The New Black Barbie is “So In Style”

Remember when you were a little kid and having a black Barbie was a huge goddamn deal?  There was only one girl on my block that had one, and that was me.  We played with her in hushed tones for fear of some overprotective parent saying it was weird that a bunch of white girls had a black doll, and really, she just looked like a regular Barbie, with a dip-dyed skin color (or a REALLY bad fake-tan).

But!  Now we have a brand-spankin’-new line of black dolls, courtesy of Stacey McBride-Irby, a steadfast employee of Barbie’s thinktank.  The doll line, called So In Style”, features Grace, Courtney, Janessa, Kara, Kianna, and Trichelle, each with their own well-rounded and kid-friendly backstory.  They’ve got some kick-ass clothes and aren’t just a new skin on white Barbie – sporting new facial features and different hair styles.

But some people aren’t pleased with the dolls, saying that they’re racist and too reliant on hip-hop/rap culture for their wardrobe (In the NY Daily News article, a 15-year-old girl gushes about how these new dolls represent Beyoncé to her).  In a recent CNN article, consumers rallied against the dolls saying the new hairstyles are “a step backwards” and that the dolls “should have had more natural black hairstyles, such as afros or braids.”  One of the fundamental problems the CNN article cites is: “‘Black women come in all shades, shapes and varieties that there is just no way to capture everyone with three dolls.”

Now, to us, saying these newly designed Barbies are racist is like saying that white Barbie is racist because she relies too heavily on cheerleading costumes.  We’ve always found the Barbie doll to be much too stereotypical on all kinds of fronts (although they’ve toned it down in recent years).  The old Barbie has never looked like a real person, and it seems like Mattel is trying to take a step forward in creating a more realistic ideal.  Can you honestly say you don’t like the new black dolls because they’re stereotypical?

The argument behind stereotyping is outlined in an article published in the SMC Collegian:

…When one takes a closer look at what lies underneath it becomes more clear that the dolls have the unfortunate potential to further segregate American society. Young girls who play with the dolls will soon recognize those specific features of the dolls that differentiate them from their white counterparts. Once these become more observable, young girls will be more apt to remember these distinguishing traits when they think of the African-American race. While it is true that the dolls are meant to celebrate the differences and recognize the distinctions of a young black woman, realistically, how many children from non-black households will be inclined to play with the dolls? When you create a doll as unique as these, the issue arises of highlighting the differences between these dolls and those that came before them. Once that happens, young girls will find themselves developing opinions for or against these black Barbie dolls, leading them down a path that can prove to be racially discriminatory.

Maybe people need to do some reflecting on all dolls if they want to pull that crap.

UPDATE:  We got a comment on this post pointing us to this post on Racialicious and it was a great point of view.  Check out some of the comments:

“And while I could quibble about the authenticity of the dolls, the issue is not whether the dolls are representative of ANY women of African heritage. The issue is why there are almost never any dolls that are representative of CERTAIN women of African heritage.

From a marketing perspective, I am sure that they picked a happy medium. Dolls that would likely appeal to the broadest range of black consumers. Thats cool. As I said, to ME the dolls all look “black” and other than the hair I’d not blink when presented with them. So Im sure the white folk and other non black people who see the dolls and signed off on them felt they met the blackness standard, they are operating from a different frame of reference. Its entirely possible that white people and even the black woman who designed them felt the dolls are entirely representative of black women. I mean, most people in the US see straightened hair as the norm and natural hair as the exception or aberration.

But, if the company wants to claim they are representing, which I doubt, they surely could have a wider range of black. There are 3 dolls, 6 including the small kids. One could have some kink to the hair.”

Also:

“I just have to observe, I am white and have never seen a Barbie doll that looks like me either. Barbie doesn’t look like anyone. The body mould itself is that of no anorexic supermodel in the world. As well as race, this is a major consideration. It is one thing to take care that facial features and skin tone are more relate-able for black girls, but still, what does it do to their self-esteem to look at Barbie from the neck down and see this kind of body held up as an ideal?”

What do you think about the So In Style line?  Racist or not?  What should they change, if anything?