The first black Barbie doll was also introduced in 1980 along with the a Hispanic doll and an Oriental [sic] doll that was released the next year. (kattisdolls.net) Mattel was criticized for using the same body and face molds that they had used for the blonde Barbie to make the black Barbie doll. The Daily Mail, a magazine published in the UK reported that a new line of Barbie dolls (So In Style) had been been designed by Stacey MacBride-Irby that was not just a painted version of the white doll. Some folks believe they still do not look like black people. Chris Rock, a comedian, bemoans the fact that the dolls all have long hair rather than a range of styles that includes hair that is unstraightened and short. (www.dailymail.co.uk)
It is the early morning of 07/01/10 and I have been going back and forth from the Barbie.com website (including Barbie Girls), this post and some other websites for about an hour. Attempting to do two blog entries in one night is not advisable. I clicked on the dolls of the world collection on Barbie.com because that was the only evidence of non-white people that I had seen. I don't think they were made for play, but to be gazed at like fetishistic objects. I went to the Barbie Girls world and went back to the location where I created my avatar. Yes, I could change the shade of my skin, but I could not change my facial features. At first glance, it looks like there are seven choices for skin color. Upon close examination, I determined that there were actually only four choices. Three of the selections were the same shade of white that were paler than my fair skin. One choice was a little pinker. Another choice was beige. The final two selections were the same choice of brown. Most of the hair styles were straight and long. There were a couple curls thrown in for accent, but nothing that could be really called curly. I was pretty disgusted after examining the choices for my look more closely. I did get a friend request--now I have five Barbie Girl friends (and I don't know any of them). When I went to send a message, I realized that my choices were pretty sparse since they are all predetermined. I don't know if any of them are celebrating birthdays and Christmas is almost six months away. The other selections were just about as weak so I decided to put down my fancy phone with the beautiful skin (that looks much prettier than my real phone) and continue writing this post. My session timed out and now it says I am already logged in. Blargh.
Here is some of the messages that I received about race from visiting Barbie.com and Barbie Girls:
- There was a dearth of images of people of color on Barbie.com. The only exception was a group of exotic dolls to be exhibited in a museum. It seems like white people are the only people who really matter. Even the pictures of real people were white.
- Today's look is straight hair. You do not want to have curly and/or short hair.
- Girls must have monolithic facial features regardless of race.
- There is a limited range of skin shades.
Here is my question for the class:
What kinds of messages do girls learn about beauty and race from playing with Barbie dolls and interacting in Barbie Girls? What do you think Mattel should do (if anything) to counteract those messages?
Maggy,
ReplyDeleteI believe that when a girl goes to play with Barbie, at first glance it seems like a fun, mindless activity. She can play house, dress up and drive around in a Corvette! What more would a girl want? But what the girls do not realize is that they are being shown society’s ideologies about what a woman should look like and dress like. Girls are learning that to be pretty and wanted, they must be fabulous looking with blonde hair, blue eyes, a thin waist, large chest and long legs. She must be white and wear “girly” clothes such as dresses, heels, and of course the color pink. At such a young age, the impressionable girls do not realize that they have been sucked into this zone and will, probably for the rest of their life, conform to what society wants her to be or in other words, Barbie. Barbie Girls is a perfect example that takes ideologies to the next level. We now not only have these inanimate objects, but we have an interactive, “real world” experience to show the domination of specific groups in society. As you said, choices to differentiate facial features were limited when choosing your doll, and obviously different races have different characteristics. But asking what Mattel can do to change these images and messages is a difficult question. I could easily say they should make Barbie thicker, shorter, have frizzy hair, acne and braces, but in reality what young girl wants to play with that Barbie? Children have already learned what is “pretty” and what is not. They know that if they purchase the Barbie with fat girl jeans and gym shoes, they will have the ugly one. Realistically, there is no way for Mattel to make a profit by showing politically correct, accurate, proportional Barbies. They can make a doll of every single race, being sure not to leave any out or someone is sure to have an uproar, but people would still not be happy. They would find something to be unhappy about, just as you said about using the same facial features for African American Barbie as they did for White. I agree that it is appalling to see 5 shades of white and 2 of black when making a choice for skin tone. It is ridiculous to have the most popular doll be gorgeous, tall, and unrealistically out of proportion. But that is what society wants, and as we have discussed, people and the media lean on each other and drive equal forces when it comes to what we see in society.
I believe that Mattel encourages existing stereotypes about women. Like you said they make their dolls tall, beautiful, and thin which only a very small part of the population are. They make women strive to look like this without regard to what they will do to accomplish it such as plastic surgery or an eating disorder. It also makes me wonder if Mattel is supporting an ideology that mostly caucasions will buy thier product by mainly appealing to the white buyer by offering them more options of skin toned and appearance. Seems unfair to me.I think Mattel should offer more styles for women because everyone expresses themselves differently and there is not one certain way people should look or dress . Thats what makes variety so important Being an individual is appealing to me not just dressing up like a cookie cutter typical person.
ReplyDeleteUm, this picture is amazing. That's all I have for right now. Thanks>
ReplyDelete