posted by Sam Richards
So I’m curious about what you all thought of that video about the dolls. What do you make of how people in class answered the question about how and why this happens? Here it is again. That segment begins around 3:20 if you want to watch it again.
When I saw this video I was appalled and absolutely shocked. I cannot believe that when shown a black and white doll the children picked the white doll. It just shows what a world we grow up in. Everything around us, it is shown that a white girl is put on a pedestal. The children’s parents are not teaching them this, it is not taught in textbooks that white women are better. So where is it coming from?
I believe that it is coming from society. It is coming from the society that we grow up in. There are so many stereotypes out there. And there are so many reasons that children are growing up thinking that white women will always win against a black women. You can see this in television shows such as the Bachelor or even America’s Next Top Model. In the Bachelor, it is all white women, and inevitably a white woman always comes out on top. In America’s Next Top Model, there is a more even amount of white women and black women, but many times, a white woman once again wins. In regular sitcoms, white women usually play the leads. In most movies, white women play the leads.
I very much see this apparent in Disney movies. Children grow up watching Disney movies. How many Disney movies can you name where there is a black princess? Cinderella is blonde and white. Sleeping Beauty is white. Snow White is white. Children are watching these movies where there is no sign that a black women is a “princess” or that she comes out on top. They do even have movies where they try to stay away from the white stereotype, like Pocahontas with Native Americas or Mulan with Asians. But never do they have a fairytale with a black woman being the princess.
You can also see this to be true by walking down an aisle in a toy store. The majority of the Barbie’s are white. Yes, there are a few black Barbie’s, but the Barbie’s that the majority of little kids play with are white. Even the majority of dolls that children play with are white.
As sad as this all seems, it is very true. We are all growing up in a white world. The world is leaning towards being white. It is comparable to how the world leans towards right handers. For those of you who are left handed, the world is not set around you. There are not as many left handed seats, cars are not made for left handers. Just like the world appears to maybe not be made for black women. I believe that we need to change this. We need to realize that in order for equality, we need to start at a young age. It is not a good thing for such young children to see white as better than black, even when the child is black. It is absolutely horrible and I believe that it needs to end, and it needs to end starting when the children are young.
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When Sam said that his video would be one of the most disturbing videos of the semesters, I was expecting a very different kind of video. However, after watching this video, and really thinking about what it meant, I have to agree that it is perhaps one of the most disturbing videos we have watched so far. Many of the videos we have seen in class so far have shown outright discrimination and racism, which at times has been very hard to watch and comprehend. However, to me, it’s so much worse to watch a video were young black and brown children prefer white dolls to black dolls, and where teenage black and brown girls talk about how they feel ugly because of their dark skin. It is almost easier to see someone openly dislike another person because of their skin color than to see someone openly dislike themselves because of skin color.
After watching this video I just keep thinking, what in our society is teaching these children to dislike themselves so much because of their dark skin, and how can we change it. One thing I can think of which I’m sure plays a large part in it, is the media. I understand the overwhelming emphasis that the media puts on light skin as being beautiful, and in such a technology driven society, this image is most definitely part of the reason for these children’s mindset. I know a couple of the people in class who responded to the video, and the reason for these young children choosing the white dolls, said that they felt the media was to blame. I remember one girl saying that the advertisements on TV always made the white dolls and Barbies more appealing than the black dolls. However, it’s something that needs to be changed and revised. The idea that children as young as five or six are already thinking that being black or brown is bad is a horrifying example of the negative images these children must be seeing. I can only imagine what this does for a young child’s confidence, and for their idea of how race plays into the world as well. Also, if these brown and black girls and boys are seeing these negative images which are present in society, then unfortunately other races are noticing them as well. This could lead to more racism, which is definitely not the way anyone wants race relations to go.
I think this video was really insightful into the identity problems that many black and brown children may be facing. It made me really pay attention to the fact that our society really does display the image of beauty as white, and that this image is having very negative consequences.
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After watching the video of the little children choosing between the different colored dolls, I felt so bad for the little kids because it is not their fault that they think the white doll looks better. It’s because of society that the little kids are forced to think like that. It is sad to see what the children think because they really should embrace their skin, their heritage, their hair, and everything else about themselves. And that does not go just for African-Americans, everybody in the whole world should love themselves because you are never going to be able to change yourself. Society makes everybody in the universe feel crappy about themselves, but it is funny that nobody in “society” likes themselves. Everyone seems to hate at least one thing about themselves, whether it’d be their voice, their race, their skin color, their weight, so therefore nobody is perfect. And nobody should be perfect because what is perfect? If there was a definition of perfection in society then I do not know how the world would be, probably not as great as it is now. There are so many different cultures and races in the world and each one has its own interesting story.
I know when these kids get older they will realize that their skin color is beautiful and they will embrace it, but it is just a shame that these kids can’t enjoy their childhood because they are too busy thinking they are not good enough for society. Until then we should really let them know that whoever you are, white, black, blue, green, or orange, everybody is equally beautiful and has something special about them. This is a sign that the world has changed as much as we thought yet. We still need to work on accepting everybody and everything. And we really need to embrace all cultures instead of just one. When we googled the word “beauty” it spoke volumes to see that all the results came up with pictures of white girls. People always say it is not what is on the outside that matters; it is what is on the inside. Growing up I did not really listen to that statement. In high school I would always worry about my image, but now that I am in college I feel like my eyes and thoughts have experienced a lot more. I feel like I know more about myself and what is going on around me. With age I will continue to gain more knowledge about myself and about society. These little kids will soon learn that both dolls are equally beautiful and neither is a bad doll or a good doll. In the end everybody, even little kids, should realize that everything and everybody in the universe should never be taken for granted. Everything in life provides a special meaning and people should never be worried about themselves. Everybody should love their body, their mind, and everything about themselves.
