A Brief History of "Black Barbie"

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This video is intended for adult, and young adult, collectors- NOT children!
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[@DarlingDollz]

Hi! So, a few things, and this will be the last time I talk about it. Absolutely no offense to anyone who's commented on this subject, especially with well-meaning criticism, but I am just really tired of seeing this discussion overpower anything else in the video. I decided to opt out of saying or featuring Black Francie's original name after feedback from a few Black friends and followers of mine. Of course, people are welcome to disagree with that decision, but I decided to err on the side of caution because, although it may be contested, the term IS considered a slur by many Black people and I was very uncomfortable with featuring it and having upset anyone who, rightfully, would have preferred to not have been confronted by it in a video done by a nonblack person. (It was popularized within certain communities due to reclamation, similar to the way of other offensive monikers through history, which is why it didn't fall out of vernacular for a long time afterwards. But in 1967, it was considered fairly offensive and outdated to be used by nonblack people, which was a factor in Black Francie's unpopularity.) It definitely wasn't me trying to erase or sanitize history. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have brought attention to the name at all. Her original name is very easily accessible if you just Google it, which I figured would be the first option for most people. Again, you don't have to agree with my decision, but I ask that you at least don't misrepresent my intentions. But I would very much appreciate it if the comments section could start focusing on other things. Thank you. Oh, also, the name "Black Francie," while the obvious choice, is not a name I invented. It's been the popular term for collectors to refer to her as for years now, due to the negative associations of her original name.

[@sofiabravo1994]

Well I didn’t even know that was a thing. It’s good to know about history.🤷🏻‍♀️

[@ForeverAmberVegas]

I had no clue her name was a slur! Facts matter. I’m 50 years old. She was the first. Hurts feelings don’t negate facts.

[@ForeverAmberVegas]

“Colored” is not really a slur but an antiquated term like “negro” I remember family members who called themselves that..but I understand your discretion completely.

[@GratitudeGriot]

idk if it matters a year later but i just Googled the original name and your discernment was right on point. 👌🏾

[@glenRockfuntimefoxy]

Black Francie (whose marketed name was Colored Francie) was the first dark-skinned doll introduced in Mattel's Barbie line in 1965 as Barbie's MODern cousin, followed by friend of Barbie, Christie in 1968

[@kokepasu4583]

The black doll history museum had to close in 2020, and there's a campaign to revive it!! They have dolls from the 1600s in their collection!

[@tess4832]

Can you post the campaign for those of us who wants to support

[@abigailcummings965]

I would love to see that honestly!

[@kimberlyarrington5721]

Omg I didnt know that is so cool I want to see that .

[@cassiereno114]

My elderly neighbor would've loved to have visited, she collected and appreciated dolls of all kinds.

[@20000dino]

Don’t just drop a mention of the campaign and not even source it. We’d like to support it too -_-

[@shadyjoanneboots]

I gotta admit it is pretty cool to see that they're actually making black dolls with protective hairstyles nowadays. I know straight hair is easier and cheaper to produce, but it's nice that they're finally putting the effort to showcase black dolls with natural hair textures.

[@pimpharold1]

But I don't get why are they making that effort when in reality black women make the effort to hide their beautiful curls with straight hair wigs, weaves, and extensions

[@chobusmin8202]

@@pimpharold1 1. For proper representation 2. Some black women only straighten their hair because of "professional" reasons and Not all black women wear wigs or straighten their hair. ESPECIALLY YOUNG BLACK CHILDREN which is what barbie is directed towards.. Children not adults. Kids need someone who looks like them, who can inspire them and who they can relate to. Hair plays an important part in that.

[@pimpharold1]

@@chobusmin8202 exactly children need people who looks like them, who can inspire starting from home, their mom, aunts, grandmas etc they are the one who should start embracing their curls and stop trying to have white hair

[@groupie8985]

@@pimpharold1 u know white people arent the only ones who have straight hair right lmao...

[@Pink_pr1ncess]

@@pimpharold1 and white women need to stop tanning to the point where they don’t look white anymore…

[@AGANStudios]

Despite not being impressed with recent Barbies, I do want to eventually get a Brooklym Barbie doll just to support the decision

[@JamieDoll]

Same! This video inspired me

[@kokepasu4583]

I'd get her if her clothes weren't so bad :c

[@irongirltoni]

Yeah. I grew up in the early 2000s where the dolls were solid and well made. Around 2017 I stopped buying dolls because A) I stopped playing with Barbies and B) they are so cheap now :(

[@ocinidolegna]

Literally same. might get it for my cousins 🥺

[@SweetSeline777]

Out of all black Barbies produced nowadays - Brooklyn is in my top three must haves.

[@whatalsaid]

I love how after spending years in the background, Black Barbie can finally be allowed to be her own separate character in the Barbie continuity. Not just an after thought Mattel came up with to be more "inclusive"

[@BloomPawzzz]

​@@brianaguilar8283 Black people are too often treated like an afterthought or side character. They deserve have a main character who represents them too!

[@alicesmith255]

@Brian Aguilar that’s the problem though, they didn’t prop Christie up as her own character and into being a more prominent part of a Barbie lineup ensemble cast and have her as a main character in movies or anything of the sort, they just pulled a palette swap of Barbie. Apparently this time around they are giving this other barbie the treatment they could have given christie to address that and be slightly better reflective of their US market.

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

I thought people were more happy that there was a Barbie which was black, I always thought a separate character is better.

[@KitKatLMFAO]

@@EveryDooDarnDiddlyDay thank you "turn based gamer" very cool!

[@vittoriopiorosariosavasta7590]

@@alicesmith255 I would have loved a movie with Christie as the absolute protagonist, WITHOUT sharing the spotlight with the white blonde Barbie THAT would be truly inclusive

[@yumimakai]

I just wish they'd put more black dolls in their shipments to stores, it's a shame that it can be so difficult to find black variations still, since they have a habit of shipping only two or thee black dolls with the rest of entirely white dolls in shipments.

[@porfiriodiazcarrillo7551]

i don't know if its a shipment issue but here, in Mexico, we never got the black MTM dolls!! not a single one, in any of the series!! tbf, we got the complete carrer line ( i have the breakdancer one) but other than that, it's very rare to see black dolls.

[@sophiarose7610]

True. If you don’t live in a predominantly black community, it’s very hard to find black dolls.

