(ThyBlackMan.com) So…this picture was emailed to me, and supposedly this is supposed to be the “new” Barbie Doll, though at this moment, I don’t think that has been confirmed by Mattel. At any rate, the message attached to the email was that, I was the “perfect person” to declare and express my outrage at the depiction of Black Women that is negatively represented by this doll.
Sorry to disappoint you, but I am NOT outraged. A depiction is a “representation” and unfortunately this doll represents how some Black Women see themselves. I can name two public Black Women right off the top of my head; Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj. In fact, Nicki calls her fans Barbz and she calls herself the “Black Barbie Doll” and has taken several pictures wearing a blond weave and blue eyes.
“I’m a barbie girl /in a barbie world/ life is plastic /its fantastic /you can brush my hair/ undress me /everywhere imagination/ life is your creation com’on barbie lets go—lyrics from Nicki Minaj “Barbie Girl”
Nicki Minaj also has a huge fan base that is not only limited to young girls, but grown women as well. So we have grown women calling themselves Barbz, and are imitating a woman that wants to be known as a plastic mold, hence the fake hair, fake eyes and things of
that nature.
I can also walk out of my house, into any store, mall or bank or wherever I go and see a Black Woman almost dressed identical to the doll, so why should I be outraged at what is a very accurate representation of some Black Women?
Whenever I write an article, the first and most consistent rebuttal of deflection is “well not all Black Women act like that“, and I keep telling you that is
irrelevant. There are ENOUGH Black Woman that don’t recognize their beauty of their skin, regardless of the tone, that don’t recognize the beauty of their hair, regardless of the texture, that don’t recognize the beauty, power and protection that comes with modesty, that don’t appreciate the beauty of their own eyes, so they get blue contacts, or contacts to make their eyes lighter, because we still are digesting the inferiority complex that has been fed to us, and we still suffer from self hatred, so the doll represents an accurate portrayal of the percentage of Black Women that still suffer from all of the above.
Do we not spend billions of dollars in the hair industry to buy every OTHER hair color? To buy every OTHER texture? Do we not see that our self hatred makes other people millionaires? Do we honestly wonder why our little girls hate themselves? When the majority of the women around them hate themselves? You turn on the TV, there is a Sister with blond hair, there are campaigns and ads where Beyonce has been made to look “lighter” than what she already is. How are our young girls going to learn self love, if those that are suppose to teach them are wallowing in self hate?
I was asked the question “who would allow their daughter to play with these dolls?” My answer was ; I’m guessing the same women who let their daughters be “baby nicki minaj“, the same women who think its cute when their three year old daughters do the “Beyonce dance“, the same women who have their daughters all over youtube in wigs and makeup singing nicki songs, hell the same women who LOOK exactly like this doll would be the ones that think this doll is cute, therefore allowing their daughters to play with it. However, the issue really isn’t the doll itself if they have an actual walking, talking, breathing, replica in their MOTHER. That’s more dangerous than any doll.
After I posted this on facebook, I received another email from the same person that sent me the picture, and she expressed her disappointment in my reaction, and said that I am “not the advocate for women” that she thought I was, and that she is very hurt that I am not appalled by this “ratchetness”. First of all, I am an advocate for TRUTH, and I am unable to deny the TRUTH that this doll represents in our community. Secondly, the word advocate is defined as:
A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.
I am definitely an advocate for women, in the sense that I have been VERY public regarding the necessary reformation of the Black Woman that is vital to the restructuring of the Black Family. If you are appalled at the “ratchetness” of the doll, then you in turn, have no choice but to be appalled with the “ratchet” women who go out of their way to look just like that doll.
So if this image upsets you…then instead of looking at the Maker of the doll…..maybe you should look at the MUSE.