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Ok. So here is what I have to say about this whole black people wanting to be white because they’re more beautiful thing. I understand that in society today there is a better chance to be in power if you are white than there us if you are black, but when it comes to being beautiful I think that all those theories of power need to be thrown out the window. Comparing two women of different race, one white and one black, their beauty should not come down to which of the two has the lighter skin. This is ridiculous. Who is judging the two girls? Is it a man or woman? Are they black, white, asian, African, Dominican, etc? If you, whoever you are, don’t think your beautiful because you’re a dark skinned woman, than I don’t think your beautiful either. I think that you need to be able to think highly of yourself without the reassurance of others and society. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and others find you beautiful too. Trust me. Im a hairy kid that I thought nobody would find attractive and I have been in a relationship with a girl that many others envy for 4 years now. How bout that one!
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When Sam warned us that this video was going to be disturbing, I was confused about what he meant. But pretty much as soon as he started the meaning of his worlds completely clicked. Watching the angst that these children underwent during the process of picking dolls deeply troubled me. These are children we're talking about. They aren't adults of the world that have had decades of experience with race relations. They're children. The fact that so early on in their lives they've been ingrained with the thought that black people are "bad" and white people are "good" and "nice" absolutely sickens me to be quite honest. What are we doing to their minds; to their self-esteem? These kids are going to grow up with such poor images of themselves, and such low standards and goals that succeeding and rising above adversities are going to be near impossible for them. Think of how you would feel if from the time you were born everyone around you, the media, advertisements, the school system, and society in general told you that you were bad at math. Every day you were bombarded with the statement that numbers were just not for you. Eventually, even if you didn't want to believe it at first, you would come to think that you were bad at math, and according to the self-fulfilling prophecy, you would never succeed in the subject. That's similar to the message that's being sent to these children. When their young, impressionable minds are swamped with messages that black is bad, what else are they to think? And they don't know any different. And without someone or something to tell them otherwise, who's going to stop the vicious cycle? Their poor self-image as being inadequate, inferior (morally or otherwise), isn't something that's just going to disappear. It's not like one day they're going to wake up, look in the mirror and say "Wow, self, you're beautiful just the way you are. You're important, full of potential, and can do anything you want." Things like that just don't happen. What's more likely is that without some kind of intervention, these children are likely to grow into the stereotypes that are set like traps for them by society. They are bound to fall prey to the ills of society and become the very things they once feared.
What really disturbed me the most about the video is that at such a young age, these children already have the mindset once reserved for those maybe triple their age. The kids in the video I'd say are all younger than about 5. At that age, the only worries a child should have are whether to play kick-ball or color with chalk. The issue of race shouldn't even be a question to them, much less should they have to differentiate between "good" and "bad" colors. And the fact that they were able to make such determinations at all is shocking, and extremely saddening. Where has their childhood gone? With no time to just be a kid and not worry about color and race, these children are being catapulted into an adult world much much too soon.
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I thought this movie was heart breaking. I don’t know why all the kids would rather play with the white doll but it is a lot easier to buy white dolls in the store than black dolls. I had to do a soc assignment for one of my other classes and it was about the toys that we see in Wal-Mart. We were more focusing on gender stereotypes and what is considered the ideal toys to play with at certain ages. I do remember not seeing very many black dolls and it seems totally unfair that this it the way that society is.
Being white I never really noticed because the dolls that I played with were mostly white. My sister got an Addy American Girl Doll when we were little (the doll is black) and I never really thought about it as a black/White thing…that was just the doll she wanted to play with.
When the kids were asked which one is the “good” one and which one is the “bad” one it was so sad that they usually picked white for “good.” It just really shows how society works and what little kids are learning at a young age and it is really dangerous for their healthy development. When the one little girl was asked which is the “good” doll and she picked the white one and then immediately after they asked her which one does she look like? She hesitated and looked like she wanted to pick the white doll but pushed the black doll forward. It was really sad.
Something needs to be done so that little children of all colors and backgrounds can feel secure in their own skin. It needs to change that we attribute good qualities and bad qualities simply based on the color of our skin. These young kids will grow up resenting themselves and being insecure if they truly believe that this is how they should feel.
I always just assumed that children would want to play with dolls that looked like themselves but if they are being taught that they are not as good as someone else they are going to try to conform to what is the better one in societies eyes.
We’ve come very far since the civil war and civil rights movements but no one can argue that we are perfectly showing equality in the world. There is hate and anger towards groups of people simply because they look different. It is horrible that at such a young age children pick up on the hate and try and change who they are and what they want to play with based on it. It is clear to me that at a young age, self worth and appreciation for all people needs to be instilled in children all over the country. Without it they will grow up as resentful, unconfident, adults.
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This video which was shown in class was very sad and eerie. As a white female, I always had a white baby doll growing up. I never before thought why it was that I always had a white one when black baby doll’s were available as well. Even looking back at my days in daycare when I was younger, there were only white baby doll’s, never black ones, even though there were just as many black children as there were white ones being taken care of.
This video made me sad because it shows that children are already cognizant of the aspect of color in society. Whether their parents taught them that white means more privilege or if they simply just noticed it, it makes my heart hurt. I talked to my black and brown friends after class about this video and while we were all saddened by this video, they said that this is nothing new for them. Even in my discussion group, my friend stated that her parents were happy that she came out as a very white Latina girl because she would be afforded more opportunities than her other relatives. This to me, is just mind-boggling. Never in my life have I ever been explicitly told that my skin color will put me ahead of my classmate with a different color skin. It makes me sad that we as a society today are paralleling the terms of white skin and privilege.
