
Black Barbie
When I think of Barbie, I imagine a small white doll with blue eyes and blonde hair. To me, she’s all pink–pink lips, pink dresses everything. So for this next piece, expect nothing less than an in depth discussion about the world’s most famous doll Barbie. Since her debut in 1959, she has been the quintessential doll for little girls worldwide for generations. However, the concept of a Black Barbie had never crossed anyone’s mind until Mattel employee and friend of creators Ruth and Evan Handler Beulah Mae Mitchell urged them to make a version that reflected her community and herself.
As one of the first Black employees at the company behind the toy line that made her so many childhood memories, Mitchell’s unique perspective sparked a film that examines marketing strategy at its core. “Black Barbie” shows how representation of black women through struggle would ensure our voices are heard or seen in toy stores and everywhere else.
Directed and written by Mitchell’s niece Lagueria Davis and broken down into three parts, in “Black Barbie: A Documentary,” skin color is just scratching the surface. Before mid-20th century, black dolls were only calico dolls or Aunt Jemima dolls or jar dolls or topsy turvy dolls none of which looked anything like flattering (the norm was exaggerated features based on dehumanizing racist tropes). The fact that white became synonymous with girls was problematic because it made some little black girls due to their skin color and hair texture feel like they weren’t beautiful or accepted by society at large. “ there is real damage done when you force children of color to play with white dolls,” Shonda Rhimes said.
Everything changed when Mattel partnered with Lou Smith and Operation Bootstrap to create Shindana, a toy company that would be the biggest manufacturer of black dolls until 1983. But it wasn’t until Kitty Black Perkins answered an open ad from Mattel for a fashion designer that the real revolution happened. Looking like Black Barbie herself with long curly hair and a convertible sports car in tow, Perkins would go on to design the first black Barbie ever made inspired by none other than Diana Ross. Her groundbreaking designs didn’t stop there; Stacy McBride-Irby followed in her footsteps, creating the 30th-anniversary doll, including one for AKA (Alpha Kappa Alpha). So you see, when black dolls are made by black people, there’s so much more variety in how they can be imagined and brought to life.
The marketing campaign for Black Barbie was a flop, but that didn’t stop them from making dolls inspired by real life female role models like Misty Copeland and Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad. Barbie movies, vlogs, and her new animated series with a brown skinned doll from Brooklyn prove that Barbie is not just about representation but also an agent of change she diversifies thinking one toy at a time.
“Black Barbie” is an intelligent, nimble lesson on a world historically not built for us. Ultimately, you walk away proud that some black women (and their activism) shifted the narrative, leaving behind a lineage of dolls with lush lips, wider hips and shades as multi hued as the browns and blacks that color our beautiful culture. “Black Barbie: A Documentary” is just as graceful and enlightening as the doll it was inspired by.
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