[@ChunkyChew172]

I always see black dolls that I’d love to have but they’re almost never in Australia super unfortunately

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

@@sophiarose7610 id say even outside of america tbh, other countries get shipments later anyways but its so fucking hard to get black dolls 😭

[@sew_gal7340]

Please.... Try finding an Asian doll or a Hispanic doll... They are even more rare and even more subjected to discrimination

[@Gimmie_my_legoz]

Tbh I wanna see these offensive dolls. The names and stuff even if you can't say it. Its important to really see these. Its apart of history -a black women

[@MissRusababy]

Same. Even though I think they’re disgusting and wrong, they’re still important to see. As you said, it’s history - another black girl

[@WhatTheKink]

I believe the name was ‘colored’ instead of black.

[@daviejz6698]

@@WhatTheKink The name colored is coming back because the Democrats use that word when they want to pander to all the non Whites.

[@doll.ov.poetrii4682]

@@daviejz6698 💯

[@tynehazel007]

@Destiny I was searching on the internet too as soon as he sad it was negative

[@dotdotdotdotdotdotdottod]

To tell you the truth.... As a kid I never thought barbie was white I thought barbie was just another name for dolls thus why I would call other dolls barbie as a child and give them different names to what I felt like they could have. So when I grew up and realized that barbie was supise to be a character (a white one) I was so confused

[@olivcho]

Same here. I actually only found out that it’s a character as an adult when I started collecting dolls (not Barbie) from the online doll community. My first Barbie growing up was a Black Barbie and yeah... as she was my first fashion doll I named her Barbie. All the later Barbies (including the actual blonde Barbie, had to have other names 😅.)

[@Mysticmoon62]

@@meimeilei for years I thought the same lmao thought it was just the brand.

[@angelacooper8973]

Barbara Millicent Roberts was always a blonde blue eyed white girl from Malibu. Christie was always my fave and Nikki was cool too.

[@dotdotdotdotdotdotdottod]

@@angelacooper8973 yea as a kid I didn't know ow they had specific names I just thought Barbie. As it was a word for dolls. Growing up learning Barbie was a white woman from willows Wisconsin and that the other dolls like Lea had names like such was very new to me. But aslo I use to think other countries got dolls that looked like then cause my favorite dolls where Japanese Barbie and I aslo have Kenyan Barbie so it was something that was shocking to learn

[@nutsack-ky8wp]

i thought the same as well i thought barbie was just the name of the dolls and not a character

[@saltakesnaps9969]

I had three black barbie dolls growing up, and the rest were all white. My mother, a black woman, explained now it was hard to get cheaper black dolls. I think they didn’t price them right at the time because alot of them were special lines. Looking at dolls today im so happy to see affordable black dolls along side higher end ones.

[@nancia24]

I had two black dolls and few white dolls I grew up with even the one from princess Disney movies black dolls were more cheaper than white dolls and I'm really happy to see are older black generation did all this for us new black generation ☺️💕

[@dolljunk]

Fun fact: the dolls you see with bright red hair are actually dolls that used surplus hair from the Magic Color Vintage Barbie dolls. There was one hair colour that would change from "Midnight Black" to "Ruby Red" using two solutions, one to change it and one to change it back. Mattel just produced those black haired dolls, thinking that since they didn't include the solution, it'd be fine. Of course, with age, the hair naturally faded to the bright red hair. I know of collectors who in the 2000s managed to reproduce the solution and change the dolls' hair colour back to black but I certainly don't recommend it nowadays as one of the ingredients was peroxide and I would not try using a harsh on a rare and vintage doll especially now they're older. But yeah it is interesting to have this fact fall out of common doll knowledge especially since vintage Barbie is known to have used up surplus stock and parts in the 60s that didn't age well lol. Nikki was known as Christie's sister and I think the change happened around when Bratz was at the top of their game and Mattel tried everything to make Barbie seem more youthful, including making her black friend have a more "youthful" name. You'd see things like Barbie not having any sisters around this time, Kelly becoming a Bratz-like lemon head, Barbie dumping Ken etc etc. It's just interesting people don't see Barbie dropping Christie as part of her attempt to be more appealing to Bratz fans. I am a bit disappointed you glossed over the period that S.I.S occupied because in Barbie's main line, Nikki became this straight haired, light skinned doll that Mattel tried to say she was designed as a way to appeal to both Hispanic and Black markets due to being much more ethnically ambiguous (and Eurocentric) looking, and trying to find a play line Barbie that couldn't be handwaved off as a non white doll was incredibly difficult, especially in international markets like Australia where SIS wasn't available. I really do think the post-Fashion Fever era and pre-Diverse Fashionistas era was one of Mattel's worst Barbie play line ventures at representation since the 60s and it played a huge part in why dolls like Lammily and Tree Change dolls were able to scuttle in and vilify Barbie the way they did. I'm glad Mattel has been able to swing away from how badly they did racial diversity of the early 2010s due to the immense backlash (and things like losing the Disney Princess license where Mattel rarely produced Princesses of colour) of this kind of company culture. But I do find it interesting how quickly that period has been forgotten especially since Monster High, who was contemporary to Barbie of that period, did a much better job at diversity and culture representation while Barbie's colorism and Eurocentric really stuck out against it. Then again, I do find a lot of modern doll collectors, if they were collecting dolls in the early 2010s, had any real interest in Barbie when Monster High was at the top of their game. Anyway, sorry for that critique cuz I did enjoy the rest of the video and how it covered a lot of things.

[@DarlingDollz]

No worries lol. I'm just one person with only my perspective to go off of, so critique is welcome! I actually did know about the color change hair, I just didn't want to go too deep into it and get off track. But the research did lead me down a rabbit hole of Barbie collectors feuding over Color Magic Barbies that were sold secondhand and not disclosed that they had their hair dyed or altered, often to disastrous results. I didn't consider the Nikki change being due to Mattel wanting to appeal to a younger, "cooler" audience, but it absolutely makes sense in retrospect. And yes, I agree I should've gone more into the changes that happened with Nikki after she was "promoted" to Barbie's friend. Just looking at the difference in skintone between Teen Skipper Nikki & the Fashionista Nikkis... very unfortunate (and deliberate) decisions on Mattel's part.

[@eminempreg]

Honestly I find this so interesting.and it's kinda funny how it imitates real life a bit. Mind you I forgot the fine details but basically with human hair, pure black hair turns red if you remove a certain chemical from it. I've had this issue myself where strands of my own hair would get bleached for whatever reason, and end up bright red

[@DarlingDollz]

@@eminempreg My hair is the same way. I used to dye my hair pink in college, and it was basically an all-day process bleaching and turning my hair black, to red, to orange, then finally just blonde enough to dye 😅

[@practicepositiveprogress5396]

As a viewer I love hearing additional information and constructive critique down here in the comments and loves reading this. 👍🏻

[@pearlwanders8599]

As a biracial, I'm here for both the Nikki and the Black Barbie dolls. I love the varied sizes and shapes ones. This gives me a good suggestion next time I need to buy a kid's gift. Enjoyed this so much!