Also, its very frustrating to see the body type of white women as being the standard of beauty. The European standard of beauty is white skin, long legs and very skinny. This standard is simply not attainable. As we’ve seen on the news throughout our lives, this emaciated picture of beauty is even deadly to attain. Women die or become sick from trying to live up to this standard that society tells them is the only picture of a beauty. If we look around at the people around us, there are not that many super skinny people around us. Especially seen in the black and brown community, curvy is gorgeous. As a white girl, I wish the black and brown standards of beauty of loving yourself and being proud of who you are, however you looked, were more prominent in our society. I want my children and grandchildren to know that however they look, they are pretty. I feel like my black and brown friends are usually proud of their heritage and their body despite the societal messages in opposition.
In order to alleviate the problem that is so blatant in this video, we need to change the connotations of being white and pretty. Your skin color should not dictate your societal status and your appearance should not be dictated by society. We need to teach the future generations that not only can white people be afforded opportunities, but black and brown people can too. We need to teach the future youth that they are perfect the way they are and do not need to change for anyone but themselves.
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I completely agree with what you're saying about the media having a big effect on this. In fact, I would say it’s MOSTLY the media’s fault. But I don’t think the term “subconscious” is quite the best word to describe the situation. On the contrary, I think they’re VERY conscious of it. I’m 21 years old and I’m STILL seeing commercials for Barbie and other similar dolls for girls, and they ALWAYS feature the white/Caucasian doll. Can you recall a commercial where you saw a young colored girl playing with a colored doll? I certainly can’t, save for the Bratz line of dolls that seem to have more Latino or exotic features. So, props to them for at least trying to put that idea out on the market (although I do consider many other things wrong with the line, like their perpetuation of commodity feminism).
But you know what? I think the PARENTS are to blame, as well. They do, in fact, make dolls with darker skin nowadays. So why aren’t the parents buying them? Maybe they are now – I’m not sure how old this video is. If you ask me, it’s also their fault in a big way. Now, I’m not saying that black/Asian/Hispanic/etc. families should ONLY buy their children dolls that look like them. That would have the extreme opposite effect. But why not mix it up? Let them play with ALL of them and learn to love ALL of the dolls. Maybe these feelings will have a profound effect later in their lives.
At the same time, I don’t think that the kids are really conscious yet of how serious this is. When they’re asked which one is the good doll and point to the white one, I think that they’re more conscious about which one is more popular. Personally, I would really think they’re too young to know about the societal ideologies surrounding race. Maybe I’m completely missing the point here. Don’t get me wrong, I understand how serious and disturbing this is – THIS is how kids learn to hate themselves and each other. And it’s horrifying to see it develop at such an early age. I just think that little kids’ definitions of “good and bad” may not be on target with what adults think they are. I don’t think that they associate “good” with whiteness and money and power just yet, or “bad” with blackness with poverty and struggle and discrimination. It’s more of a popularity thing (which, yes, is an issue in itself).
So in reality, I guess I have to say that I really can’t blame the kids for thinking this way. They see the white dolls in the commercials, they get to the store and they point to the white dolls and say “I want that one”…because THAT’S the doll in the commercial, not the black or brown one. It’s about spectacular consumption and wanting the most popular thing on the market – at least for kids. It’s not about skin color yet. But I think that, like you said, it needs to be addressed. The advertising industry and their doll-manufacturing clients need to take this into consideration and maybe consider throwing in a mixed cast of dolls in their next set of commercials.
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I think the hardest part of watching this video was seeing the pain in the eyes of the children who had to choose between the dolls. To be so young and already aware of race is such a shame. I know at that age I was not thinking about which doll to choose. My mom told me a story not long ago about how when I saw a black person for the first time I asked my mom why his skin was dirty. When she told me this I felt shame but she said to me that at the time she just explained some people had darker skin and I just said ok and accepted this. I mean I was just so unaware of race as a child whereas the kids in the video just knew about it. I know Sam told a story in class about kids asking about dirty skin and so I want to say this really did happen to me. At this point in my life I did not think I would be feeling any white guilt. I thought I had a fairly good grasp at race…or at least looking at people equally. When I watched this video I started to feel guilty. What had my people…the white people…done to make it so a two or three year old kid thought that a doll that looked like them looked bad. I am only twenty but I am of the mindset that kids should not grow up too fast. That they maintain their innocence as long as possible. I feel like for the little kids in the video their ability to just be a kid was taken early from them because of their race. I have never to think about race when I was little. I could just pick the white doll or play with legos and think nothing of it. These children can pick a doll or play with legos but as shown in the video they know there is a difference between them and the doll they want. I don’t know what to say other than that I feel bad. I wish I knew a way to change this. It makes me wonder whether my black and brown friends when I was growing up had the same feelings. That the doll that looked like me was better than the one that looked like them. This video also made me wonder whether the people in class who said they would pick the colored doll actually mean it. I listened to them and they said all of the black and brown dolls looked wrong, they were ugly. So would you really choose a doll today if you thought it was ugly just because your skin is the same or would you still truly choose the white doll? I really want to know. In the meantime I hope there is a way for people to realize that all skin colors are beautiful…at any age.
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This video was extremely disturbing. I cannot believe that these young children associated skin color with good and evil characteristics. As a child, I always picked out dolls that resembled my own features, not what I thought represented good or bad. However, maybe this is because I am white. I did not HAVE to think about the differences in skin tone. Rather, the only differences that I would have to choose between were eye and hair color of a doll. Interestingly enough, when I did not possess the same features as the favored Barbie, I felt a small pang of insignificance and I questioned why I did not look like her.
