A High School Student Confronts the Taboo Topic of Self Image Within the African American Community
Black Dolls or White Dolls
http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/6/index.php?id=2
Whats shocking was the outcome; these young black children preferred the white dolls. That says allot about the self image African Americans have of themselves.
Do we tend to favor light skinned and so called good hair over our darker brothers and sisters? I have come across many people in my life time who actually do favor their light skinned peers and relatives. The black hair care industry alone generates billions of dollars in revenue. This includes relaxers, hair straighteners and wigs/weaves.
Is the media to blame for this trend? What are we teaching our young children at home about self image? But I guess when you think about it, white children also go through conflicts when it comes to self image. I can not pretend to understand what a white child may think about when they play with a Barbie or read fashion magazines but I would guess their problem with self image comes in the form of weight issues and trying to live up to the Hollywood idea of All American Beauty.
I think no matter what race a child is, they are bombarded with society telling them what they should look like and sadly sometimes they hear the same message from family members. Today, we live in a society where no one is happy with who they are. Our young American girls are being told what beauty is by TV, music videos and magazines. Self Love is something that starts at a young age. God made us all in his image, we are all beautiful. Lets teach ALL of our children to embrace the unique beauty God has Blessed us all with.
Published by Lorraine Hayden
I'm a freelance writer, wife and mother. View profile
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4 Comments
Post a Comment"Quick Time" seems to have taken over this computer and was unable to view the film. I notice when walking down aisles (such as at Walmart) there are few if any black dolls on display. I was not "into" dolls as a kid, so clueless as to what moves girls to want them. It would be interesting to see what the choice of dolls looked like and also, to see the same experiement using children from other ethnic groups. Sad.
"Quick Time" seems to have taken over this computer and was unable to view the film. I notice when walking down aisles (such as at Walmart) there are few if any black dolls on display. I was not "into" dolls as a kid, so clueless as to what moves girls to want them. It would be interesting to see what the choice of dolls looked like and also, to see the same experiement using children from other ethnic groups. Sad.
I love these kinds of readings, not surprising, ironically I believe there is a stigma of dark skin in my family the lighter or mixed family members seem to be seen more beautiful than others, I have natural hair and get little side comments on my natural styles, great read!
I found this article to be just the opposite of my daughter, who is a mix between hispanic, Indian, and white. She is facinated by black people and will probably end up marrying one. My niece who is from New Zealand is the same way and she is about as white as you can get. I have actually tried to get my daughter to play with our neighbor who is caucasion, and she just tells me that she don't understand people like her(did I say that is only six). Makes me laugh. I don't push people on her and I try to raise them to have an open mind even though I know that in this world, image is everything. My daughter is who she is and nothing will change that. This article showed me that even small children learn to use image at even an early age. I wish that things where different but they only seem to be getting worse.