[@svgarcvbes7560]

As a pretty new collector, I’m proud to know that there’s a wide variety of gorgeous black doll lines! The Shani and So in Style dolls are my personal favorites, I’ll definitely be looking for them in the future :)

[@studygram_]

What about brown people (aka South Asians, West Asians, Latinos, Native Americans and other indigenous people) these communities are rarely correctly represented in the doll community and even in the mainstream media. They are often ignored and looked down upon in society.

[@KittiesGalore]

Same!

[@eikooowiesnowyowlchannels1921]

Same

[@vanillabeeboo]

@@studygram_ that is true but it’s quite odd to say that in response to a Black person who is excited to learn about Black dolls? Try researching about Asian/brown dolls Mattel has quite a long history with them as well their first Asian doll was quite racist using outdated terminology and stereotypes. You could even make your own video about the history said dolls.

[@studygram_]

@@vanillabeeboo Mattel NEVER has represented an Arab friend for Barbie, they have never had a barbie doll with a hijab, the only hijabi barbie they made was a Ibtihaj Muhhamad doll which was not even made for retail. It was a OOAK only made to showcase online. So, they can flaunt that they have finally given some more diversity. They never even have South Asian representation. The only representation we have is in the Dolls of the World line that was discontinued very very long ago. By the way, who are you? Are you a white person? Doesn't matter, because you don't have the Right to question our demand for a more diverse society for dolls. It's 2022 for god's sake! We still don't have indigenous representation in the mainstream media or the doll community.

[@TayePurks]

Here’s my 2¢ on you changing the name to “Black Francie”… It wasn’t needed. I understand you wanted to be culturally sensitive but in my opinion, you don’t alter history for the sake of making it sound better. What people did in the past to black people is horrible and we should be able to learn and grow from it. Now I looked it up and it says the doll was marketed as “Colored Francie” which isn’t even a bad thing. While the word colored today in 2022 would be racist but back in the 1950’s/60’s it was considered as correct vernacular. Words and context change over time, you calling her “black Francie” is literally the same as calling her “Colored Francie” just in updated terms. This isn’t meant to be an attack, just a bit of criticism for you. Overall the video was great and I appreciate the effort!

[@Ash-bp9gj]

Oh, so that was her original name? I was curious about the name so I googled "first black barbie's name" and it came up Christie so I had even more questions 💀 edit: Christie came right after they talked about Francie. Wish the video guy didn't erase and replace the name for contextual purposes (I understand why though)

[@gabrieleghut1344]

Thank you for sharing and giving us the chance to find out what the original name of the first "Black Francie" was. Yes we need to learn from the past, if we change everything (like books and sometimes films) to our nowadays "political correctness" how will young generations understand what language was used and how it was to live in the past. Just let us make sure that we are not repeating history.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

honestly when he said that id assume theyd use a slur or smth

[@Emidoki]

Thank you! This is exactly what I thought too and went immediately to the comments. We shouldn't change history for the sake of sensitivity, history is there for us to learn from. Why not at least type it out?

[@latione2009]

I did the same because I was like… I know they didn’t name this doll N-Word Francie 😂 when I saw they named her colored francie I was like “you definitely could’ve just said it 🥴” but I get it but definitely agree with everything you said about why we shouldn’t do that. That’s literally what we’re trying to correct now.

[@EdieBird]

I scored a gorgeous Julia at a yard sale for a dollar. She was wearing a Mod Barbie outfit and she is easily one of the most striking dolls I have in my collection. I wish I could find her nurse outfit, but for now, she's cool with another Mod outfit I have. One of the very first Barbie dolls I ever got was a Malibu Christy. I always preferred her over the Barbie from the same collection that I had. Her face was sweeter and no teeth.

[@Sarahndipities]

My sister got one of the original Shani Asha dolls for Christmas the year they were released, and we all thought she was the prettiest doll we had ever seen! I never really thought about it growing up, but I am really glad that my parents bought us dolls of all ethnicities, even though we were white. And I love seeing the efforts being made to include more diversity now!

[@iamsoverybored878]

Actually the only two collector dolls that I actually made a profit on when I gave up collecting were black dolls. That both had the Asha face mold. All the rest of my collector dolls I sold at a lost. Still got my 60 vintage Barbie dolls and a couple of collector ones that I've kept because they match my decor. I stop collecting when I became a adult and had to start working and paying bills couldn't waste money on stuff that I don't need.

[@michaelwilliams7822]

Asha is beautiful!I use her to do dolls of Vanessa Williams!

[@Starshyne9]

I have always appreciated that about my parents as well. They always bought me dolls of all ethnicities. I remember my mom telling me that when I was older, "You had friends of different races, so it just made sense that I would buy you dolls that looked like who you played with."

[@TheMeloettaful]

That's funny because the opposite happened to me. Years ago I remember wanting the white Barbie doll for Christmas to have the diversity with my black ones. My mom never did get it for me. I don't know whether she thought I was confused or not, but it bothered me then. By the way the only black Barbie doll I still own is from the Rapunzel line back in the 90's still in her box. Got her for Christmas when I was 12 (I'm 35 now) and had stopped playing with dolls by then lol 😂. But it's really cool your parents did buy you dolls of other ethnicities 💕.

[@budgiecat2885]

Having just seen the Barbie movie, and now learning about Barbie's official first friend Midge (who was not in the movie) and these black variations like Francie, Julia , Asha. Shawni, Christie. Nikki .Grace, Trichelle and Kara the fact that the only other character (besides Ken and Alan) that was female and NOT named Barbie was Skipper, was extremely lazy on the part of the film makers as we can see there's whole decades of dolls in the Mattel line that weren't just called "Barbie", yet the movie almost everyone in Barbieland was named "Barbie:. No Stacie or Chelsea either That'd be like a Transformers movie where everyone is named Optimus Prime, or a G.I. Joe movie where everyone is named....Joe. lol

[@KCfromDCtheLeo]

As a child growing up in post Civil Rights and Black Pride eras in an inner city, most of the dolls in my neighborhood were Black. Your video was a great review of the Black doll market after my childhood years. Thanks for your research and work. Additional thanks to some commenters who have also added historical facts. On an interesting note, one of my great aunts would never buy me or my cousins any dolls other than white or Europeans featured ones. I asked my mother about this and she told me my aunt was a self-hating Black person. I asked my great aunt directly and she told me that in her childhood (1920s and 30s) the dolls depicting African-Americans were made to look like "monsters." I later understood she meant hateful racial caricatures. Although it was not perfect, the Black Barbie and Christie phenomenon opened the doors of self-love for scores of women of color.

