Should There Be an 'Afro' Barbie Doll?

by SodaHead Living Posted 2011/12/14 17:00:00

Related Topics: Barbie, Doll, Afro, Hair, Fashion, God, Careers, Columbus, Green, Career, Online, Mattel, Dolls, Website

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	Yes, great idea	822 votes	82%
	No	178 votes	18%

Most little girls love Barbie dolls. But sometimes, they don't resemble her at all. Especially when it comes to hair. Candace McBride found an online tutorial that uses pipe cleaners and boiling water to give Barbie natural-looking curls, the Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Ga., reports. And now, she and the rest of her natural hair group plan to give about 40 Barbies "makeovers" and hand them out to curly haired girls this Christmas.

Though Barbie comes in 50 different nationalities, most of the dolls, even the African-American ones, have straight hair, the Ledger-Enquirer reports. "When you look for dolls, they all have straight hair," McBride told the Ledger-Enquirer, adding that many of the dolls also have blue or green eyes. "It’s tricky even to find ones with brown eyes."

Jennifer Henderson, a member of the natural hair group and mother of a 2-year-old girl, is also involved in the project. "We wanted to show the girls that basically, it’s OK the way God made you," she told the Ledger-Enquirer.

According to the Barbie website, the doll has had more than 108 careers and worn approximately 1 billion fashions since 1959. So why hasn't she had a greater variety of hairstyles? We think McBride's idea is totally genius. Only question is, why hasn't Mattel thought of it yet?

+31

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lilo 2011/12/14 23:36:33

Yes, great idea

+22
dreads are cool too!

and braids!!!

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More polls by SodaHead Living

Popanator to INDIGO 2011/12/22 03:12:38
DoseOf Reality 2011/12/17 16:27:33

Yes, great idea

Why not?

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Charlie 2011/12/17 02:31:49

Yes, great idea

for little girls out there who don't have to feel insecure or discontent with their afro.......if barbie can be black...why not give her an afro? Also, it proves you don't need straight hair to be beautiful( I wish that was there in my childhood)

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Jaxxi 2011/12/17 01:10:20 (edited)

No

+1
Not everyone looks the same, and black people do not have afros anymore- they all get weaves and make their hair straight now. When was the last time you saw a black woman with an afro? Seriously....

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Ty ~ PHAET to Jaxxi 2011/12/17 03:46:50 (edited)

+4
I've seen many black women with afros.

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cfb1981 to Jaxxi 2011/12/17 06:08:42 (edited)

+6
Jaxxi, I wear my hair natural and so do many black women. I see afros, dreads, twists, braids, etc ALL the time and not just in predominately black communities. I don't know where you go, but the last time I've seen an afro was today.

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Jaxxi to cfb1981 2011/12/19 07:04:44

that is a lovely hairdo, but it's not an afro.

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cfb1981 to Jaxxi 2012/09/01 22:34:22

Jaxxi, It is an Afro. Blacks have all types of hair textures. What you are referring to as an Afro is in terms a certain hair texture which cannot be achieved by my hair texture, but this is an AFRO pulled back to one side and a flower is used to accent it. Not all Afros look the same, but just because it's not a tightly coiled one doesn't mean it isn't one.

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BUD LITE to cfb1981 2011/12/19 07:06:03

Good for you ! Glad to see you're not fake like most.

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INDIGO to Jaxxi 2011/12/20 20:51:19

BLONDE ON BLACK IS LACK OF SELF-AWARENESS AND ITS IDOLATRY AND BOTH OF THESE WOMEN LOOK STUPID! AND THEY ARE WANNA BE WHITE GIRLS! I DESPISE THIS LOOK ON BLACK WOMEN...IT SHOULDS THEIR LACK OF BLACK SELF LOVE!

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petitemort to INDIGO 2011/12/24 10:13:17

Indigo: You missed blondie's goal/intention. She uses that look to attract men who like that look. Pretty sure they don't confuse her for white. We don't question your taste in men( which we doubt is your preference) so why judge hers, eh?

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*Mahoga... to INDIGO 2011/12/27 04:33:45 (edited)

Actually there are black people with natural blonde hair, and they aren't mixed.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?...

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michaillab to Jaxxi 2012/03/19 02:09:38

+3
have you ever thought that maybe the reason why black women do that is because their self-esteem has been lowered due to racism in the past? Or that there are so few black people and so many white people, that their natural hair would make them stand out and look strange? you are probably not a black woman, so you probably don't understand what goes on in a black woman's mind. Plus, the doll is supposed to represent that a black woman's natural curly, coarse hair is okay, not to represent all black women in modern days

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Kenya E to Jaxxi 2012/12/15 15:28:39

+3
Jaxxi,

You're and idiot. Please pull yourself from under your rock...

