Thanks to an enterprising woman in Georgia and her group of friends, little girls around that state's city of Columbus will receive an exclusive Barbie this Christmas. A Barbie that's not available in any store. Well, actually, it kind of is. From the Columbus, GA Ledger-Enquirer:
"Candace McBride remembers wanting a Barbie doll as a girl.
'It’s kind of an iconic doll. Every girl wants a Barbie. I wanted a Barbie when I was a girl,'she said.
"This Christmas, she’s hoping to give a few girls their own Barbies -- ones that look a little more like them."McBride is part of an African-American natural hair group that meets regularly at the Columbus public library that decided to give Barbie dolls to girls at Booker T. Washington apartments for Christmas. Though Barbie comes in 50 different nationalities, most of the dolls, even the African-Americans ones have straight hair.
“When you look for dolls, they all have straight hair,” she said, adding that she’s noticed that many of the dolls also have blue or green eyes. “It’s tricky even to find ones with brown eyes,” she said.
She found an online tutorial that uses pipe cleaners and boiling water to give Barbie natural-looking curls. After they collect the dolls -- they want to gather about 40 -- group members will give them a natural hair makeover before giving them to the girls."
This project certainly grabbed our attention. Barbie is a big part of the socio-cultural consciousness of young girls as well as the rest of society. She has always been a bell-weather of style and at least these women in Georgia believe that now is a great time for Black girls' hair to go "au naturel."
This project certainly grabbed our attention. Barbie is a big part of the socio-cultural consciousness of young girls as well as the rest of society. She has always been a bell-weather of style and at least these women in Georgia believe that now is a great time for Black girls' hair to go "au naturel."