[@MsSumoon]

Here in Brazil, they BEARLY brought Black dolls when I was a kid, and it's rather sad because 55% of the population identifies as black. Just to show how structural racism works, during my childhood it was a miracle to find a “Black doll“, they brought Teresa but if the character didn't belong to the line the toy stores never bothered to bring it. I only found out that there were black versions of the movie dolls as an adult. BUT thanks to this Mattel rebranding they are bringing the black dolls and I do believe toy companies are pressuring for our toy stores to have the black dolls. I do have my small collection of black Barbies because I love their face molds they are gorgeous. I even got the rewind black doll because I never had a Black Barbie as a kid. (just a side note- I'm not black, I'm a white Latina, however, even as a kid I wished there was more variety of dolls). And I'm happy more little girls are having more luck than me, to have more variety of dolls.

[@PedroMRDS]

I am also brazillian and as you see by my photo i'm very white, but since I was a boy I wasn't allowed to play with barbies (though I lowkey wanted one very badly haha), but when I was very little, in the 90s, my older sister's friend, who was black, had a TON of black barbies, an entire wall of only black dolls, and I remember being in AWE because I never EVER saw those in stores, so it was crazy to me that she had so many of them. Me, being innocent, would ask her all the time "why do you have only black barbies??", my mom would say "because she is black" but I actually wanted to know where she found so many. Hahaha other than that nowadays my collection is pretty white, I only got one christie cuz its still super hard to find good old black dolls.

[@MsSumoon]

@@PedroMRDS A amiga da sua irmã provavelmente IMPORTAVA bonecas negras. Que é assim que tem a venda aqui certas bonecas. Eu quando criança entrava em lojas e não tinha praticamente nenhuma. Agora no Brasil estão trazendo mais bonecas negras e de outros tons de pele. La no final dos anos 90, tinha muita mulher q era sacoleira e trazia bonecas, foi assim que eu tenho uma Holliday Barbie, minha tia comprou de uma vizinha dela que era sacoleira de ir nos Estados Unidos. Também arranjavam no Paraguai. Eu moro em São Paulo, então falo da experiência de morar numa cidade que em várias lojas de brinquedo que fui quando criança de não ter nenhuma boneca negra. Não sei se em outros Estados eles tiveram mais sorte, mas até mais ou menos 2012 tinham bem poucas bonecas negras, eu tive até um choque de cultura quando fui no Canadá na época e tinha uma variedade maior de bonecas. O rebranding de 2016 que a Mattel fez, acredito eu, fez com o que as lojas de brinquedo tivessem mais bonecas negras.

[@PedroMRDS]

@@MsSumoon suspeito que ela importava msm, eu moro no rio e aqui nao era nada melhor, todas eram loirinhas. Hj em dia nas lojas eu vejo mais bonecas de outros tipos, principalmente na linha Fashionistas, mas as outras linhas geralmente sao só as loiras msm. O bom é que tem outras bonecas no marcado, a maioria das Lol OMG sao de cor por exemplo. É um avanço.

[@MsSumoon]

​@@PedroMRDS as vezes o lance é que as lojas não querem arriscar, com o dollar alto eles ficam com receio de trazer por causa do imposto. Ai vão no racismo mesmo, e já assumem- ah a loirinha vai sair mais mesmo. E na realidade tem uma boa parcela do mercado que quer uma boneca de outra cor, quando fica tudo só- loirinha. ai fica chato tb. Só que vivemos num país que a maioria da população é negra ou parda, tem que ter mais variedade e parar de propagar a idéia racista de que “loiro de olhos claros e cabelo liso é o que deve ser o belo“. A pressão positiva que tem vindo das marcas gringas ta meio que auxiliando nessa luta.

[@emmaoof3335]

im a black Brazilian and i never really saw any black barbies growing up until i moved to the us and visited a walmart a few months ago it's nice to see dolls that looks like me!

[@zhisu2665]

Things that'll never get old; the reactions of children seeing dolls like them especially from a large company. There was a cute moment here in Sydney were a little girl around 6 runs up to a Black Barbie and showing it to her mum like "Mummmmmmmmm she has your hair!!"

[@finland4ever55]

YASSS! I love this video as a black girl. Please do a similar history for Asian and Latina Barbies (Yeah the Latina ones are mostly Teresa but there are others).

[@gsanchez5116]

Oh Teresa was Latina? That’s hilarious literally like an hour ago I was trying to find this one Barbie which I always remembered being my favorite as a kid, and it was the Cali Girl Teresa Barbie. Cool

[@FlamingoSnot]

Funny enough it wasn’t until I was around 9 that I got a Barbie that looked like me- a darker skinned Hispanic and when I tell you I CRIED. she quickly became my favorite doll , and she is still one of the few dolls I still own, this year I was given the Barbie advent calendar (I’m 16) and the same feeling of childish joy I felt when I saw the Christmas doll was the same dark skinned Hispanic Barbie doll I’d gotten 7 years prior just got to me

[@angelacooper8973]

And Kira was Asian and I don’t see Kira anymore.

[@finland4ever55]

@@angelacooper8973 we also had Miko (well she was Hawaiian technically) and Lea. Renee is the current Asian friend. I do miss Kira, she was Vietnamese

[@finland4ever55]

@@angelacooper8973 Renee is the current Asian doll.

[@utaukappasensei2]

Its weird how black barbies were nowhere near as popular as white barbies BUT a couple of years ago everyone was SO obssesed with the LOL dolls who were mostly black when blackfishing was becoming a thing on instagram

[@doll.ov.poetrii4682]

And Bratz dolls!

[@shade247]

Oh go get offended elsewhere.

[@inkubator320]

Good point actually-

[@peachrenard2320]

@@doll.ov.poetrii4682 There were four dolls, one black (Sasha?) one white-white (Chloe? Cleo? Something like that) Jade who was supposed to be Asian and I'm confident that was her name for some reason, and one that I believe was supposed to be Latina, though she could have been intended to be lighter black? I think her name was Yasmin or something? Now I finally know, she was just a white Instagram "model" before Instagram was even a thing all a long. Feel free to correct me on any names since I could be wrong on them.