While playing with my dolls, I liked to live vicariously through my doll and give her the best opportunities, clothes, relationships, and accessories in my imaginary land of Barbies. When I was at the age of most of the children in the video, the main Barbie that lead the other dolls was white and had blonde hair. Because I had brown hair, I felt that my characteristics did not fit the leader stereotype. The dolls with my brown hair and blue eyes did not come with names on their packages. They were just labeled –Barbie’s friends. I was brought up as a down-to-earth girl so I was fine with having my doll be second-in-command to materialistic, high-maintenance, Blondie-Barbie, but it did bother me that my features did not match the favored doll’s features. As I grew older, more diverse Barbies were produced such as Hawaiian Barbie, Japanese Barbie, African-American Barbie…etc. As I aged with confidence into my early teen years, I began to appreciate more fully my differences than the traditional blonde-haired Barbie portrayal. I liked to be unique and I therefore became interested in finding other Barbies that exemplified different features other than a typical white-rich girl. I invested in lots of Asian and Black Barbies, as well as ones with red-hair.
I did not come to full confidence with accepting my own self-image and occupying a keen interest for differences until I was at least twelve years old. Prior to this age, I was surface-leveled and only recognized major differences that stood out from the norm. For example, more white dolls were produced when I was five, and among the white dolls there was more variety of faces and types of white dolls. On the other hand, the black-doll section was only limited to a few dolls. Therefore, I can see why the black children wanted the white doll instead of the black doll. White dolls were produced more frequently, creating an imbalance in racial variety. Because black dolls were produced less frequently, it almost seemed like they were made as an exception to white dolls, rather than to represent another human race.
I believe that children need to be educated as young boys and girls that they are so important and they are so unique that they will NEVER exactly resemble a doll and they should not invest their self-confidence evaluation of appearance on a plastic model. Therefore, they will look beyond one’s outer appearance and really learn to gaze inside of people’s hearts when they grow older.
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I wouldn't keep using the word disturbing as the best way to describe this video, like everyone else has. The only way to describe it is that it is truely sad that young children are feeling this way. The most shocking part of the clip was when they chose the "nice" doll and the "bad" doll. To see the young black child pick the white doll as the nice one and the black doll as the bad one, was sort of gut wrenching. I have to admit at first I was pretty surprised. I was wondering immediately, why would he pick the white one it doesn't make any sense? Then I started wondering how these kids feel about themselves. Did that boy think he was a bad person because he too was black. That was probably the toughest thing to think about because no child should grow up assuming that they are bad based on their skin color. I could understand the little girls liking the white dolls more. I remember some pysch classes talking about this and how most children pick the dolls that they either see themselves as or want to be like. So taking this into consideration does that mean that the children in this video want to be white. That may be the case. That is sad because people should like who they are whether they are black, brown, or white. When i heard about this whole concept of black girls choosing the white doll in these types of experiments, before this class and video, I thought whats the big deal. They are choosing the one that they like. I felt like we were looking to much into things like usual. But now after this video I feel that there is something wrong with our society that children are growing up with these viewpoints. You can't blame the children for their views, but the society that forms their views. We need to continue to fix our societies views and the messages that we portray on young children so that one day we can run this experiment and they won't choose a bad doll or a good doll. This whole video was very eye opening to the inner pain some children have about there skin color and their race when in all actuality I feel everyone should be proud of their race and where they came from and where they are. There is so much culture that goes with every race its sad to see some people not being taught to appreciate it and learn it rather to hate themselves possibly because of their skin color. That is what I saw in this film especially the look in the little boys eyes when having to choose a good and bad doll. I saw the pain and inner struggle to do so. He seemed ashamed of being the race that he was and that was the hard part about this clip.
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This video was very interesting and quite shocking when i found out that African Americans children chose that white doll over the black doll. I couldn't believe the questions and answers that were being given by this young girl. When she was ask which doll looks bad the girl chose he black doll. I couldn't believe it, it actually killed me to here that and then to find out that 15 out of 20 kids felt the same way. What have we done in society to make these thinking processes suitable in today's society.What image have we created to our young children, what message are we sending them. All of these questions are very serious and we need to do something. I thought we were passed that stage when it comes to race but i am definitely wrong. In America today it should be our goal to make sure everyone is comfortable with their own culture, physical features,and personalities. Everyone is different we should not try and force an image that everyone should follow its absurd. Be proud of who you are and were you come from, don't listen to everyone else. If you want to straiten your hair do it! if you dont want to then dont! we are free to look as we choose and we should be proud of our natural features we have because that is how God created us.
The is our fault as society not encouraging uniqueness and trying to set a standard for an image of men and women in society. We need to start encouraging uniqueness and naturalness. I guess what Im trying to say it be true to who you are and society we should understand that God create us to look a certain way and we should try to change that.
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As Sam said this video was one of the most shocking videos we have watched in class. The majority of my shock didn’t even come from the fact that the children picked the white doll as the one they wanted to play with (although that was pretty shocking). It was when the young, probably about five years old, black girl chose the white doll as the nice doll. And it only got worse when she chose the black doll as the mean doll. I was amazed and sad. How, at such a young age, a child can make such a decision. It just shows that there is something seriously wrong with our society and the way we present different races. Where did these children learn to think that white dolls are prettier and nicer than the black dolls? Some of these children are still not in school so they couldn’t have learned it in a dominantly white school so it must be either in their homes and communities or through the media. I must say movies and television do present a primarily white cast. While it has come a long way from when my generation was young, I think it still has a long way to go. Disney’s first five princesses – Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Ariel – were white. It wasn’t until 1992 when Aladdin was released that there was a different race princess with Jasmine, then again in 1998 with Mulan representing the China population. They have finally gotten with the times and just this past year introduced a black princess. Television is also introducing more diversity through Dora the Explorer and The Little Einstein’s. Maybe with these new representations we will have more black children choosing the black doll as the strong, nice, beautiful doll.
This video also made me think back to my childhood and playing with dolls. While I will say I had majority white dolls, I can remember one story that will forever stick in my mind. I was probably about five when I got my first American Girl doll (a collection of dolls that represent different time periods in history). I started with the Bitty Baby which came in a variety of races. Right away I wanted the “Hispanish” one. While I may not have been able to pronounce it, I knew she was the cute baby doll I wanted. Sam mentioned that a very slim amount of white children would ever pick any doll but the white one and if they did it was probably because they grew up and a minority neighborhood. This also was not the case for me as I live and a very white community. This class really makes me think about the decisions I make and have made in my life.
