Barbie forgiven: Alpha Kappa Alpha doll bridges gap

“600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

My hate-affair with Barbie is over.

Ever since my black-sheep Uncle Juan left for the dusty small-town of Harvard, Illinois and came back with a tall, blond, small-town cowgirl who thought a tall, blond Barbie would be an appropriate Christmas gift for her short Ecuadorian boyfriend’s tomboy niece, Barbie and I have had…issues.

Thank goodness my parents never had me thrown into extensive psychotherapy for having ripped her shimmery, tasseled white cowgirl outfit off, chopped her hair, dismembered and tossed her in the garbage. Not only was I insulted that my favorite uncle had left for some far away land, but to return with a Barbie – a Barbie! – impressed on my 8-year-old self that he’d forgotten what his family was.

Adding insult to injury, the towering, anorexic, bright-white-skinned monument to everything I wasn’t seemed a mockery to this short, chubby, dark-skinned girl. Most people don’t get this…"it’s just a doll," they say. Well, dolls are powerful reflections of a society’s values.

The impact of research about "just a doll" in the Brown v. Board of Education court case was cited during its’ litigation. The Troubled Legacy of Brown vs. Board, by James T. Patterson has a whole analysis but here’s just a tidbit: "During the litigation, Kenneth Clark testified about the Clarks’ findings that black school children in segregated schools, asked to choose between white and black dolls, liked the white dolls better and chose them rather than the black dolls. (Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), at 494-495)."

That is the impact of "just dolls."

It took decades for the plastic Persephone to finally give up her grip on my self-esteem. After countless multi-ethnic friends, it seemed Mattel was at least trying. But when the urban-glam, multi-ethnic Bratz came on the scene with their hip clothes and baby bling –

finally cementing that a doll didn’t have to be vanilla-colored or toothpick-esque to over-sexualize girls’ self-images – becoming a runaway multi-million dollar success, I knew Barbie’s day in the sun was over.

In her 49 years, Barbie has come a long way, baby. Since 1959, not only did the "Colored Francie" – sometimes described as the first African American Barbie doll – make her debut in 1967, but she was even replaced by "Christie" in 1968, who actually looked remotely like a black person. "Black Barbie" and "Hispanic Barbie" were launched in 1980, according to Wikipedia.

Her latest incarnation, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Barbie is a tribute to the pink and green loveliness of the ladies of the nation’s first-ever Black sorority, which was started in 1908 and is presently headquartered in Chicago. That was it.

I’d never heard of Alpha Kappa Alpha until I roomed with a sister my freshman year of college. I’d also never been surrounded by so many sequins and so much face powder and hairspray until then, either – talk about your glamour girls! Now Barbie has embraced this symbol of elite, educated, beautiful, African-American womanhood. Wow.

So now, twenty-five years after cowgirl Barbie and her white-tasseled horse rode into my life, I think it’s time for me to back off of Barbie. After all, Mattel Inc. has been making Barbies longer than I’ve been alive, and in stark contrast to when I was little, you can go into any store and see nearly every type of person – dark, light, wheel-chair bound – reflected as a Barbie.

I’m sorry I pitched you and kept your horse, Barbie. Let’s ride off into the sunset together from today on.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact

eejaycee@600words.com

Comments

[twentypearls]

I certainly was surprised and very impressed with the thicker lips and broader nose of the AKA Centennial Barbie. Barbie has definitely come a long way, baby!

FYI, the photo in your post is of the "Ivy Rose" doll, which was designed by an AKA soror but is not the officially sanctioned AKA Centennial Barbie by Mattel.

[JO 753]

I wonder how the real Barbies of the world feel about Barbie.

Do they feel bad about being associated with all the negative perspectives? Do they feel good about the admiration, idolization and envy?

Probably both.

[Diana Palomar]

Esther - it's so good to hear from you and that you're doing what you do so well. Have your finger on the pulse of our community, what's important/interesting to us and conveyed with colorful and insightful language! You do your community proud. Please keep me in your loop and take good care!

[Cassy]

Your post reminds me of something I come across all too often in my classroom. I'm a bilingual education teacher, servicing beautiful brown children from several Latin American countries. I myself am of Bolivian descent. When asked to draw pictures of themselves, or when asked to draw "a beautiful woman" my students draw blondes! Some of my girls seem fixated on this image, and appear to consider the white staff of our school as beautiful, successful, rich. Its funny, sometimes, but sad as well when they don't see how lovely and unique they and their own mothers are.