Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Hood Chick Barbie?

Okay God, I know we are not supposed to judge, but that's with other people right?  Because this  black barbie that I happened to stumble across on the Internet needs a thorough inspection. 


 
Is this supposed to be the portrayal of a black woman? 
 
Maybe it is.  When you turn on the tv, does this not look like some of the black celebrities like Beyonce, Rihanna, or Nicki Manaj?  These celebs seem to have more followers than Jesus.  So someone decided to create that "representation" of the black woman likely hoping that all their fans would possibly flock to it and they would make money.
 
This doll has blond hair, gold chains (bling-bling), cleavage overload (making me self-conscious), and are those Louis Vuitton bags?  Would you give that to a child?  By not giving it to a child, does it teach them to discriminate and judge others who do look this way?  Does it fashionably represent creativity and urban culture or does it defame and sexualize women? 
 
But then look at barbies in general.  They are stick thin, they wear too short clothes and they're all flawless.  But it really doesn't matter what they wear, does it?  I've never seen a doll in a kid's room that wasn't stripped of it's clothes and thrown around the room.  I still don't understand that.  "Caitlyn, Barbie needs on clothes!" 
 
I wonder if my daughter would want a doll like this.  We could always stick it in a business suit.  My first impression of this doll was "What in the World?!?! That hoodrat lookiing, love and hip hop looking, black doll is supposed to be a role model for my child.....No Way in...
 
And then I had to change my reaction.  This doll does represent some people and somebody identifies with it.  Judging the doll by the outside might lead a child to not get to know people on the inside.  How we react is also a learning/teaching experience.  I probably still wouldn't buy the doll if it ever hit stores but I'd watch my reaction to it so my kids won't react to the real life "barbies" that look this way.
 
I wonder if this would be "coming to a store near you."  Probably not, but I have seen a toned down, different version in a particular store.
 
What do you think of this doll?




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