Darling Dollz, Feb 4, 2022
[...]
This video is intended for adult, and young adult, collectors- NOT children
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a six part pancocojams series on Black Barbie dolls.
This post showcases three videos of Black representation in the Barbie doll line and presents excerpts from two online articles about Black Barbie dolls.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/09/lil-jackies-2008-black-barbie-song.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post focuses on the 2008 song "Black Barbie" by Lil Jackie.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/09/nicki-minajs-2018-song-black-barbies.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. This post focuses on the 2018 song "Black Barbies" by Nicki Minaj, including information and comments about the controversary about non-Black people singing the lyrics to "Black Barbies" on online social media sites.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/09/barbie-world-by-aqua-1997-barbie-world.html for Part IV of this pancocojams series. That post showcases the 1997 official YouTube video of "Barbie World" by Aqua and the 2023 official YouTube video of "Barbie World" by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice (with Aqua). This post also includes an excerpt about Barbie dolls and Black girls.
WARNING: The 2023 song "Barbie World" by Nicki Minaj featuring Ice Spice contains profanity.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/09/lil-kims-black-barbie-aesthetic.html for Part V of this pancocojams series. That post presents information about Lil Kim, an article excerpt, and discussion thread comments about Lil Kim's Black Barbie aesthetics.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/09/nicki-minajs-black-barbie-aesthetic.html for Part VI of this pancocojams series.
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Because pancocojams is a family friendly blog, no Nicki Minaj videos (except for "Barbie World") and no Lil Kim videos are included in this pancocojams series.
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The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the producers and publishers of these showcase videos on YouTube.
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE VIDEO GIVEN ABOVE AS SHOWCASE VIDEO #1
These are the only replies to this particular comment as of the publication date of this pancocojams post. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only)
1. @DarlingDollz, 2022
"Hi! So, a few things, and this will be the last time I talk about it. Absolutely no offense to anyone who's commented on this subject, especially with well-meaning criticism, but I am just really tired of seeing this discussion overpower anything else in the video. I decided to opt out of saying or featuring Black Francie's original name after feedback from a few Black friends and followers of mine. Of course, people are welcome to disagree with that decision, but I decided to err on the side of caution because, although it may be contested, the term IS considered a slur by many Black people and I was very uncomfortable with featuring it and having upset anyone who, rightfully, would have preferred to not have been confronted by it in a video done by a nonblack person.
(It was popularized within certain communities due to reclamation, similar to the way of other offensive monikers through history, which is why it didn't fall out of vernacular for a long time afterwards. But in 1967, it was considered fairly offensive and outdated to be used by nonblack people, which was a factor in Black Francie's unpopularity.)
It definitely wasn't me trying to erase or sanitize history. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have brought attention to the name at all. Her original name is very easily accessible if you just Google it, which I figured would be the first option for most people. Again, you don't have to agree with my decision, but I ask that you at least don't misrepresent my intentions. But I would very much appreciate it if the comments section could start focusing on other things. Thank you.
Oh, also, the name "Black Francie," while the obvious choice, is not a name I invented. It's been the popular term for collectors to refer to her as for years now, due to the negative associations of her original name."
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2. @sofiabravo1994, 2022
"Well I didn’t even know that was a thing. It’s good to know about history.🤷🏻♀️"
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Reply
3. @ForeverAmberVegas, 2023
"I had no clue her name was a slur! Facts matter. I’m 50 years old. She was the first. Hurts feelings don’t negate facts."
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Reply
4. @ForeverAmberVegas, 2023
"“Colored” is not really a slur but an antiquated term like “negro” I remember family members who called themselves that..but I understand your discretion completely."
Reply
5.
"idk if it matters a year later but i just Googled the original name and your discernment was right on point. 👌🏾"
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When the "Colored Francie" doll was introduced into the Barbie doll line in 1967, "Colored" was considered an appropriate, official referent for the population that is now referred to as African American and/or Black.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/09/how-african-american-won-what-should-we.html for the 2020 pancocojams post entitled "How "African American" Won The "What Should We Be Called?" Contest" (and other comments about the "African American" referent).
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SHOWCASE #2- Black Barbie History Month: Colored Francie
Taylor Brione, Feb. 21, 2023
#BlackDolls #BlackHistory #Barbie28 Days of Black Barbie History. Colored Francie Doll.