[@rainbowdino9310]

@@shade247 Take your own advice here bud

[@weasleygurl26]

I have been looking for the Nichelle dolls for obvious reasons. They're beautiful, and we share a name. I was named after Nichelle Nichols who played Uhura in the original Star Trek. A very beautiful and talented woman who I am proud to be named after. :)

[@DarlingDollz]

That's such a cool namesake! And Nichelle is a lovely name

[@TheNatashaNicole]

You should look for that doll specifically. It will be expensive. Good luck.

[@mariamart_0]

You should become so more proud of being used for the idea when it comes to the Nichelle. Michelle Nichols was so beautiful and I love her as an actress..

[@ellafriesz5717]

this has really inspired me too look into the CREATORS of the barbie lines a lot more. Love the vid as always !!

[@emmakirton]

Absolutely loved this video, learning more about the history of black Barbie is always such a treat. I'm a blonde white woman and I loved all the black Barbies that were around in my childhood, but I never really got any until I was able to start buying my own dolls. The S.I.S dolls came out when I was 11 and I was *obsessed* they were the prettiest dolls I'd ever seen on the shelves at that age. Also would you ever consider making a video on the history of AAPI Barbies? I barely ever see AAPI Barbies get talked about and I'd love to see more about them.

[@studygram_]

What about brown people (aka South Asians, West Asians, Latinos, Native Americans and other indigenous people) these communities are rarely correctly represented in the doll community and even in the mainstream media. They are often ignored and looked down upon in society.

[@DarlingDollz]

I do want to make a video over AAPI dolls for sure, but extend it outside of Barbie. It would be a much less celebratory subject though, as AAPI characters are often ignored or underutilized, i.e. American Girl only having one Asian Historical character that had the least amount of content of any Historical character at all, the Asian Monster High characters being very stereotypical, the many very stereotypical "Hawaiian" Barbies, The Japanese Bratz character that erroneously used a Chinese name... well, you probably get the point. (Not that Black characters haven't been ignored or disrespected, just in different ways and therefore require different approaches) It's something I absolutely want to touch on and bring attention to, but I feel like I need to be careful to format it in a way that's not "Here's a list of a bunch of examples of racism," if that makes sense? Because that just feels gratuitous and exploitative on my end.

[@emmakirton]

@@studygram_ I'd love those too

[@emmakirton]

@@DarlingDollz Makes perfect sense, so many AAPI dolls that actually exist from American companies are so stereotypical. Maybe also touch upon some actual Asian doll brands? Like Kurhn, Mimi, Licca/Jenny, Yue Sai etc. there's some great brands out there that could use more limelight

[@iqra8937]

@@studygram_ yeah I’m South Asian and we barely get represented

[@HeyItsNovalee]

Man, Brooklyn Barbie my beloved. She’s so gorgeous. I LOVE the way they did her hair, I love her face, she just looks like such a real person and I love her. Even if the movie wasn’t that interesting lmao. I think it would be so funny if they continued this pattern and just went whole hog introducing girls of different ethnicities all named Barbie. Idk how well it would go down amongst audiences but as a Latina I’d love to see a Latina girl that just happens to also be named Barbara nicknamed Barbie. Or maybe a different Latin name that can be shortened to Barbie. Give me east asian Barbies. Give me southeast Asian Barbies. Give me European Barbies. More African Barbies. Give me into the Barbie verse LMAO

[@BonnieAngel141]

Saying the word “coloured” is fine if it’s for education purposes. It’s literally her name. I thought it was the n word or something lol

[@Queenofrap2011]

Shut up

[@shnpio]

@Enni Roc I thought it was gonna be one of those old timey slurs

[@juliannehannes11]

Like the dead N term that ends in O

[@mastersnet18]

@@juliannehannes11not a slur

[@diamondstar583]

How can you determine what is okay and not okay to say with words about something that deals with black people when you're not black? And even if you are it’s still not cool to use that word.

[@3s_muycar0]

5:27 the oxidation fact is actually so cool, made me think of Kelly Rowland right away, red on brown n deep skinned girls looks pretty always🥺❤️❤️❤️

[@johnheadley8591]

While I love the attempt at diversifying the doll line, I do miss characters and names for dolls. I also feel it's a shame that the diversity of dolls comes at a time when the company is severely lacking in quality and style. The lines are no longer memorable, It's a shame as a collector you can't have both glamor and quality in new dolls.

[@itsemmallright]

I never owned a doll with textured hair so I would be curious how the hairplay works. Do they have a specific brush? Or it works the same as with non textured hair?

[@DarlingDollz]

The 1980 Black Barbie actually came with a pick brush! And I've seen a few fashion dolls do the same, but not many. A lot do actually include regular brushes that would destroy the curls if you used them, but for the most part with dolls with textured hair- the style will typically hold on its own and not need too much maintenance in my experience.

[@janaekelis]

from my experience collecting various dolls with curly hair from more lines than barbie, they give every doll a brush. its just that brushing the hair will destroy the shape of the curls

[@magdlynstrouble2036]

I've thrifted several Moana dolls and I've done my best to fix their hair just by washing it, conditioning it with fabric softener, and boil washing it, then scrunching it in my fingers with a bit of diluted hair gel. I was lucky to thrift a SIS Michelle, and her hair responded beautifully to this treatment.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

i have the signature honey swamp monster high doll (id say she has 3c maybe 4a hair) and at least for mh, theyd come with the standard brush. it was basically just common sense not to brush their hair bc if you tried it on a doll like honey her hair would like. come undone??? it was weird

[@Barbiegirl-xd9tv]

they should give the sis girls , Christie,Black Barbie and Nikki their own storylines and their own stand alone media

[@brilh_o]

I LOVED to learn more about how the brand represented black women and black culture in general! keep up with the good work.

[@ArtemisMoon12]

The 1980s Black Barbie is gorgeous! Her hair especially! Perkins did an amazing job on her!

[@luvlyleo2836]

Cool video! As a collector I find it harder to find reasonably priced black dolls. They’re usually the first to sell out and are more expensive. Thank you for the video ❤️💯

[@bbsdollsandtvarchive]

It’s hard to buy black dolls in a fair price even as a poc.

[@juliannehannes11]

The President Barbie doll from the movie sold out in seconds before the Disco Barbie doll

[@Can_think_of_a_name]

I get why white Barbie was used more (since she is the original and most iconic) but I'm glad more black Barbie's are being made.

[@alejandromolinac]

Non White Dolls have been produced since the early 80's....

