I was shopping at Target yesterday, killing time while babygirl was at a birthday party and picking up a few things we needed at home, like a door mat for Baldwin to wipe his muddy paws when he comes in the house (By the way, Baldwin is fast becoming the best part of the Meltingpot tribe). I wasn’t in a hurry so I started wandering the aisles pretty aimlessly and found myself in the toy department. And let me tell you dear readers, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
A BEVY OF BLACK BABY DOLLS!
Is this the cutest face and hair you’ve ever seen on a doll? I don’t believe you if you say no.It was the hair that caught my eye, dear readers. I saw this cloud of curly hair and couldn’t resist turning my cart down the doll aisle to investigate. Have you ever seen anything so adorable, I mean in doll form? I had to literally slap my own hand as I tried to grab her off the shelf and put her in my cart. My daughter already has too many dolls that she doesn’t play with, so if I were to buy this doll, it would literally have been for me. And I don’t need any more dolls, because I have Baldwin (See above.).
Baby Alive is getting super creative with the hairstyles!But just as I talked myself out of buying that Afro-haired beauty, I noticed a Baby Alive behind me with, wait for it, cornrows! First of all, there was more than one Black Baby Alive and with different skin colors and different hair textures. I was like, somebody at Baby Alive headquarters understands the variations of Black identity. I was truly impressed.
And this little girl is going horse-back riding. Because Black girls ride horses.Then, just when I thought I couldn’t get any more hyped about the increased diversity of Blackness in the world of dolls, I see one more amazing offering. She’s got natural hair and she’s dressed to go horse back riding. Let that sink in, people. This doll gets an A+ for a hairstyle that’s on trend and then she gets an A+ for providing an image of a Black girl participating in an activity that many people don’t associate with the Black experience even though Black people have been riding horses since forever I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, dear readers, that Black people ride horses for sport, pleasure and every other reason people ride horses. But it’s so rare that Black people are thought of in that context, it just made my heart sing to see this doll.
While I think Mulan is a pretty doll, it’s pretty sad that she’s the only Asian doll on the shelf.So, there I was on cloud nine at Target, thoroughly impressed by the breadth of diversity in the doll offerings. There really seemed to be a noticeable improvement from even just five years ago, when I started seriously looking at dolls again when babygirl was almost two. To test my theory though, I decided to look for Asian dolls or dolls that looked obviously mixed race, or something other than Black or white. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much. The only “Asian” doll I could find was in the Barbie aisle and that was Mulan. Here’s the Disney princess collection, but Mulan ain’t in the box.She was labeled as a Disney princess, and yet in the big-box collection containing all of the Disney princesses, Mulan wasn’t featured. She didn’t make the cut.
REPRESENTATION MATTERS
I will say it until the cows come home, representation matters when it comes to the dolls and toys we give to our children. It kills me every time I see a child of color clutching a white baby doll with blonde hair and blue eyes. I want to yell at her parents and say, ‘get that child a stuffed animal if you can’t find a doll that looks like her.’ If you want your child to have a positive sense of self, don’t give her a doll that looks like her oppressor. Admittedly, I love a whole lot of white people, but I don’t love white supremacy and what it does to our children and their developing sense of identity. I’m sure there are Asian or Mixed-Race dolls in speciality stores and maybe even available through online outlets, but when you’re cruising through Target or any other box store with toys and your kid wants a new doll, they should be able to see themselves on the shelves. Am I right?
We have to do better, America. And by America I mean doll manufacturers and the stores like Target who sell dolls. Mattel seems to be getting on the bandwagon with their new collection of “role model dolls,” but I know they can do even more. Likewise, consumers need to demand more. If we want to see more diversity in our dolls, we need to make our voices heard.
In the meantime, I might just go back and purchase that adorable Afro’d beauty, because she is just too cute.
Where do you buy toys for your kids that celebrates their ethnic identity, dear readers? Share your secrets in the comments so others can benefit.