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As I watched this video in class the other day I was both surprised and upset by what I saw. We were warned that the video was going to be disturbing, and for me it was one of the most eye opening things that I have seen or learnt about in this class. Children are innocent and it easily influenced, and it is shocking to me that this percentage of dark skinned children would react to the questions asked in that manner. I guess growing up white you take a lot of things for granted. You do not even realize that you are white because white is the majority, and that is who you are growing up around. This video taught me that if you are a minority than you are aware of that fact at a very early age. Growing up white, this is something that I would have never have fathomed. What is the reason that the majority of these dark skinned children would choose the white doll as being better, or the doll that is good? There is no way that they would have chosen the white doll over the black doll if they were not influenced somewhere along the way in their early life. It is not just a onetime occurrence or a fluke either.
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Statistically, the black children choose the white doll. So, then I find myself asking who the influence is that is making these kids behave this way. Parents are usually the people that have the most influence on a child. They spend the most time with their children in early life. Is it parents that are causing this some way? I find it hard to believe that a parent would say something to influence their child into some sort of self-loathing. Parents encourage their kids; they do not break them down. Maybe these kids are influenced by their classmates and peers. I can and have seen this happen before in my childhood. That can definitely have an effect on a child of this age. Children realize that there are differences between themselves, and they have no trouble bringing them up with one another. Sometimes, children are insensitive about each other’s feelings. I can see this being a reason for the white doll choice.
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Aside from parents and peers, I feel that probably the most influencing factor is our society. Although we have made changes and made commercials, television shows, and movies more diverse, there still must be an attitude that leaves an impression on these kids. I can not easily recognize it because I am part of the majority. All I notice is that society is becoming more and more politically correct, more and more diverse. Maybe for these kids they don’t see it the same way.
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Sam was not exaggerating when he said this would be one of the most disturbing videos we would watch all semester. This whole video upsets me. Why is it that light skin is considered beautiful? Why is straight or naturally waved hair paired with light skin considered the most beautiful? Every girl should feel that her own race is beautiful. It is a shame that the media portrays beauty the way it does, because media has such a huge impact on the way people think.
Now, about the dolls. For some reason I always thought that younger children played with dolls of their own racial background. I must be so naive. The outcome of this video really shocked me and brought a sort of sadness, along with shock, from inside me. I never thought for one second that fifteen out of those twenty one children would have picked the white doll to play with because they liked that doll best. Some of the children even picked up the white doll before she was finished asking the question. Has it become that much of a natural instinct in children that white has to be better? Second, when asked to pick the "nice" doll, they pick the white doll also, and when asked which doll is bad, the response was the black doll. The reasoning was simply because "she is white", and "she is black". This confused me a little because often white people are seen as discriminatory or racist, but yet to these younger children the white doll is still seen as the nicer doll of the two. Perhaps it has to do solely with the belief that light skin is more beautiful? I believe they are basing their decisions off of social norms.
After the children made their decisions about the dolls in the first two questions, they were asked to choose which doll looked like them. This next response was honestly the most heartbreaking for me. The young girl looked like she was in such distress before she pushed the black doll toward the woman across the table. I could imagine why. These children were just sitting at that table saying that white was nice, and black was bad, but yet they all looked like the black doll. That look on that child's face when she chose the black doll really touched me, and not in a good way. I really hope than one day we can over come this color obstacle, if anywhere hopefully it can start in the toy industry. Young children should want to play with dolls of their own color and not feel like the doll of color has to be the bad or mean doll.
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This was surprising to see, but at the same time, it made sense. The mass media today makes us all question who we are and it makes most people want to be something else. We buy into the stereotypes and let them alter our frame of mind. A huge stigma that follows people of color is that they our more prone to crime. The constant use of the "gangster" image as entertainment is both, fueling this stereotype (because the gangster is rarely white) and creating a persona that people see and then want for themselves. People want to be gangster because it has become the "cool". They wanna do drugs and they wanna sell drugs, and they wanna have guns and they wanna have power. They wanna be a mob boss because they have money and fly women. This is especially true if you don't have money, if you can't get these things you have to take them. So in the poorest of places, there's always a high crime rate. And when you look around in these desolate places, and you only see people of color, of course you're going to start thinking that all people of color are more prone to crime. When really, there's just as much white crime because there's more white people. I don't think that it is only black children that would choose the opposite colored doll. If you had done that test on me at that age, I probably would have chosen the black dolls— I mean I was a huge basketball fan. So black would have been "cool". It just goes to show that we all have some shred of insecurity in us. We all want to be something we're not sometimes. I know I might have chosen the black/brown dolls because the stigma following white people is that we're kinda "dorks". We're not "cool", we can't jump high (total bullshit, I'm 6'3'' and I can do a 360 dunk), we can't dance, etc…. Nobody wants to be what they are 100%. The media has total control of all of this. A world without TV would be an enlightened one. Kids learn about the world from their TV screens. I say fuck all that, I say if people can't prove that they are unaffected subconsciously by what they see on TV then they shouldn't be allowed to watch. Would people not like what they are if they never see what they're not? The ironic thing is that the people that our idolized probably want to be something else too. its the human condition. We're the most self-conscious species on earth, ever since Adam and Eve ate that fucking apple. (if you believe in all that) You can put something we don't have in front of us and we'll want it more than anything.
