interesting

[flea]

Casper got her first Barbie yesterday (choosing that over Hannah Montana jibbetz for her knock-off crocs), courtesy of Grandma. She chose a black Barbie. Now, the Barbie is Halle Berry black, not Alek Wek black - I can't tell if she's got the same face mold as white Barbie (not having any other Barbie to compare) but her features are pretty caucasoid, her skin is coppery, and she has waist-length straight hair. (Also, she's got ACTUAL FEET, and much less boobage than I remember on the Barbies of my childhood, which I gather are brand-wide changes.)

Casper also got to choose her own doll in January or so, when mr. flea accidentally broke one of her little dolls, and she picked a new Polly Pocket. Interestingly, she also chose the black Polly Pocket.

I bought myself a black Sasha doll when I was 11 or 12, but I think I was already enough aware of race at that time to be all White Liberal Girl about buying myself a black doll. Casper's too young for that, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, I'm fascinated that twice in a row now she's chosen the black doll.

What about you? Multi-ethnic doll collection?

Comments

[fatoudust.livejournal.com]

I did have multi-ethnic dolls, although I remember I would sometimes play with the white dolls by preference. They were prettier. My japanese doll had straight coarse hair that got really tangly and difficult to work with. Which, okay, yay for racial accuracy, but nsm for me being able to play with the doll. Plus my hair was fine, so it didn't register with me as a positive.

However, it was an important doll for me, and was always my favorite. And it is the only doll that I still have today from that era.

What definitely was a positive was that doll's wardrobe. While it came with a cute little dress, it was the beneficiary of my grandmother's superb needlework skills and boasted several outfits including a completely gorgeous kimono, which is what she wears now.