know why they don't have some nappy ass hair and they look all glamorous and pretty? Thats because they're fucking barbie dolls. They're supposed to be freakishly ideal and perfect. You don't see Preggers Princess or Awkward Middle-Class Steve, so why should they have Slightly Unattractive Shaniqua?

[DGTL GRL]

Bratz dolls piss me off! I mean do we really want our little girls to think they should be looking like a hooker?

I also get ticked off when I see shirts or other items for little girls that say "I Love Shopping". Soooo.. they want our young ladies to grow up to dress like whores and also be consumer whores. Fitting I guess.

[V4junkie]

Hahaha +1million imaginary rep to RedKow

(btw it's weirding me out that you don't have an avatar, like talking to someone without a face . . . wait that goes for IP too )

[AOW]

So many places I could go with this....

I'm a father of three daughters (3,13,17) and two sons, all are mixed. (I'm black, their mom's white) The complexion of the new dolls more closely resembles my daughters as does the hair texture. That being said....

Be a fucking adult parent. If you don't like what a toy represents, then don't spend your money on it! I never wanted my kids to think of guns as toys, so guess what, I never purchased or allowed them to play with toy guns until they spent time with me at the range and had a good understanding of what a gun is and does. That's called being a parent. Reinforces a negative image? Fuck, most of us have family that represents more of a negative image than anything you can purchase or see of TV.

So, to my black (don't you fucking dare call me African American) friends out there that are having issues with this doll, spend more time instilling good moral values and self worth in your kids, and less time trying to be hood!

[RVTPilot]

Wow.. I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head at that statement. (I'll just do both)

Damned if you do' date=' damned if you don't is about right these days. Hard to say why people get upset over things like this. My grandparents used to bitch whenever they saw a picture of a 'black jesus' somewhere. They'd get so upset and tell me, "Jesus wasn't a black man!" I just reply, "Yeah, and he didn't look like Kurt Cobain, either. And guess what? He ain't real, Gramma!"[/quote']

Jesus WAS real, IP. It's his father that I am not so sure about.

[RVTPilot]

you're all right in my book.

As far as the dolls, you wanna know why they don't have some nappy ass hair and they look all glamorous and pretty? Thats because they're fucking barbie dolls. They're supposed to be freakishly ideal and perfect. You don't see Preggers Princess or Awkward Middle-Class Steve, so why should they have Slightly Unattractive Shaniqua?

I am here to tell you now I have patent rights to that doll's likeness and namesake.

[KruelHouse]

so many places i could go with this....

I'm a father of three daughters (3,13,17) and two sons, all are mixed. (i'm black, their mom's white) the complexion of the new dolls more closely resembles my daughters as does the hair texture. That being said....

Be a fucking adult parent. If you don't like what a toy represents, then don't spend your money on it! I never wanted my kids to think of guns as toys, so guess what, i never purchased or allowed them to play with toy guns until they spent time with me at the range and had a good understanding of what a gun is and does. That's called being a parent. Reinforces a negative image? Fuck, most of us have family that represents more of a negative image than anything you can purchase or see of tv.

So, to my black (don't you fucking dare call me african american) friends out there that are having issues with this doll, spend more time instilling good moral values and self worth in your kids, and less time trying to be hood!

+muthafcuking 1!

[Gump]

+1

[that dude]

wow

[that dude]

barbie looks yellow to me.

[redkow97]

Hahaha +1million imaginary rep to RedKow

(btw it's weirding me out that you don't have an avatar, like talking to someone without a face . . . wait that goes for IP too )

I'll work on an avatar after lunch.

[max power]

So many places I could go with this....

I'm a father of three daughters (3,13,17) and two sons, all are mixed. (I'm black, their mom's white) The complexion of the new dolls more closely resembles my daughters as does the hair texture. That being said....

Be a fucking adult parent. If you don't like what a toy represents, then don't spend your money on it! I never wanted my kids to think of guns as toys, so guess what, I never purchased or allowed them to play with toy guns until they spent time with me at the range and had a good understanding of what a gun is and does. That's called being a parent. Reinforces a negative image? Fuck, most of us have family that represents more of a negative image than anything you can purchase or see of TV.

So, to my black (don't you fucking dare call me African American) friends out there that are having issues with this doll, spend more time instilling good moral values and self worth in your kids, and less time trying to be hood!

PREACH MY MAN! You speak the truth.