Mattel Introduces Black Barbies

AP via its surrogate, CBS ^ | Oct 08, 2009 | AP

[the invisib1e hand]

(AP) Mattel has launched a new line of black Barbie dolls with fuller lips, a wider nose and more pronounced cheek bones - a far cry from Christie, Barbie's black friend who debuted in the 1960s and was essentially a white doll painted brown.

etc.

[the invisib1e hand]

So many ways to go with this. First thoughts: this isn't about racial equality, it's about racial obsession, which describes what "post racial America" is shaping up to be like.

Should they have had a black barbie 50 years ago? Probably, but they probably decided the market wasn't big enough to be worth it.

Finally, all this -- again -- obsession with racial features, i.e. "wider nose, fuller lips, more pronounced cheekbones" is just plain creepy and reminds me of that picture in Life Magazine of the Nazi using a micrometer to measure the width of a German's nose.

Creepy.

[AliVeritas]

Bingo.

Or the aboriginal head measuring.

[freedumb2003]

I assume they will model her butt on Beyonce’s or Serena’s?

[Vaduz]

Obama cult + white guilt + anti america = Racial obsession

[4rcane]

i hope they do asian, indian, arab barbies as well, or they’re racist

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Should she be “Barbie” or “Shanice” or such?

Was Michelle the model? I believe that a German prostitute was the model for Barbie. There must be an analogy somewhere.

[the invisib1e hand]

Yeah. Kinda makes me wonder, has anyone measured Barack Obama’s nose to determine if he’s really black?

[MrB]

Michelle’s...

[humblegunner]

i hope they do asian, indian, arab barbies as well, or they’re racist

I hope they use capitalization and punctuation in the marketing.

Otherwise they are ignorant and illiterate.

[headstamp 2]

How about a Ken Obama doll.

[WakeUpAndVote]

[xsmommy]

and i am fairly certain they wear their baseball caps backwards, as well.

[Disambiguator]

Just think of the naming possibilities.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Given the image projected by Barbie, an unmarried, unemployed “Party Girl” who lives in a mansion she clearly can’t afford and drives a mercedes, will the new doll be called HObie?

[freedumb2003]

>>Should she be “Barbie” or “Shanice” or such?<<

Kanisha Laquana. (That is actually a term used in the ‘hood)

[Gay State Conservative]

I have no problem with this.I think “Barbie”,in general,is kinda silly but it's very possible that the typical girl/woman would feel differently.Just as long as they don't turn Barbie into some ghetto whore it's OK with me.

[nina0113]

The’ve all got “white” hair. And the Holiday Barbie has been available in both black and white for years.

[Towed_Jumper]

This is keeping in line with the phenomenon I've discovered with TV commercials since BHO’s “election”...blacks make up 13% of the U.S. population but represented in about 98% of ALL TV commercials. It appears that now commercials have to have at least one black person in them.

[nina0113]

I hope they use capitalization and punctuation in the marketing.

Electrons cost money, you know - can't be wasting them. When I was a kid, we had to push our electrons barefoot through the copper by HAND, and it was uphill both ways.

[xsmommy]

This doesn’t strike me as new at all. My soon to be 21 yo had a black barbie named Nichelle when she was little among other black dolls. The toystore near our house was going out of business and had deep discounts as they were selling out and while mostly black dolls were left at the end, my kids didn’t care at all and had an assortment of black cabbage patch kids, barbies etc. A doll is a doll to a kid!