[@Can_think_of_a_name]

@@alejandromolinac Yeah and? A few were (and like said in this video a lot of the were problematic/just the white dolls with different skin colour) now more, proper black Barbies with black features are being made, and more often than before.

[@Blackraregem]

@@alejandromolinac 😅😂😂

[@livelaughlove5421]

“Most iconic” they all look the same 😂

[@nikkithegemini]

Thank you so much for making this because as a biracial girl, I always wanted to know the history of black barbies and this really helped!!!! Also happy black history month 💞💖

[@imnottwelve1126]

In the 90s I thought those doll lines were knockoffs pretending to be by Mattel but loved by everyone. You could only get them in dollar stores and discount stores. You know places where knock offs are in abundance. That's why I didn't think they were really by Mattel. In the 80s and 90s it was normal for there to be black variants of Barbie. Usually called AA / African American Barbie. They also some times had a variant between the skin tones with brown hair. Usually called Brunette Barbie but some communities called her Hispanic or Latina Barbie. I miss Kira, Theresa, and Christie. They were the norm for Barbie doll lines in the 80's and 90's. Along with Midge of course. I felt like Christie vanished suddenly and then Kira a couple years after her.

[@finland4ever55]

Teresa still exists and is in the franchise. Also Miko, Lea, and Grace. Let's not forget all the POC friends from movies like Dana and Dee Dee in the Rockers, Courtney and Tia in Barbie Diaries, and especially spinoff characters like Nolee, Madison, Jai, and Nia in My Scene, and Ana, Mariko, and Nichelle in Generation Girl

[@BrittnyShrub]

I have to admit that the introduction of black barbie in the latest Barbie movie had me in tears. So wonderful. Great video!

[@juliannehannes11]

And God she has the most beautiful sparkle gown too as President Barbie, her doll was sold out so fast

[@lilsneepsnorp4951]

I remember wanting a grace so in style doll so bad I’m gonna go look for one. The black barbies have improved so much over the years.

[@sacrilegioussasquatch]

Those dolls are so pretty, i hope you had luck finding one

[@JL0ndon]

Hey, you need to be careful- it’s against TOS to ask people to watch ads and not skip. You’re raising money for a really cool organization and i don’t want this video penalized. But overall this is a fabulous video and really informative! Edit: it also makes me sad that shani came out in a time pre internet because i can’t understand how quick they took her off the shelves. Something like that today could be a best seller because social media and Twitter would make it so popular

[@LBYRNTH_]

Omg. Just when I thought I could'nt love your channel more. This means a lot to a collector like me. The SIS series has a couple of my holy grails. I absolutely adore the Chandra dolls. 💕 I never new about the Big City Dreams and It Takes Two stuff since I've kiiind of checked out of modern Barbie stuff but I have to say that I really love how they reintroduced Black Barbie.

[@DarlingDollz]

I want all the SIS Hairstyling dolls sooo bad! And yeah! I was honestly worried that Brooklyn Barbie was just a thing for that one movie, but I'm glad that they're keeping her around. I honestly hope that the brand returns to a more character-focused format so she can have more room to shine (and so we can get proper reintroductions of my other girls Nikki, Teresa, and Raquelle 😭)

[@LBYRNTH_]

@@DarlingDollz That would really be so cool. Would almost be like bringing back the old MyScene flavor since they had the character development going strong back then!

[@DarlingDollz]

Yesss absolutely. My ultimate fantasy for the next generation of Barbie is for sure a My Scene-esque squad with her and her friends + plenty of recurring characters. I do firmly believe that a lot of the brand's attempts at diversity would be more effective if they attached a name or character to it. And there's the argument to be made that "blank slate" dolls provide room for projection- which is true- but the success of Monster High, and even Bratz to a degree, I think proves that kids LOVE established characters and lore too.

[@LBYRNTH_]

@@DarlingDollz I'm definitely on the side of favoring increased individuality in dolls rather than offering templates... the new Mermaid MGA line comes to mind and I have some *opinions* on that... Lol Mattel's Creatable World dolls was a really shining example to me of templates being used to encourage gender exploration in kids and I loved seeing it but there's absolutely no denying the frenzy MH caused. I would love to see a modern take on the MyScene flavor with better diversity and I'm very open to It Takes Two being the stage for that.

[@HaveYouHeardDolls]

A wonderful video, as always!! Even subtle things like Mattel's commitment in recent decades to creating more "ethnically accurate" face sculpts has been great to see. I'm really intrigued to see what the Barbie brand does with Brooklyn Barbie, and whether they will give her movies/content on her own.

[@bobbynicole10]

To be honest, until recently, Christie, Teresa and Kira were exactly like Barbie except for their outfit colors; we now have invidual characters such as Brooklyn, Daisy, etc.

[@paranoidiomatic]

the way i always wanted the black and brunette barbies from the ads simply bc i was sick of only having blonde ones, but they never were available in the local stores.. :/

[@PrinceSSss-e9y]

Notice how we call the black doll "Black Barbie" because most people actually have no idea what her name is.

[@yippedoodah]

I've never watched Big City Big Dreams but I have seen promotional stuff for it and had no idea they were BOTH Barbie! That actually brought a smile to my face and made me tear up a little hearing you explain this. That is honestly so groundbreaking to me and I'm kinda speechless!

[@kittycheshire5099]

I didn't know about Black Barbie before seeing this video, so I just thought that it was another way for them to reuse the "Barbie meets herself" plot that's already in three other movies. Now that I know it's actually about reintroducing Black Barbie as her own character, I think it might be one of the best decisions Mattel has made in recent years.

[@SEFYH]

Young man, I thoroughly ENJOYED this retrospective on black barbie! And I want to personally thank you for doing this with such depth, respect and integrity. I watched it all the way through, INCLUDING the ads! 😉 'Black Girls Rock' is an excellent organization!! And YOU rock as well my friend!! ❤❤❤❤❤

[@Lucaknox]

I am south Asian and used to love black Barbie as it was the most close thing to having an brown Barbie. I really wished that Mattel was more diverse back in the day, tho I am happy seeing it they have been improving. Your video was really well done and I loved learning about the different lines of black Barbie’s

[@summonerstripclub4840]

I was so jealous of my little sisters Barbie’s they were like my dreamies when I was her age all those beautiful fairies & mermaids, & she had Asian & African decent ones & I was just dying cuz they were exactly what I was wishing for, lol I’m just glad kids get to enjoy them today

[@lorrainecurran9157]

Santy claus brought my little daughter the big dreams barbie .you move her arm and she sings and lights up .she has lovely braids done .she absolutely loves her ❤ 💕 😍

[@totallynormalaccount9229]

Will forever stay mad at mattel for discontinuing so in style. The quality and care for detail is just beautiful and having one of these growing up wouldve been the highlight of my childhood.