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This video shocked me the first time we watched it in class. Then when Sam had us watch through it again, I was still shocked. Seriously, what kind of messed up society do we live in where there are little black kids saying that a doll is bad because it is black? You'd think that they would say the doll that is most like them is the good doll, but instead it is the opposite most of the time. The one that got to me the most was the last little girl. When asked what doll looked like her, she looked over at the white doll and touched it, then glanced over at the black doll before pushing it toward the person conducting the experiment. It was as if the little girl was ashamed of the fact that the black doll is the one that she looks like. I find it sad that black children think that their color is evil, while white children are good. If the same experiment were conducted with white children, there is no doubt in my mind that a solid majority of the white children would choose the black doll. In fact, I don’t think that any of them would choose the black doll, just because it would be more foreign to them.
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An example of black people being more foreign to white children is a story my aunt once told me about when my cousin was little. They went to a store together, and my cousin asked my aunt why one of the ladies in the store was so dirty. The lady, of course, was black, and my cousin had not seen many black people before, as our whole family is white. The lady then began to flip out on my aunt, telling her that she should have taught my cousin better. In all actuality, I don’t think my cousin was in the wrong at all, and that the lady shouldn’t have gotten angry with her or my aunt. My cousin was just a little kid, and being so, was innocent in her questioning and didn’t mean any harm.
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On the other hand, even though my cousin was young and didn’t really know any better, I think it would be nice if children were educated about people who are different from them at a young age. Then, perhaps whenever they get older, they will not be so judgmental when it comes to skin color. Even though this is a great thought, I think it would be something very hard to accomplish just because a lot of people, whether they admit it or not, are a little racist. Therefore, perhaps they would not want to educate their children about different races.
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this video really struck a cord with me. i was so taken aback watching it and wondering why these children felt the way they did about their own race. i couldnt help but think the way society makes us think from an early age. being a media studies major i can go back to cases we have learned and stories i have read. one reason why i feel this may be possible is that children shows capture the feel of white people rather than black or brown. disney movies have never been geared to people of color, and if they are claimed to be the characters still have very white features. jasmine from alladin has darker skin but her physical features and the way she talks leads many to view her as white. this could be the reason why the kids chose the white doll since they are used to seeing this through our media. i was so disturbed to see the young kids view the white babies as nice and vice versa towards the black. i wanted to know why and i wanted to see how they would view this in a few years when they grew up. i feel like i am to blame, the white race is to blame for this. i go out and support the white media by going to see these disney movies and not boycotting them or buying products that are geared toward whites.i am upset that it has taken me this long to see what problems the white race has caused minorities. i wish i could have taken notice years ago. my eyes have opened to the wrongs my race and has began to lead to me to have an overall negative view of them. it seems the whites try to do anything they can to keep others down while only helping themselves. i can only hope that other white people are beginning to notice and try to make a change to the way our society is. i find it hard being all the people in our country to say that our society will soon accept since i have come across many people who are stuck in the white power phase but claim to not be racist. its sad to see smart and intelligent whites claim they are not racist but when jokes are told and phrases being said, it takes their view to a whole new level.
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“A girl like me” was an eye-opening video, which depicted suppressed feeling children have towards people of different color. For children, they don’t know that our outward appearances make up .001% of our DNA. They do not realize that the way you look should have no effect on what you can and can’t do. To them, all they see are differences in appearances and how adults manifest those differences in the way they act.
Since watching that video I have been trying to brainstorm what could cause that little girl to label the black doll as bad. Perhaps it depends on the neighborhood she is being raised in. If she is being raised in an inner city environment she may see a lot of violence, and usually the ones committing this violence are black. Maybe the little girl’s mother or father does bad things such as drugs, or stealing, or a number of other things and since they are black, she makes a connection between their actions and the only other obvious characteristic of color.
If the little girl had been born in the suburbs of northern Virginia, I think she would still be likely to pick the white doll, but I do not believe that if asked which one was bad she would pick the black one. Growing up in the suburbs she would be surrounded by white little boys and girls. She could also clearly be able to tell the difference between their skin colors, but perhaps in order to make friends she would want to play with the doll that all the white kids play with; the white one. However, she may not have as much knowledge of who is bad and who is good solely based on skin color because in the suburbs white kids and adults and black kids and adults have a similar life style and low crime rates.
I was particularly shocked at this because I always wanted the doll that looked most like me; tan with dark hair. Maybe that’s because I grew up in a different culture where white people weren’t seen as “better” than us in any way. In my country everyone was on the same level and I think that helped my perception of who is good and who is bad. When we moved to the U.S. I saw myself as an individual and already had a conception of who I was, and I was also proud of it. Therefore my choice of dolls remained constant.
What got me most about that video was how when asked which doll looked most like her, the little girl wanted to say the white doll because her perception of herself was that she was good. But she realized that she was more like the black doll, or the “bad” doll. I wonder if that will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and whether she will be likely to think she should be bad because of her skin color.
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Sam was definitely right that this video was shocking. It absolutely broke my heart watching it, and it really opened my eyes to a whole new world. I honestly never thought that having “white skin” was a form a beauty, nor did I see it as even being promoted in our world as what beautiful is. Boy, did this video change that view for me. Seeing the innocence of these young children so torn and broken by what they have been told to be true is absolutely torturing.
I definitely agree with many other posts when they say that the media is to blame for this. The media portrays an extremely small proportion of the human race and proclaims them as “beautiful.” I think that in many instances, blacks and whites alike, dream to look like people whom they are not. However, in the case of these women talking, and these little children, it’s their skin color that makes them feel ugly, inferior, and, as a little girl pointed out, “bad.” It is so sad that this is the world we live in. That people look at themselves in a specific way because of the color of the skin.
I think what was so disheartening about this video was trying to figure out how I can change this perception. How can you make someone see that they are beautiful, despite what the media is saying? It is so tough to change someone’s perception of who they are and what constitutes beauty. I think this is something that, if we want to see change, has to be addressed with our media.