SHOWCASE VIDEO #3: New Barbie Fashionista Dolls & More Toy Fair 2018
The Doll Circle, Feb 21, 2018
New Fashionista Barbies and more from Mattel at the 2018 Toy Fair in New York!
ARTICLES ABOUT BLACK REPRESENTATION IN THE BARBIE DOLL LINE
From https://www.ebony.com/see-black-barbies-through-ages-christie-to-president-barbie/
By Team EBONY | July 25, 2023 [This article includes photographs of each of the showcased dolls.]
'The Barbie movie is a bonafide mega-hit, raking in $360 million worldwide over its opening weekend—the biggest movie premiere of the year so far. Everything's been coming up dreamhouses and Malibu corvettes for Barbie since 1958. But it would take nearly a decade from the iconic plastic doll's debut for the world to experience the first Black Barbie design.
While Christie is often considered the figure to come out of Mattel with a darker skin tone, the company released Barbie's friend Francie in 1967, before Christie would arrive on the scene and change the face of the doll brand forever. Here, EBONY chronicles some of the most iconic Black Barbies and collections over the past five decades.
"Christie"
Mattel released a doll design with brown skin and short curled hair in 1968. Billed as Barbie's friend and available as a talking version, Christie is often considered Mattel's first Barbie of color. The Christie doll was manufactured from 1968 to 1972.
[...]
"Black Barbie"
With the tagline, "She's Black. She's beautiful. She's dynamite," the first Black doll with the Barbie moniker made her debut on toy shelves. Created in 1979 and released a year later, this Barbie had short, curly black hair that was a popular style in the eighties."...
From https://www.racked.com/2018/5/7/17321362/barbie-black-hair-mattel-backlash Mattel’s New Black Barbie’s Hair Isn’t Offensive — It’s Just a Few Years Too Late
People were outraged by Mattel’s recent Instagram, but the style is more passé than objectionable.
By Nadra Nittle May 7, 2018
"Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
People are really in their feelings about a black Barbie doll’s hairdo. Last week, the Barbie Style Instagram posted a photo of three dolls enjoying a movie night. While the two white dolls, a platinum blonde and a brunette, wear their hair in simple ponytails, the black Barbie rocks a more avant-garde ’do: Part of her hair is black and cornrowed, and the other part is blonde and wavy.
Immediately, dozens of people replied to Mattel, saying that the doll’s hairstyle doesn’t represent black women. Some said that no black woman would style her hair like the Barbie in question. Others argued that it looks like the doll was mid-weave and forgot to sew in the remaining tracks. And a vocal contingent actually liked the hairstyle.
[…]
The problem here isn’t that this particular doll’s hair doesn’t represent black women’s hair, it’s that the look she’s rocking is five years too late. Let’s rewind to 2013. That year, Rihanna, Jada Pinkett Smith, Cassie, Avril Lavigne, and Kesha all rocked the hairdo known as the Skrillex. Its namesake is the electronic music DJ who shaved one side of his hair and let the rest flow freely. Skrillex didn’t invent this hairstyle, which has punk roots; he’s simply the most recent high-profile person to wear it.
When Skrillex’s signature look took Hollywood by storm, some entertainers weren’t all in enough to shave off a third of their hair. Shakira, Kristen Stewart, and Carmen Electra replicated the Skrillex by cornrowing one section and leaving the rest loose. That’s likely this doll’s hairstyle inspiration. She’s a little bit Skrillex and a little bit Rihanna and Shakira. So much time has passed since the style’s heyday, however, that many people have simply forgotten it.
Still, a cursory search of “punk hairstyles” pulls the faux Skrillex right up. So don’t get mad at Mattel for purportedly misrepresenting black women. Get mad at Mattel for being a little slow — okay, a lot slow — on hairstyle trends. And if you hate this doll’s hair, it’s not as if she’s the only black doll available in its Fashonistas line.
Black dolls with Afros; Afro puffs; and a short bleached natural, à la Amber Rose, are part of Barbie’s new crew. Forty dolls of all races, with seven body types, 11 skin tones, and 28 hairstyles are featured.
Mattel launched the line of Barbies partly in response to years-long criticism that its dolls promoted unrealistic beauty standards. Now that it has an array of dolls, accept the fact that some of them you’ll dig and others you won’t. The important thing is that finally, you’ll have a few more options."
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Here are some photographs of the Shillex hairstyle from https://thefashiontag.com/sidecut-side-swept-hair-trends/
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This concludes Part I of this five part pancocojams series.
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