[@peppermint1968]

With a new wave of beautiful black dolls finally becoming mainstream looking back in the past I am having goosebumbs on how rare black dolls are being advertised. Its always the blond ones occasionally we have latina dolls but the dark skinned ones where always rare.

[@Siansonea]

Cara didn't replace Christie. Cara was sold *alongside* Christie dolls. The same years that Cara was available, Christie dolls were also available. There were a total of four Cara dolls produced: 1974 Quick Curl Cara, 1975 Free Moving Cara, 1976 Deluxe Quick Curl Cara, and 1976 Ballerina Cara. All of them used the 1972 Steffie/Miss America face sculpt. During this same time period, Christie was available as Malibu Christie in the swimsuit line, using her original face sculpt from 1968. The 1970s was one of the few times when multiple black characters were part of the Barbie product line, though it did occur from time to time again. Mattel definitely wrestled with getting it right, but for all that they didn't always succeed perfectly, it's clear that the intention for inclusivity was present from pretty early on.

[@DarlingDollz]

Yeah, I kind of regret using the phrase "replaced" in terms of Cara's introduction. As far as I can tell, there were no "new" Christies produced when Cara debuted, but Malibu Christies that were first issued in 1973-1974 continued to be issued throughout Cara's short run. It seemed to me like their intention was to have Cara kind of take Christie's place in the mainline Barbie dolls, which is what I meant to say more or less, but in context it does sound much more like I'm saying Mattel was only willing to have one Black (female) character at a time. That's an oversight on my part, so thank you for the correction!

[@Siansonea]

@@DarlingDollz it's also worth noting that even after Christie was revamped alongside Barbie in 1977 as part of the SuperStar line, Ballerina Cara was still available, so there was overlap there as well. Later, Christie would have the Steffie face, after Cara was discontinued. In some ways, I still think of those Christie dolls as Cara, and I kind of wish both characters had continued forward together into the 80s. How awesome would a SuperStar Cara doll have been?

[@DarlingDollz]

Agreed! Cara has some absolutely beautiful dolls, and I really adore the Steffie mold.

[@birdsinparadise3113]

That first pic where you show Christie, does she look like they just used Midge ? Just her face as well as hair design remind me immediately of Midge. I had a midge doll back 😮 in the day

[@cattuslavandula]

I was born in 1965 and had a few Barbies before getting the TNT and Living Barbies. They were the old kind with the stiff legs and the dark plastic. One of them was a brunette bubble cut doll, and I thought she looked just like a teacher in my school who was Black. I'm White, as is my family, as was my neighborhood, but our school district staffs were integrated. I thought the brunette Barbie was Black. To their credit, my family never corrected me. I played with all the dolls and was gifted the Julia doll in 1970 or 1971. I think having Black teachers and Black dolls as a young child helped me understand that people are different, but also the same, and should be treated equally and respectfully.

[@monst3rtruckbf]

I was 6 when the so in style line came out, I was about to say i didn’t even remember them?! but then you showed one and it brought back a whole flood of memories😳😳 i def had a COUPLE of them so crazy i forgot , that’s why i love channels like urs

[@Sahnequeen]

Im a white woman and I remember getting a black barbie at my 6th birthday. At that time, Barbies with other races were rare and I didn't know they exist before. But this doll was my favorite one❤

[@LAngel2REAL]

Love this video. I've been very interested in barbie for a while and I love how the dolls nowadays are just barbie. Just Barbies. I hope Mattel continues to improve even further.

[@15daboss]

Oh how I enjoyed this! As a black girl who was obsessed with Barbie back in the day, this was so refreshing to see! I remember my first black Barbie was the ballerina. I really wish I was able to enjoy the SIS series but by that time I was in my teens. I do remember getting so frustrated with Barbie and my mom introduced me to The brats dolls, in her words, I “looked more like the bratz dolls” feature wise. So the rest of my childhood into “teen” hood was spent playing with the bratz dolls a bit more than the Barbie dolls.

[@scrimshawmassacre]

i love the bratz dolls so much!

[@WindyNebula]

This is so fascinating and educational! It's so cool that some of the black Barbies have also been designed by black designers.

[@benromero7582]

💘✨Loveeee this video!💘✨ From the very beginning, to the very end, you were so respectful and it shows how much of a mature and thoughtful person you are. 💘💘Love you and all of your content! 💘💘

[@angelasaunders3558]

I had a Julia doll and loved it. With my mom also being a nurse, and we were fans of the TV show this worked out just great.

[@WinterFaery84]

Oh thank you for saying Asha correctly! I had an Asha doll as a kid, because she had my name, and she was my absolute favorite!

[@whiteglovian]

my first barbie doll was, if memory serves, the brown-haired, tanned-skin princess and the pauper doll. i believe i still have her somewhere, she was emblematic of my early childhood

[@zwilliams331]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Very few current KZbin doll reviews would not or could not cover this topic in a comprehensive and genuinely sincere way as you have. Thanks for this wonderful video. Happy that I am subscribe to your channel.

[@doglover12345andfr]

My only black doll growing up was an early 90's Christie. Can't say I remember the name of the line not being a Barbie collector but I think she came in a purple bikini.

[@nancia24]

I grew up in early 2010 late 2009 I remember my mom buying so in style dolls and I loved it ☺️

[@rexxy5]

Will you also do a similar video for when Asian Pacific American month comes and south Asian heritage month and talk bout the dolls that have come out with the backgrounds and skin colours associated with the two months

[@daviejz6698]

Yellow Barbies are rarer than the Black ones.

[@yurif4n]

@@daviejz6698 “yellow”?

[@JamieDoll]

That was so excellently executed 🥰👌🏾💋 Thank you… I really appreciate the SIS history… I missed that entire Era and I regret it. I love the Grace face mold and never knew where it originated from to be honest… was being lazy about the history. As for Brooklyn Barbie I bought the fashionista with the blue and hearts outfit that’s looks like her, but had no idea that Brooklyn Barbie was actually the new Black Barbie next to Original recasted young adult White Barbie💁🏽‍♀️ so clearly I don’t watch Barbie movies 🍿… BUT now I’ll go ahead and buy that two pack because I can appreciate it being a new iteration of Barbie History. I’m here for it. 😌👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 thanks again! You’re our Doll Community History Teacher . I Loves that for us🤣

[@kokepasu4583]

I love black barbie, I just wish Mattel would make the quality of their dolls nicer!! I can't justify buying them at this point

[@alexandriaskye4171]

Seeing this video a year later and I love that you donated to black girls rock! Thank you so much ❤️❤️

[@heidih.2465]

Can you please make a video about the non-Barbie non-Mattel Black fashion dolls like Fresh Dolls?

