Posted by Scott Clark @ 2:53 pm
African Dolls A Tiny Step in Overcoming Racial Stereotypes?
Filed under: Ideas, Strictly Personal
Nov
21
2007
21
2007
From an article on Final Call: 
Two dolls sit on the table, one Black, and One White. Every feature other than race is identical. The reassuring female voice asks the preschool-aged Black Girl a question “Can you show me the doll that looks bad?” She chose the Black doll over a White one that is identical in every respect except complexion. “And why does that look bad?” “Because she’s Black,” the little girl answers emphatically. “And why is this the nice doll?” the voice continues. “Because she’s White.” “And can you give me the doll that looks like you?” The little girl hesitates for a split second before handing over the Black doll that she has just designated as the uglier one.
New research has been released lately.
The Pew Research Center finds that 67% of black men and 74% of black women think rap music is a bad influence on black America. In fact, 59% of black men and 63% of black women think the whole hip-hop industry from fashion to attitude is detrimental to African-American progress in the US.
The proportion of young black people in the 18-29 age group who condemn the current media images of black people is 31 percent — higher than the 25 percent of blacks between the ages of 30-49, and the 17 percent of blacks in the 50-64 age group with similar disdain for black images in the media.
Similarly, when asked if the portrayal of black people on television and in the movies is harmful, it is young black people who agree most. More than half of 18- to 29-year-old African Americans agree that black people are presented in a negative way in popular media. 50% of black people ages 34-49 agree. White and Hispanic Americans agree, too. The Pew poll finds 64% of whites and 59% of Hispanics agree on the damaging impact of hip hop (including the one writing this blog post.
The full report from Pew is here.
While hardly as sophisticated as the testing that Malcolm Gladwell refers to in “Blink” the results are more than troubling. Many think that this comes from subtle cultural clues, such as microaggressions.
But one must be careful about these surveys, as well as experiments like the one with the little girl. Since they had to explain much during the survey, did they answer with their hearts? Did she?
Since the little girl anticipated being asked “why” did she automatically go for the answer that would be easiest to explain (in terms of forming an explanation, not in explaining society.)
This scrutiny of such results is frequently discussed by Gladwell. If you’ve not read “Blink” you simply must.
Gladwell on Oprah: “Those kinds of snap decisions that make up so much discrimination or … our thoughts and feelings, they’re a product of the worlds we live in,” Malcolm says. “And if you live in a world, as we do, where you … turn on the television and you see a TV show and the crack dealer’s always a black guy and the judge is always a white person … those images start to matter. They start to change the way the software in your head works. And that’s regardless of what race you are.
One of my clients has drawn my attention back to the split-second racial stereotype issues in recent weeks. The maker of the Eithidolls has an African Doll perfectly suited for African American Girls and other races too! Everything about it is in support of African micro-industry, fair trade, and authenticity. The story of Makeda, Queen of Sheba is inspiring and perfect bedtime material. It won’t change the world alone, but it’s nice to see a positive step. If my girls weren’t bursting at the seams with such toys I’d definitely have one here.
I worry that lots of people, especially white people, avoid the truly extraordinary products if they must explain their purchases to others. If you buy a black doll for a white girl, you must explain yourself to many in our culture. That should not be.
I came across these links related to this Topic. I hope you enjoy them.
Kwanzaa Kidz
Offers African centered childrens products and online games that educate and entertain.
A Caramel Kids eStore
A Caramel Kids eStore is one of the best multicultural e-Stores for African American,.
Dolls Like Me: Multicultural Dolls
Toy store featuring African American, Asian, Biracial, and Latino dolls and puppets.
Street Legends Ink
Hip-Hop Store specializing in High Quality Urban Comics and collectible toys.
Black Toys and Games
Find websites that showcase Black - African - Ethnic Toys and Games.
Queens of Africa Project
The Queens of Africa Project
Tyrone Geter
Dolls by one of the curators of Ponder Gallery at Benedict College, the fourth large HBCU (Historical Black Colleges and Universities) in the United States
The African Queen
Photos of an amazing African Queen Doll
Kwanzaa
A Great Page of Information
Kwanzaa - A Celebration of African Culture
All About The Holiday
Jasmyne Cannick
A Powerful, Well-Written Blog that digs into issues that are dividing us. Lots of thoughtful commentary. Allow some time to go through her posts.
eShopAfrica
African Fair Trade
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21
2007
Very cool! Thank you Scott for posting this.