Here’s the Black doll that’s been shaking up the doll collector’s community (2024)

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What is the meaning of the Black doll? ›

Black Dolls Bring Joy, Challenge Racial Barriers

While the Saralee doll was originally created to provide Black children with beautiful toys that positively reflected them with dignity, pride and respect, children of other backgrounds also enjoyed the toy.

In 1968, Mattel created Christie. Christie had the same body as Barbie so that their clothes were interchangeable. But her face was a new design intended to highlight the facial features of a Black woman. Many consider Christie to be the first “Black Barbie.” Christie was part of a series of talking dolls.

Eight Barbies Made After Famous and Inspiring Black Women

Though they lived in the icon's plastic world, they were just a shadow of existence compared to Barbie. Black girls would have to wait until 1979 before the first official Black Barbie doll would hit the market.

During the first half of the twentieth century, the Golliwog doll was a favorite children's soft toy in Europe. Only the Teddy Bear exceeded the Golliwog in popularity. Small children slept with their black dolls. Many white Europeans still speak with nostalgic sentiment about their childhood gollies.

By offering a variety of black dolls, the initiative helps children of African descent see themselves positively reflected in their toys, fostering a sense of pride and self-worth.

Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts and her parents' names are given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin, in a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s.

However, the first official Black Barbie wasn't released until 1980. Malibu Ken, the first African-American Ken doll, came along in 1982.

Black Barbie's image allowed Black girls to imagine beyond their wildest dreams, embrace the power of being a girl, and find comfort in defining their femininity. Above all, it allowed them to escape society's destructive narrative of Black girlhood. At an early age, Black girls' childhood innocence is stripped away.

Wal-Mart said the different prices were the result of “inventory management,” but activists accused the chain of insensitivity for “devaluing the black doll.”

The doll was launched in 1963 as Barbie's bestie. She had freckles and red hair, and she wore less makeup than Barbie did. The first version of Midge was discontinued in 1967 and replaced with a doll named PJ, who looked more like Barbie.

What is the first killer doll? ›

The Twilight Zone introduced Talky Tina, one of the first on-screen killer dolls, in the episode "Living Doll" (1963). This use of the killer doll was contrasted with the idea of a dysfunctional family, with the narrator describing the doll as the child's "guardian".

(1950s): Black female entrepreneur and educator Beatrice Wright Brewington, founded B Wright's Toy Company, creating “the first 'Negro' toy company to manufacture dolls and stuff toys. Beatrice realized the need for natural-looking dolls for children of color.

“The problem, I believe when we look at these discrepancies in pricing is that toy manufacturers do not produce Black dolls in proportion to the number of people in the human population,” she said, citing that Black dolls are less commonly made and often hand-crafted.

Dolls represent companionship, protection, and security to the children of the world. By studying the dolls of a culture, one can better understand the culture itself.

So the doll is also a symbol of self-sacrifice, and of Hà's love for her family and loyalty to them. Insofar as the doll is representative of her willingness to make personal sacrifice, it is also indicative of Hà's maturation.

Receiving a Doll in Gift for a Woman means to be bound to each other forever. There is no greater blessing a mother can give her daughter than to symbolically give her a Doll that represents her intuition.

The 'Play School' toys were Humpty (a plush version of the nursery rhyme character Humpty Dumpty), teddies Big Ted and Little Ted, ragdoll Jemima, and plastic doll Hamble (replaced by Poppy in the mid-1980s). Poppy, a black doll, was introduced to reflect changing attitudes in society.