Racist Barbie Pricing?

2014 was a year of unrest due to police brutality that involved African American's and resulted in all forms of protest, the worst of it taking place in Ferguson Missouri. While all this was unfolding something almost slipped under the noses of many as they were distracted by the injustice and violence happening.  In retail stores such as Walmart and Toys R Us Barbie dolls were also subject to racial inequality. Take a look at this picture...  

Notice anything a little off? These dolls are pretty much exactly the same besides there skin color... AND THIER PRICE. The African American Doll is selling for almost $2.00 cheaper than the exact same doll who is white with blonde hair. CNBC reported the same African American "I Can Be" Figure Skating doll to be $4.00 less than her Caucasian friend at Toys R Us. Is that not absolutely insane? Now, some may argue that the original Barbie doll was white with blonde hair and blue eyes and when one thinks of a Barbie doll most likely they will picture a tall Caucasian with blue eyes and long blond strait hair in pink. Even if customers consider this version of the Doll to be the most authentic I personally do not think that is grounds for Mattel or Walmart or Toys R Us to assign prices based on skin color and race. 

In an article I read called 5 Reasons not to Buy Barbie for Little Girls (It's Not Just Body Image!) by Dr. Rebecca Hains, Hains interviewed a couple of 9 year old girls to see what they had to say about "Black Barbie." One of the girls Rhea, agreed that Mattel does not treat African American barbies like the others... “For the black Barbie dolls, they give ‘em, like, orange [outfits] and everything before the white, and [for the white] one, they give her, like, pink and blue or something, a lot of black people hate orange!” Another girl, Maddison, agreed with Rhea and said “I buy Bratz dolls because all of them—all the Bratz dolls are treated right.” If you are not familiar with Bratz there is a picture of a few of them below. 

Bratz are one of Mattel's biggest competitors, though the dolls have an extremely different look and style, they are all ethnically diverse and I would have to agree with Maddison, they seem like they all have equally cool hair, outfits, and shoes. It is so sad to me that even children's toys are subject to racial inequality. When little kids play with dolls they can learn a lot about themselves. Most times children treat their dolls the same way they treat themselves, they express themselves through what the doll wears, what it does, and the kind of person it is. If companies are marketing their dolls of different races differently, kids will take notice and do the same which is why companies should be held accountable in representing ethnicity equally across the board. 

https://rebeccahains.com/2014/12/15/5-reasons-not-to-buy-barbie/