I stumbled upon a very timely article about a new line of multicultural dolls — timely given that Dawn has recently written a post about the difficulty of finding appropriate ethnic dolls for her daughter. And also of the importance of doing so. Abebech has also written a recent post about that topic.
Lo and behold, K-Mart is going to have a new line of multicultural dolls soon:
Although black and Hispanic dolls have been around for decades, the newer incarnations try harder at authenticity, rather than simply tinting the hair and skin from “white” doll molds.
I say “Yahooski, K-Mart!!” Although I have a son who says, in his most disgusting tone, “Ewww, those are giiirrrlll toys!!” so although I won’t have the pressure to buy multicultural dolls, I do see the importance of having these toys available for girls of color. As a member of the majority class in the United States, I have seen “me” reflected back at myself my whole life. Girls and boys of color don’t have that privilege that we whites so easily take for granted.
To get an understanding of this, particularly if you’re white, definitely read White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh. I think it should be required reading of . . . well, everyone, in high school and perhaps a re-reading in college as well.
I’ll be interested to see what these multicultural dolls look like. In the meantime, I think it’s way cool that kids can get this Pose and Play Mix and Match Bride & Groom. That would have never happened when I was a little girl!
