Let us follow the lead set by those who have petitioned for more Black dolls and who have received them in the form of the Shani dolls and friends (early 1990′s) and now the So in Style dolls (late 2000′s). It would be nice to have similar doll lines with Asian* friends! Our little Caucasian and African American (we still need more Black dolls as well) dolls are missing their little Asian buddies.
We are not interested in over-priced exotic premium dolls in “exotic dress”, we want regular affordable dolls wearing jeans and t-shirts and whatever the style is currently out on the streets. We want dolls that we can give to our little children of color to show them that they are being represented (even if they choose to throw the dolls around or tear them apart). And to other children so that they can learn that everyone is normal rather than thinking some are “exotic” or “foreign”.
Please add your name (any name is fine, real or online pseudonym – what matters are the individual inputs) and geographical location as a comment below (first time commenters will need to be moderated, this only happens once) and let’s get our voices heard!
*by Asian, I am including East Asian, Eurasians from the North-West of Asia, South Asian, South East Asians, the Middle East since they are also part of the Asian continent and by extension, Native Americans and Hispanics/South Americans, whose ancestors migrated from Asia and have in the modern day intermarried with European and African arrivals in the Americas making them mostly Eurasian and Afroasian in a way… and perhaps even Polynesian people too! Basically… there’s a lot of Asians around but they seem to be all invisible and hidden away? Please come out and say hi!
As a First Nations person in Canada (Native American Indian in the US and elsewhere), I would love to also see more ethnic representation from Mattel, particularly representing the indigenous peoples of the Americas! And, I agree, not just in traditional dress but in the playlines… maybe a native friend of Barbie???
I do, however, am taken aback of the post’s author re: “making them mostly Eurasian and Afroasian in a way”. Native peoples in North America still exist and thrive and by no means are Eurasian and/or Afroasian! Meet a native person and ask them if they are asian. Following the same ideology you could say all asians are africans… as we all are eventually.
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Therese Reply:
April 21st, 2011 at 11:08 am
Yes! And I still totally stand by what I’d said! As you probably already know, the American continents were most likely the last continents (Antarctica not counted) to be populated by humans in prehistory. New Zealand and the Polynesian Islands are probably the last places to be found by humans but those are not considered continents. Native Americans do appear to be more similar to the Northern Central Asians rather than South, East and South East Asians. Of course, being separated from the Eurasian continents for tens of thousands of years do make the countless Native American groups distinctive ethnicities, I am not trying to downplay that.
I will happily (and partially out of sheer laziness) say that we are all Africans but that’s not going to solve the very real racial issues that exist today even if deep down every human being is exactly the same.
In Australia, our first/native peoples are called Indigenous Australians or Aborigines. You will find me referring to Native Americans as Indigenous Americans and Aboriginal Americans from time to time.
As for the mention of Afroasian – I am thinking more of the South Americans and their “mixed” peoples. My partner has this stupid saying that goes “I am like an onion, there are many layers to me” to which I’ve always responded “So you’re basically still 100% onion?”
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Here is an EXCELLENT source for Asian, Hispanic & AA dolls:
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com
type in: dolls
You may even request their free catalog by postal mail which is very nice.
These are from my own collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44888694@N04/5789660103/in/set-72157626867947444
Also, “Girl ‘n Grace” offers a BEAUTIFUL 18″ Asian Girl doll
http://www.girlsngrace.com
Again, these below are from my own collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44888694@N04/sets/72157624573267772
Hope this helps!
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