(cache) The disturbing difference between black and white Barbies

There’s been a long fight for diversity in toys, for Barbies that aren’t just blond and blue-eyed and impossibly proportioned. But even when the company comes up with versions of the doll that aren’t pale-skinned, there’s still discrimination involved.

Just ask parent Warren Johnson, who was looking for a Barbie for his daughter for Christmas. The model that his daughter wanted was the Barbie Fashion Design Maker African-American doll, one of the toys that’s flying off the shelves for the holiday season. But when he was doing research online, Johnson found that the African-American version of the doll retailed for almost twice as much as its white counterpart. So he took to Twitter to raise the following question:

Whats wrong with this picture? @WCPO #smhtarget pic.twitter.com/s7D7x9332Y

— Coach J (@jayven07) December 7, 2014

“It kind of rubbed me the wrong way in light of all the things that are going on in our society right now,” Johnson told news station WCPO, referring to recent concerns of racial injustice in our country. “When my daughter asked the question, ‘Why is the black doll more expensive than the white doll?’ I really didn’t have an answer.”

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Puk

Its a RETAIL price, as in on sale. The real price is exactly the same. People see “racist” everywhere nowadays, those who really fought racism and dressed actual PROBLEMS must roll over in their graves seeing articles like this.

Also, women take these things WAY too seriously. So Children NEED “dolls that look like themselves” ? No they don’t, children don’t even NEED dolls in the first place, its a luxury in todays modern world. My mother and grandmother had no dolls at all and turned out just fine.

I myself grew up in the 90’s, and back then barbie didn’t look like a real person at all, she represented a fantasy and THATS why she was fun to play with. Now they make realistic doll with stretch marks and acne, whats next? Should we replace her Mercedes with a Skoda fabia as it is more realistic? Include bills and mortgage instead of shoes and combs? No wonder kids don’t play with toys anymore and spend so much time on video games!

Barbie is SUPPOSED to be a fantasy, I knew this at age 8 – are children that much more naive today? I refuse to give their generation that little credit. No woman I knew or saw as a child looked like barbie obviously, so it was easy to distinguish fantasy from reality.

Why is it also always the same people who throw a fit over these things? There are still more black barbies than there are ginger, arabic, inuit, mongolid etc etc etc. But still its only black barbie who cause outrage.
onlysigneduptocommentonthis

Are you kidding me? People see racism in the most insane places. The author clearly needs to go back to school for a basic microeconomics course, because she clearly doesn’t understand the concept of supply and demand.

Or I guess you could just cook up some crazy conspiracy that Mattel is trying to destroy race relations by scalping prices on black Barbies.

The world we live in…
Helene Strømmen Håvik

People keep searching everywhere for things to pinpoint, complain about or straight forward rant. In the end you always find what you’re looking for. Enjoy your negative life.
http://thechicspy.com/ The Chic Spy

It’s very possible that it is a mistake all around. Obviously the dolls were originally the same price and one went on sale because the demand for it is not as high at current price. Makes total sense. In addition ‘dad’ may not be the ‘primary’ shopper in the house and may not be familiar with how similar items can go on sale at different times. Being a man of color, and possibly having experienced racism, it might have been the initial thought in his mind. I think if someone has never been in a position where they have experienced racism or any other kind of institutionalized prejudice or oppression, they shouldn’t jump to conclusion that this man is being irrational.

It’s easy to discount another person’s feelings if we are not the one experiencing what they do on a daily basis. Why not sit back observe and for one moment in time imagine what it might be like in the other person’s shoes. And it works both ways. People of color should reflect on how an individual person who is not African American may build resentment if in their mind, feel as if they are being labeled ‘racist’ by association.
Geek n’ Freak

but this is because the offer and the demand is not proportional
Charlie Shippey

My husband just had the cutest response for our interracial little girl about the price difference. While we were talking about it she asked the same question the little girl in the article did about why the black doll was more expensive and his reply was “Higher quality baby.” hahaha
joeymom

Most stores are now using dynamic pricing, and the dolls have different UPCs. When sales are skewed, the prices skew.
amiright

I thought the most racist thing was, that the white barbie wasn’t labeled Barbie Fashion Designer Maker Caucasian Doll.
Stella jacksosn

omg really???????????????????????????? ugh this is just ridiculous i bet if the barbie was marked at lower price than the white barbie, the parent have complaint because the barbie was too cheap, saying why the barbie is cheaper just because is african american? UGH!!!! there’s no way to make no one happy in this world.
Stella jacksosn

omg really???????????????????????????? ugh this is just ridiculous i bet if the barbie was marked at lower price than the white barbie, the parent have complaint because the barbie was too cheap, saying why the barbie is cheaper just because is african american? UGH!!!! there’s no way to make no one happy in this world.
Stella jacksosn

omg really???????????????????????????? ugh this is just ridiculous i bet if the barbie was marked at lower price than the white barbie, the parent have complaint because the barbie was too cheap, saying why the barbie is cheaper just because is african american? UGH!!!! there’s no way to make no one happy in this world.
Erin Maynard

So will TRU be giving back the extra $4 that white folks had to pay for the same doll? Or is it only unfair if the black doll costs more?
Jessenia Barone

I don’t believe there was any agenda in the pricing of these dolls but simple supply and demand pricing logic. The same pricing discrepancies happen with super hero action figures of the same maker and model. This is a bit far reaching…
Valerie Tscharner Nelsen

I would have said the black Barbie must be better…lol
xaade

“The black barbie is in high demand. That means that no only are people more interested in it, they are willing to pay more.”
“But black people can’t afford the black barbie.”
“So, all that white guilt has white people buying black barbies.”
“White guilt white people are racist.”
Liam Lowenthal

I wouldn’t pay 5 bucks for either of them.
Colleen Mitchell

Just like tickle me elmo demand raises the price!
VK

Well as you can see the white doll is on sale, hence the lower price. And had it been the other way around, ya’ll would be shouting: “racist! why are black dolls worth less?”. This is just plain ridiculous.
VK

Well as you can see the white doll is on sale, hence the lower price. And had it been the other way around, ya’ll would be shouting: “racist! why are black dolls worth less?”. This is just plain ridiculous.
Erlinda

Whats’ with Barbie? I can’t even find the Hispanic barbie in the Mariachi outfit. There is no price in the advertisement, they advertisement is Very Limited. I know alot of people who want it. Barbie Where are You ?