ABOVE PHOTO: YouTube personality Misee Harris discussing imbalance of American Girl black and white dolls’ accessories. (Screen grab photo)
Nijah Diane Hicks
By Nijah Diane Hicks
When I was 6-years old, I loved playing with dolls. I would play from the time I woke up until it was time to go to bed. At one point I had over 150 Barbie dolls! My mother would get upset with me because I would change their outfits and swap them. I had all types; black and white, short and long hair. I loved playing with all of them. Barbie did it all, from baking to banking and I thought she was the coolest. I loved Barbie and I wanted to be like her, but she never made me feel like I didn’t love myself.
Fast forward. I have a 6-year-old-daughter and she loves Barbie now. She also has all types of Barbies. However, I recently noticed, when she picks a Barbie, routinely she always chooses the White one. I didn’t think anything of it at first, but I started to notice that every type of doll she wants or any character she dresses up as…they are always White.
l decided to ask her one day, why she always picked the white dolls and wanted to be the White characters. She said to me because “White people are prettier.” Now I’m bothered. I hate how this society makes our beautiful Black children feel like if they are not White, they are not pretty or talented or can be anything they want to be. If it’s not White it’s not right! I explained to my daughter that she is beautiful and to never forget it. I explained to her that we are the descendants of queens!
Because of that revelation from my daughter, it has opened my eyes. I realize we do not have enough role models to show these young Black children that they are just as beautiful as their White counterparts. Television flaunts Barbie and all the white Disney characters in our children’s faces and it conditions them to feel like if they don’t have blonde hair and blue eyes, they are not as pretty.
Even the toy stores discriminate with toys depicted for African American children. You may have seen the video with the woman in the toy store that was appalled at the difference between the Black and the White dolls being sold. The White dolls came with books and an extra pair of clothing. The Black dolls came with nothing but a doll and was selling for the same price as the White doll! So what you are telling my child from the start is that you are not as privileged as whites. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Disney movies and their characters….but the world is not all White!!
Just to test my theory, I went online and typed in Disney Princess bedding and accessories. Cinderella, Rapunzel, The Little Mermaid and all of the other princesses popped up with their own theme sets, all except Tiana. I typed in Tiana bedding and after about 20 minutes of searching, I found one, a used one, on eBay. The majority of Tiana accessories are included with other Disney Princesses. That speaks volumes to me. Disney has at least six Princess characters, and only one of color.
I want to see more diverse characters of color, we are black, brown, tan and yellow. I don’t want my child to grow up feeling like she has to look, act and sound like she is White to be considered “someone special” in this world!
I understand that there is and probably will always be racism in this world and I can deal with that. But when companies make toys that I’m supposed to spend my hard earned money, on that do nothing but tell my child she is not beautiful in the skin she is in, I have a problem. I feel like as a Black community we should all have a problem.
The only role models for our children are artists that are not appropriate for children like Beyonce, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. We allow them to listen to their music and as parents we think it’s cute “You go girl!” “Sing that song!” “Look at her dance. She dances just like Beyonce.” And then we wonder why she has a baby by 14. And no I am not bashing Beyonce. I love Beyonce. I am a true fan of Queen Bee! I listen to her body of work faithfully from ‘The Writings on the Wall’ to ‘Beyonce’. It just bothers me that children can sing her songs word for word like I can. We all need to turn on that switch in our head and realize that this is utterly unacceptable. If we are going to allow our children to have role models, let’s give them real role models.
So from this point on, I challenge mothers of beautiful Black children to take a stand against this one- sided society. I challenge you to open your eyes. I challenge you to not find a role model but BE the role model. No one loves your child or wants the best for them like you do. Tell them they can and will be the best, and don’t ever let them forget it. Help our young girls of color to be proud of their heritage and who and what they look like.
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