[@lexis4490]

This was a great video. Love that you included the commercials and original designers.

[@bubbles-dv9ur]

If SIS dolls ever come back i will broke my wallet 🤣🤣🤣.

[@CiderDivider]

I'm not a collector of anything toys, I did not grow up with dolls, I don't currently have any interest in stuff like this. However, I keep coming back to these videos! They're so informative and Cammy has such a great way with presenting what's going on. I appreciate the hard work that goes into researching, editing, and making these vids! Thank you :D

[@AllycatlovesAG]

This was very fascinating! I remember seeing the SIS dolls when I was younger and I loved their fashions! I never owned one though.

[@DarlingDollz]

Same! I always kinda wanted one when I would see them in Toys R Us and such, but at the time I was exclusively devoted to Monster High for arbitrary reasons 😭 I regret it

[@ajuliacarvalho]

i definitely love so in style dolls! as a Brazilian kid, i waited so long for this come tonmy country, but it never happened tho :( also, julia's doll got a special place in my heart, diahann carroll is gold!

[@the_soup2284]

The So in Style dolls are sooooo gorgeous....bring them back mattel!!!!!

[@magicknight13]

I wish Black Barbie had her own animated movie, I absolutely love the Barbie straight to video movies! She definitely deserves her own if not even her own series! 😍 thank you so much for this deep dive on her history! I love the nutcracker black Barbie😍💕

[@sierrajohnson717]

I miss when they would make official black versions of the barbies from the Barbie movies in the early 2000s. It made the main character look more like me.

[@delilahthesaddemon8804]

“Best friends” Pride flag slowly fades over the image Yes “friends”

[@lanadelclown7706]

I was OBSESSED with the S.I.S dolls, they were so gorgeous

[@Meowrose3]

My first introduction to the black Barbie line was the “tiny steps” black Kelly doll, the kind that pushes a pram. After collecting several more Kelly’s and Barbie’s I was given black President Barbie at Christmas 2000. I think there were several more, such as the Black Kelly’s from the Olympics. All in all, I had an even mix.

[@misty7302]

Shani was a missed opportunity, Mattel knows it.

[@croob8610]

I always found it so weird that they made black versions of all the movie dolls?? It felt kinda wrong

[@deanyaschempp]

I'm opening 3 windows, so I can skip between them and still let all of the ads play, x3. Love this! I loved my Christie doll - I had remembered her being from a series, because I used to use her to play Liz. I LOVED Room 222. I didn't realize that my "Liz" was a Christie doll! I also had a Julia, but I didn't like playing nurse so much. I also did not like her hair. Thanks so much for this video.

[@MySingleLifeADollShow]

I wonder why they thought black girls wouldn't want black dolls. I remember always wanting the dolls that look like me. I'm glad they have a much wider selection from. Now they have dolls for everyone!!

[@doll.ov.poetrii4682]

I'm sure they didn't care about that back then. The less representation we had back then, the better for them. That's how it was.

[@MySingleLifeADollShow]

@@doll.ov.poetrii4682 Just sad smh.

[@fitzofpassion]

Also, the natural hair on the black Ken dolls is excellent! My nephew always goes for the one that “looks like” him. Now we just got to get them to make a black merman doll 🙄, or even just a merboy from the Chelsea line.

[@strudel_reviews]

Those outfits designed by Ms.Kitty are fire

[@8bitdaydreams]

I legit teared up. This is something so special to a little black girl to see iconic and influencial figures be black like them

[@edhatboy]

The short live of black exclusive Dolls Is because they are exclusive to USA , I can only speack for México , we never get lots of Black Dolls in Latin America , from any brand

[@LoveJhanelle]

I fully enjoyed this video. Thank you!

[@galacticjester6668]

I liked the video, but I do wish you had discussed the Flavas with the other Barbie adjacent Mattel Black culture based lines, because while they had some nice respectful lines, they also had Flavas.

[@novatedder8644]

nice video but you forgot the Fashonista line. also could you make a video on history on Asian and Native American dolls please

[@kaede1_346]

the S.I.S. dolls are gorgeous, I hope I can find someone reselling them

[@LillianSteele-u9v]

As a child, I had Barbie, Ken, Alan and Midge, Skipper and her friends, and Barbie's baby sister and brother. Did receive a special Barbie repro of the Sunday Church Barbie which is African-American, A few years ago I received an East Carolina Cheerleader Barbie which is black, and also a Midge mom doll which I decided to represent my sisterinlaws mom who became good friends with my mom. The Barbie Cheerleader represents my youngest niece, a high school senior, on the AB Honor Roll and a competitive cheerleader. I had a wonderful childhood and my nieces got some of my Barbies.

[@victoriabell9546]

I had one of the So In Style dolls (Grace). I found them fascinating. I still have it. I just can't find it, tho. Now that I think about it, they should bring that line back! As much as it is cool to have black (Brooklyn) Barbie be in the spotlight as her own character, I wish Mattel had made already established characters such as Christie, Nikki, or Grace be in the spotlight as their own characters and not just supporting characters. Having one character named Barbie and another character named Barbie, but as a different race is a bit confusing for me, tbh.

[@DrawpinionDump]

Best Friends............. (I'm still fascinated by the red oxidation in the black hair of those older models, I had no idea something like this could happen!)

[@jamn2boost]

This was so informative. I never knew they kept names and maintained characters. Also agree on those SIS dolls. They look like they could be on todays shelves and be relevant

[@GratitudeGriot]

i definitely remember the Shani dolls!!! I LOVED their outfits!! also i'm pretty sure I had a Sun Jewel Shani just because my name is Jewell lol

[@IorekB92]

Will you be doing similar videos to other characters, like Kira/Lea, or Teresa?

[@virginiawolf4673]

I had a Scary Spice doll as a kid. Her hairstyle and outfit is really unique. She was my favorite to play with.

[@beepbow8444]

The so in style dolls are so pretty 😍 Wish I had those when I was younger! But they came out a little too late :/

[@AJGaming-wh8rf]

Shani was not discontinued due to low sales, in fact that line was a hit in the black community. The line was discontinued because retailers refused to purchase them to sell. Apparently one of the only ways to get a Shani doll was to order it through a catalogue.

[@xenonflame_vlog529]

so in style looks really good