As a white little girl, I loved Barbies. I must admit, the majority of them were white, however, I had an obsession with wanting a black Barbie doll. I was very young and I did not refer to it as wanting a black Barbie doll. This doll was wearing blue and I referred to her as my blue Barbie doll. I loved her because I thought she was exotic and different—to me, she was absolutely beautiful. Thinking back to my own experience, after watching this video, was somewhat enlightening, for lack of better words. I can’t exactly explain why, perhaps it was because after watching this video I felt as if children were not the naïve, innocent little beings I had once thought. Instead, the video demonstrated the power of media and how tarnished these children’s childhoods are. I think that this is something that we can change, that we NEED to change, to get children’s innocence back. There should be absolutely NO reason why a young child associates the color of his/her skin with “badness.” This video truly opened my eyes.
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Seeing this video in class made me very disturbed, but I was not surprised to see the kids choose the white doll. In today’s world, as much as we want to think that all races are beautiful, the media portrays the white race more beautiful than the rest. Through celebrities that we see, the “most beautiful” women are usually white. So when you see this on TV and when kids are exposed to this type of visual, they start to create their own definitely of what looks good and what looks bad. Also, through the media today, we see a lot of black and brown people who get into trouble more often than white people. Through the news and especially through movies and television shows, black and brown people are portrayed as a criminal or someone who is up to no good. Growing up as a part of the black and brown people, I can see why the kids chose the white doll as the “better” doll. At a young age I was exposed to white society and seeing that the white person was somehow always superior and that you have to look like them. I know many celebrities try to straighten their hair instead of having their naturally kinked hair. Two celebrities that come to mind are Halle Berry and Beyonce. They are two of the most beautiful black women in show business and why are they considered that? Maybe it is because that they straighten their hair so that they look more like a white woman and less like the typical black woman. Going back to the growing up in white society, you see that people are more attracted to white people than they are of you and your own race. You get the sense that you need to be more like them and less like yourself to become attractive. From wearing the same clothes to acting and talking more like them to “fit in” to their society. Also, being exposed to media where the white person is the hero and the black and brown person is the evil person, you start figuring out that you want to be more like the white person and feel a sense of security with them rather than the black or brown person. I know a few girls in class were talking about how they would get the white Barbie doll instead of the black or brown Barbie doll because the white Barbie doll was more attractive than the other kinds. I never played with any Barbies, but I had action figures and they were mostly of the white race, besides the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. When you are that young and you see an attractive object being white, your mind automatically perceive anything of that color to be better than another one.
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This video was both shocking and disturbing. In seeing the reactions and responses from the children in the video, I had a look on my face I could not wipe off. It upsets me that children are almost just used to picking the white doll because of what they have learned in their surroundings among friends, family, and the world of entertainment. The fact that the children were saying they didn’t want to pick the black doll because it was “bad” was an even more emotional comment because they are technically not appreciating their own race- in doll form. It was so sad to see that even after the children said that the black doll was bad- they were asked which doll looked like them- and they picked the black doll, of course. However, they just called themselves bad. It’s crazy how the white and the black differences are already embedded into their thoughts and minds- including their decision-making.
Growing up as a white young girl who loved to play with Barbies, I was observant to the different types of Barbies that were on the market. Specifically, I guess I could say that I knew that Barbies came in different races. I thought that the black Barbie was really pretty, but I never once wanted her. I wanted the white Barbie because she went with the white Ken and the commercials showed them together in their dream house. I also think I wasn’t exposed to enough diversity when I was younger, making me less interested in expanding my horizons to the different races of Barbie dolls.
I would say that most dolls came in both a white and a black version when I was growing up. I definitely thought it was a good idea for doll companies to make different races so that girls of one race could have dolls that relate to their own skin color. In class, I found it weird that some girls said that they still wanted the white doll when they were younger because even though the doll might’ve had darker skin, it didn’t possess any of the true characteristics that an Asian or an African American truly has- it was just a different color of the skin. Those comments were extremely interesting to hear because I never would have even thought about the preciseness of detail in that way.
I think this is an issue that is very serious within society today. These kids are the next generations to be apart of our society. Will this continue? Or is there a way that we can change the outcome of their thought process to not be so narrow minded and confused? To be honest, I really and truly hope so.
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The video I thought said a lot about children and how society brings them up in the world. I remember when I was little I always did service groups like that because my mom would bring me along and I would be excited because I would get paid. I remember doing a survey with dolls, I don’t remember much of it, but I do remember that I got to play with dolls. I wonder if I did a similar survey to the one that we saw in class. Being white, I don’t think it would have been a major shock if I did pick up a white doll because that would have been similar to me. Growing up I had Barbie and Skipper, but I didn’t have the African American doll. In fact, what I did have was the dress up Barbie game on the computer, and even then I rarely used the African American one. It wasn’t because I didn’t like her because of her race, but due to the fact it was harder to do the make up, etc. Thinking about it that’s a form of beauty and a form of me as a child
When I saw the video, it really effected me because I hate that our society and media portrays white as being a “good” form of beauty and other races as “bad.” Now for the first time Disney just made a black princess and that was a huge deal that there was a black princess and personally that annoyed me because Disney princesses are very diverse. Mulan is Asian, Jasmine is arab and Pochohantas in Native American. I grew up watching all of those movies and never once though I didn’t like them because they weren’t the same as me. I love Disney and there princesses because my entire childhood was spent watching it, but I don’t think I would of liked a princess more or less depending on their race. It all had to do with the story line behind what made each princess great. For example, the Lion King, was one of my favorite movies and I loved Simba and Nala, and they weren’t even human, so I don’t think it should be made into as big a deal as other make it out to be.
When I was watching the clip I felt horrible that at such a young age children feel like this and hope that society will alter that in the future. Growing up I never thought of black and white as equivalent to good and bad and feel horrible for the children whose minds are programmed that way. I believe that our society is developing more and hope that in the future people will be able to look past race and look at a person as an individual instead.
