A few weeks ago I had a discussion with a good friend regarding the fact that she had seen a white woman in a very affluent part of Atlanta with her two girls who each happened to be carrying along black baby dolls.
In the conversation we mentioned how refreshing that was and how it shouldn’t have seemed odd to us in this day and age but unfortunately it does.
I’m sure you have heard about the Black Doll vs. White Doll experiment. If you’re not familiar here is a clip on the project.
I never gave much thought to it, because I didn’t grow up dealing with these types of issues. My mother always told me although I was dark I was still beautiful and that ALL people are beautiful and not to let what others say about me, my hair, or my skin color bother me.
Fast forward to last week as I finished up getting a few things for the baby and found myself digging past many white dolls to find a black one while sucking my teeth when there were none to be found. I thought back to thoughts I’ve had in the past that black or white dolls don’t mold children’s attitudes about their heritage but being taught by their parents does. However, I am now in limbo about that. I can teach my children all I want that they are equal to others but if they don’t see that in action am I doing them an injustice? Now as I raise a little black girl, I am starting to think it does matter. I’m just not sure in what capacity, but at this moment I think it is important for Lil Mama to play with dolls that look like her. There will be a mix but the majority will be black.
What’s your take? If you are reading and are of another race, do you purchase black dolls for your children? Or does it even matter? Just curious on your thoughts.