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viola 2011/12/16 23:04:24

Yes, great idea

Barbie used to have a lot of looks as well as a lot of friends. Midge, Stacy, Kiera and a little sister named Skipper. I wouldn't be surprised if this hadn't been done before. Also, as far as little black girls wishing they were white with blond hair and blue eyes, even little white girls with green eyes and dark hair want to be a blue eyed blond. I did. It's how children are, they are attracted to pretty flowery colors, like yellow and blue rather then more common greens, browns and blacks or even red, even if it is the color of eyes and hair. It takes maturity to see beauty in realistic terms rather then fantasy terms.

"When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became an adult I put away childish things. I Cor. xiii. 11.

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Lessie 2011/12/16 21:28:58

Yes, great idea

And great if it feels natural, for those who are unfamiliar with the touch. About time.

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Get Bashed 2011/12/16 21:20:25

Yes, great idea

Yes, great Idea.....Every child should have a toy they can relate to! They can't all be the same.

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skull+crossbones 2011/12/16 20:39:45

Yes, great idea

Yes. My friend's little sis wanted to be like Barbie, and she wanted to be white. She got white spray paint and sprayed her arms white. How sad is that?!? Not only SHOULD there be an afro Barbie, there NEEDS to be. I bet there are other little girls all over the globe like my friend's little sister.

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Lyndzz 2011/12/16 20:24:13

Yes, great idea

I dont see whats wrong with it! I think it will make every little girl with curly hair feel beautiful, too! Straight hair can get a bit boring sometimes if you've had your hair like that for over 50 years!

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akhippie 2011/12/16 19:54:40

Yes, great idea

Why not, but they should stop before they start strapping bomb vests to GI Joes, just for the sake of inclusion, just my opinion.

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Tree-Hugger 2011/12/16 18:13:50

Yes, great idea

+4
They should make a bald one too. You know,for cancer.

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pj 2011/12/16 18:04:31

No

+1
it doesnt look rite

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cfb1981 to pj 2011/12/17 06:10:23

+7
What doesn't look right? Our natural hair? or the representation of it? or both?

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concerned dude 2011/12/16 17:58:11

Yes, great idea

sure
whatever.
there should be a goatee Ken

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akhippie to concern... 2011/12/16 19:58:06

How about a bomb vest for GI Joe? You know so no one feels left out.

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concern... to akhippie 2011/12/16 20:12:30

nice.

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Mark Mercer 2011/12/16 17:43:14

Yes, great idea

+1
Oh yes, unrealistic ideals should also be shoved at all children. Let's propagate the mind set that only two races exist. And..."property, over personality"....a week without a "hot date"

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mae 2011/12/16 17:42:16 (edited)

Yes, great idea

+1
This Barbie looks great! Nice idea.

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Mrs.Rupert Grint 2011/12/16 17:36:47

Yes, great idea

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!! WHY HAVEN'T THEY COME OUT WITH THIS YET??????????????

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Bulbasaurus Rex. 2011/12/16 17:31:40

Yes, great idea

That's just an amazing idea :)

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byz 2011/12/16 17:08:32

Yes, great idea

If you don't agree, then this is your doll

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pjwinkler65 2011/12/16 16:37:23

Yes, great idea

+1
Why not, it is coming back in style and it was a popular style among African Americans. Why should Barbie be only identifiable to white bread blondes?

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lstl5 2011/12/16 16:18:17

Yes, great idea

Nuff said.

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john 2011/12/16 16:00:04

No

+3
barbies are white and pink,so why change anything ...there are plenty of coloured dolls around...leave our barbies alone...

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Ty ~ PHAET to john 2011/12/16 23:15:56

+3
Christie was a black Barbie doll. Barbie has more or less become the name of the franchise, not just the doll itself.

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john to Ty ~ PHAET 2011/12/16 23:24:28

+1
when barbies were first brought out, they were white and pink, proberly before you were born and if they want a black one then call it a different name...we had gollywogs as a child but they stopped that..they were dolls so why change the name.....

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Ty ~ PHAET to john 2011/12/16 23:27:58 (edited)

+2
I doubt the afro Barbie would actually be named Barbie. Not even the brunette Barbie is named Barbie. I can actually understand why they stopped producing golliwogs, though...

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john to Ty ~ PHAET 2011/12/16 23:31:52

+1
why.... it was a name and we accepted it as such and we were not racist and never considered it racist...

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strawberry to john 2011/12/17 01:17:12

+1
I agree with you. It angered me when a black group along with Bill Cosby took rights away from "Little Rascals" original "Our Gang Comedy" claiming the black boy Stymie was portrayed in a racist way. I watched "Little Rascals" as a child and to me they were all hilariously funny. Look how Buckwheat was portrayed.? History is history leave it alone. It seems to be the American black race ashamed of their own heritage.

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john to strawberry 2011/12/17 08:47:11

+1
totally agree with you..we used to buy a cake called black forest gataux and there were complaint and we are no longer allowed to use black....and that was the colour...

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