HarlemLIVE

Saturday
Feb 04th
Text size
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Pulse of the People

Mattel Introduces Controversial Barbie Dolls

Mattel, Inc., the global toy manufacturer and creator of the Barbie Doll recently launched the "So In Style" dolls, a set of African-American dolls, who in doll-land, are Barbie’s friends.  With names such as, Grace, Kara and Trichelle, who are friends, and the three sisters, Kianna, Courtney and Janesa, the dolls reflect African-American skin tones, and features including broader noses, fuller lips, more distinctive cheek bones and curlier hair.  
Stacey McBride-Irby is the designer of the collection and has a five-year-old daughter. She is an African-American who has been designing dolls for Mattel for more than a decade and said she created the dolls to help Black girls embrace their heritage and culture.
Since the release of the new dolls, reviews from the public have been mixed. While the designer and manufacturer felt that the dolls were created to represent young Black girls, some people in the community said that the dolls may actually be degrading to young Black women.
“All black girls don't represent that," said 15-year-old Danielle Davidson commenting on the outfits the dolls are wearing, which included sneakers, ‘bling’ and short skirts.
"It's stereotypical" said 15-year-old Anasia. "Why can't we be seen in different ways?"
Other people who agree with Danielle and Anasia have said that it supports stereotypes that show Black girls in a negative light.
But, 22-year-old Jason Williams presented an opposing view when he said, "Dolls are stupid; you're supposed to dress them up. You put a race on it and take it to a different level."
Williams believes that the controversy over the Black dolls is being taken too seriously.
"What happened to the cabbage patch?" he asked.
However, he doesn't believe that there is any racist connotation with the dolls and that it's a good model for young Black girls to identify with because of the variations in skin color.
Agreeing with Williams on the point of skin color, Davidson said, "The dolls are meant for positivity."
But, what young girls need to realize is that they don’t need to look like a favorite star or a Barbie doll; they need to be themselves, being comfortable with themselves, and being true to the self is the route to happiness.
 

Tips To surviving a recession in NYC

The United States has officially announced that we are in a recession but we will still be spending so, how do we spend WELL, and on budget? Know everyone is aware that...

Lent-What Are You Giving Up?

Lent-What Are You Giving Up?Eleanore Dennis

1.    Do you practice Lent? “Yes I do.”
2.    What did you give up this year and how does it connect to the recession? “I’m ...

World Trade Center Aftermath

World Trade Center AftermathShock. No matter where you were, who you are, or your level of personal loyalty to the American government, 9.9 times out of ten, your initial reaction to the most rec...

Why are Babies Having Babies?

Why are Babies Having Babies?

On April 26, students from Building Community Leaders at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and HarlemLive went around the Upper Westside interviewing people and aski...

Teen Pregnancy: Why are Babies having Babies?

Teen Pregnancy: Why are Babies having Babies?On April 26, students from Building Community Leaders at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and HarlemLive went around Harlem interviewing people and asking for their...

Should Smoking be Banned at Bars and Clubs?

Should Smoking be Banned at Bars and Clubs?New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has proposed that smoking be banned from bars, clubs and restaurants. For non-smokers, it will mean they will not have to endur...

Why Should We Vote

Why Should We VoteWho should we vote for and why? I went around Harlem Live and interviewed several students all attending Central Park East Secondary School. I wanted to know if they we...

Teen Election 2000

Teen Election 2000With all the hype about having to be 18 to vote, what about those who are younger? Don¹t they have a voice? Which is why I present to you Teen Election 2000. This is ti...
  • «
  •  Start 
  •  Prev 
  •  1 
  •  2 
  •  Next 
  •  End 
  • »
Page 1 of 2

Students Art Work

12

Visit our students Online Art Work Gallery. Photography, paintings, scultures etc. Click on the images above to visit. Click For More...

Harlem Live - Mission

HarlemLive is a Journalism program with the mission to empower a diverse group of youth towards leadership using experience and exposure to media and technology. Read More

Harlem Live - On the Air


Twitter News (total 20)

Harlem Live - Follow us

Facebook: pages/HarlemLIVE/101011846611448 Twitter: HarlemLIVE

Harlem Live - New Website

Our web site has been upgraded please visit our archived site if you are interested in any old publication or content

archive

Donate to Harlem Live

By supporting HarlemLIVE you are providing NYC youth with behind the scenes tours of major news networks, life long mentor relationships with media professionals and the confidence, knowledge and skill sets to successfully pursue higher education and a career in any field.

Harlem Live - Funders

our_funders_logo_inez
our_funders_logo_bloomberg
our_funders_logo_robert
our_funders_logo_scott
fordfoundation
our_funders_logo_urbanhome
our_funders_logo_unionsqr
our_funders_logo_columbia
reuter
billperking