Race and Dolls: An Article Sparks a Conversation on White Privilege

Early this week I noticed an article on CBC.ca about a mother who is making custom made “Barbie” dolls for her daughter that reflect her daughters own image better. Queen Cee Robinson from Hamilton,  Ontario, set out to create dolls that not only had a different sick tone than the average Barbie but also brought elements such as hair and clothing into the design. Queen Cee Robinson is African-Canadian, as is her daughter, and she found that all the images that her daughter was exposed to, in terms of toys, were of the dominant white culture. She also found that even if she could find a doll with “black” skin tone, the hair and clothes were not much different than the standard “white” dolls. After finishing the article, which I think you should read as well, I made the comment that I should try and get one of these for my niece for her birthday. While she has many toys, and plenty of dolls already, this might make a nice addition to the lot.

Queen Cee Robinson and 3 of her homemade “Barbies” (Taken from the CBC Article)

While at work, this week, I mentioned the article and my thoughts about getting a doll for my niece. It was the reaction of my one co-workers to this story that is the basis for this post, and hopefully an outlet were I can seek the opinion of others. Upon me describing the story and expressing how wonderful I thought it is that someone is making these dolls, even if Mattel isn’t, my co-worker, who was not part of the initial conversation, jumped in and asked “Why are you so excited? They are just dolls.” I explained that while yes they are dolls, they are also a representation of an image, an image of what is “normal”. Furthermore, if you do not see a doll that reflects your image then you may feel that your image is abnormal. I do not believe that young girls should be exclusively playing with dolls, and I also think that many of these dolls give an unrealistic body shape to young girls; however, I am excited because there are young African-Canadian, Asian-Canadian and Muslim-Canadian girls that can see an image similar to there own because of this woman’s work (albeit only on a small scale at this point). My co-worker deeply disagreed that the image of a doll can have an effect on the image and development of a young girl (or boy). I added that it is not just the dolls but the fact that most things are created with the dominate “white” image in mind; it is part of white privilege that we can look in magazines, televisions shows, advertisements, toys (even dolls), political leaders, etc. and see something that more or less reflects our own image. I asked, when looking at Canadian television, movies, advertisements, products or even our leaders (be it business or political) how many non-white faces do you see? “Enough” was the reply, there are non-whites in all of those roles, but there are fewer because they make a small portion of the population. I added that even though this is not true, I could debunk that statement by simply pointing to Canada’s First Nations, as they are underrepresented in all realms of media! I didn’t really receive a response to this statement, but the conversation had prompted my co-worker to pull up the CBC article and make another observation.

Race in the current Barbie image.

Photo Credit: Charles (dollstuff.net) via Compfight cc

In the article it references how Mattel had a line of dolls at one time called “So In Style“, which, while not available in Canada, were being discontinued in the US because of low sales. Adding that no business has an obligation to sell something for a “social good” and not turn a profit. The inference was that if these dolls were important then they should been purchased and because the market did not demand them they simply ceased to become an offering. This does make a lot of sense, a business should only produce what the consumers what to purchase; however, we do not know, from the article, how this line was marketed, to whom it was marketed and for how long the line ran (we would need further investigating for this). While no company is required to support a failing line, I also question the benchmark that they may have been measuring it against, in terms of success. If this line, targeted at African-Americans, was measured at the standard Barbie line, targeted at White-Americans, then the measure of success while always be skewed. Not only are there more White-Americans than there are African-Americans, the line was not established and developed, like the standard Barbie line, guaranteeing it will not measure up to its targets. I added that while I have no evidence of how Mattel measured their line or what internal strategies were taken, the point is not that a line failed in the US, but that it is not a standard image (regardless of manufacturer) on either side of the border. Not every “white” doll that hits store shelves is successful either and it cannot be assumed that the dolls were not purchased because people do not have an interest in non-white dolls. I also pointed out that the dolls did not include elements such as hair or dress that vary be ethnicity, culture and race, and primary differentiated on skin tone, unlike Queen Cee Robinson’s dolls. I made specific reference to the dolls that came with a hijab, which is an article of clothing many young Canadian women are wearing today, but by no means see it reflected in their toys. My co-worker, while very disagreeable on this subject, had remained calm until this point. My co-worker felt that the inclusion of the hijab on the dolls is “horrible” because it is a symbol of the oppression of women around the world. I could clearly see that I was angering my co-worker and I knew I needed to finish my break shortly, but I none-the-less felt I needed to address this point to some degree.

Another common image of a doll that is seen on store shelves.

Photo Credit: partymonstrrrr via Compfight cc

I stated that if you think that wearing a hijab is a sign of weakness or subordination of women then you are “mistaken”. I had no intention of beginning a large discussion about the use of the hijab in Canadian society but I added that the hijab is a symbol of modesty. Modesty and head coverings have been the part of numerous religions and cultures around the world, and I pointed to the fact that my co-workers own grandmother wears a scarf over her head when in public. There is, without a doubt, oppression of women around the globe, but to link the hijab to that is a very narrow view. While getting ready to leave the staff room, I closed with one point a fellow teacher told me about her own choice to wear a hijab; that wearing a hijab is like wearing your beliefs on your head, she is proud to be Muslim and sees the hijab a piece of tradition and culture that she willingly partakes in as part of her faith.

A woman wearing a Hijab next to a sports car.

Photo Credit: Ed Callow [ torquespeak ] via Compfight cc

My co-worker and I ended the conversation shortly there after, but it left me thinking not only about the dolls and how I want to purchase one for my niece, but also how this will translate into a classroom. While we won’t be playing with too many dolls in a high school business classroom, there will be, without a doubt, images that are projected and portrayed that do display a notion of “normal” however intentional or unintentional. If there are videos, texts, resources, advertisements, speakers, etc. that I chose to bring into my classroom, I need to be aware that these come with an image as well. Regardless of the racial makeup of the classroom, I think it will be deeply beneficial to bring in resources of all races and ethnicities. It may be even more critical to point out that there non-whites that are successful in business, because this is not the common image projected. Inviting Aboriginal entrepreneurs in to speak about their ventures, will benefit all students both from a business standpoint and from a diversity standpoint. This thought certainly is not new but after my conversation with my coworker, I wonder how difficult it might be to illustrate different races in the classroom, given that the students will already come with years of previous racial baggage. I truly believe that regardless of what subject area you teach (this should not be limited to the Social Studies classroom), every teacher should work towards a building a better understanding of diversity and work to combat the notion of white privilege (by at least creating some level of awareness). Having said this I do expect that there will be some degree of resistance from some students. My best thought on this is that I need to approach these topics with ease and not overwhelm the students, while working with my fellow teachers to ensure that the students receive the same information across all subjects on this topic. While my co-worker was very  resistant to any notion of ethnic or racial diversity in the dolls, the level of resistance in the conversation my also been due to the fact that I immediately jumped into my points on race and white privilege; there was no build up, which may have caused my co-worker to put up a “wall” against my comments. Knowing this I feel that it is deeply important to not try and cover these topics in leaps, but instead in small steps.

This images illustrates how many of the business resources are portrayed, with the white male in focus.

Photo Credit: The_Warfield via Compfight cc

I am now asking you, any one that happens to be reading this, first what you think about the dolls (would you ever purchase one for your own child?) and second how would you approach the topics of race, ethnic diversity and white privilege in your classroom? Thank you.