Latest Black Barbie Too Hip-Hop, Some Say
The plastic dolls – part of Mattel's "So In Style" line that comes out next week – feature "shiny bling, big earrings and fancy sneakers," according to the Daily News, which rounded up decidedly mixed reviews on Grace, Kara and Trichelle.
"Not all black people like hip hop," said 15-year-old Barbara Mootoo, who said doll Kara's silver rope-chain necklace looked like it was out of a 50Cent video.
Tyaine Danclaire, 15, said the dolls were "sorta racist."
"They say black girls are ghetto with the gold earrings, with the big bling; I don't agree with that," she told the News.
But the $30.99 dolls scored well with other girls, who felt they reflected their own lives and neighborhoods.
"They look like people where we live," 12-year-old Nikki Wright said. "I wear big earrings. The weave. Things that we use."
Mattel has been selling black Barbie dolls since 1980 and said the updated line had "authentic-looking facial features such as fuller lips, a wider nose … and curlier hair."