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I had seen this video once prior, in my Women’s Studies class freshman year, so it is no surprise to me. Yet four years later, it is equally, if not more, disturbing. It is a shame that we live in a world where young children no older that 4 or 5 years old have those kind of ideas and notions rooted into their head. I am sure their parents aren’t teaching them these things. And I don’t think that other people, like white children, know any better to say things like that to the children of color. I think it’s just the portrayals in the media and the interactions that children get in the school system. When will it ever change though?
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It is so sad to see the effects of prejudice and discrimination on such young children who are completely unaware of what is happening to their world. Through some source of information, most likely a combination of media and their own observations, they learned that in our society, white represents good while black represents bad. They will have to live in this world for their whole lives. It is a shame that these children have this burden on the growing up and that their full potential may be stunted because of it. They should not be made to feel inferior, especially at such a young age.
When the last girl was asked to pick the doll that was most like her, after already stating that the black doll is mean because she is black, you can see the confusion and discomfort in her face. You can visibly see her acknowledging the discrimination that exists against her in our society. It is disturbing to see this recognition in such a young, innocent child who is merely the victim of other people's prejudices. I think it would be interesting to see the reactions of these children all grown up. I would like to hear their thoughts after seeing what we all saw . I am interested to see what they have to say about discrimination and how it has affected their lives, starting from such an early age.
I was shocked to hear some of my classmates' responses as well-the majority of those in minority groups preferred to play with white dolls too. In addition, one girl brought up the idea that even in the black community, darker skinned individuals are not considered as beautiful as lighter skinned people of the same race. I was not aware that this stigma existed and it brings a lot more support to the same idea as the video- the whiter (or closer to white) you are, the more beautiful and appealing you are.
I put a lot of blame on the media. It continually portrays people in their racial stereotype categories, for example the black man as the bad guy. It's no wonder these children think this way- they are growing up with these images everywhere around them. For a Psych class with a focus on prejudices, I had an assignment to go to a department store and observe the items for sale. While in the girls' doll section, I noticed an overwhelming assortment of white dolls for sale and very little (5) dolls of minority groups. Again, if children are offered only a few nonwhite dolls to pick from in a sea of white dolls, it would seem to them that the white dolls are the most desirable.
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I have seen this a video a couple time before and each time it hurts my heart. As a dark skinned African American female this video hits me on a very personal level. I think its hard for people to understand what it feels like to not be accepted not only others race but to also not be fully accepted by your own race because your skin is darker. There are many things that contribute to an African American girl wanting to play with the White doll over the doll that resembles her. I grew up in a family that embraces my darkness and it was never an issue, but as soon as I started going to school, I quickly learned that it mattered to other people. When Sam told the story of his friend’s daughter coming home in tears because of what her white friend said about her skin color, it really hit home. Her friend is young and i'm sure she has no idea how much her innocent comment will affect that child. It takes situation like this to completely change the way a dark skinned person looks at them selves.
As an African American person I think it easy for us to say that it’s the white people in media that made us feel that being light is better but I think as a culture, Black people need to take more responsibility for why this is happening. Even before media took over our society, division among African Americans based on skin color was rampant. There were clubs that were created just for the light skinned African Americans. In the exclusive clubs there were silly things used to determine if a person would worthy enough to be part of, such as the brown paper bag rule. If a person was darker than that brown paper bag, they were considered too dark to be part of the club. Even in society now, I get more discrimination from Black s in regard to my dark skin than I ever have from Whites. African American culture has been influenced by whites; however, I don’t think that it s the only reason why little girls feel that black is “evil” and white is “good”.
I was watching the new Jessica Simpson show “The Price of Beauty” and she was on a trip in Thailand. They were in a market and their tour guide was showing them the various skin whitening products that are used in their country. In Thailand, having tan skin is a sign being poor because the darker you are means that you do hard labor in the fields. This show made me realize that this issue is present among all minorities not just Blacks. I’ve heard about color discrimination occurring among Asians and Hispanics. It makes me sad that people that have spent so many years trying to fight for equality with other races would tear their own race using the same tactics they complain about.
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My first reaction to the video was Wow!! Watching the video in class, I felt touched, sad, embarrassed, degraded, and hurt. What killed me the most is when the little black kid said the black Barbie doll was ugly and he also said this it was the one that he looks like— That brought tears to my eyes.
After watching this video, my prospective about parents having the biggest influence on children lives especially socially and cognitively has change. I’ve always thought that parent influence how their kids thinks but I have now realized that society have the biggest influence on children’s lives. I am an African, and when I first came to the United States, I used to get very angry and annoyed every time kids in my elementary and middle school use to make fun of Africa and ask me silly questions about Africa. Because I was a Kid and did not understand the real reasons why those other kids thought that way about Africa, I used to think they was the rude and ignorant. After leaning, and living in the American society for years, I now understand that society is the biggest reason to children ignorant and reactions to racism. Children learned exactly what society teaches them, and because the American society teaches them that the White is the better and “Hero” race, and black is the degrading and always in need for salvation race; therefore, children grow up with these ideas. It is sad that racism especially the “White Messiah” is all over the media. For examples, you see the “White Messiah” in movies, in advertisements, video games and other entertainments. History also focuses on the whites and teaches less about Blacks history. Instead of teaching positive thing about Blacks history, they keep reminding them about slavery and negative things about their heritage. For example, they never show you the nicest things about Africa; instead they show people in salvation. There are so many things they could talk about like the beautiful cities in Africa, the natural resources etc. Because of the negativity and degrading, therefore, Blacks are ashamed of where they came from.
Going back to the video, the Blacks kids saw that Whites are always view as the better race so they rather have a white doll because in society they are the most pretty and accepted race. Also, most of the Whites doll are made with prettier features such as long hair, prettier eyes, and have better clothes and shoes on. If you look at most Blacks Barbie dolls, they are always the less attractive dolls in stores. Also, you see more Whites dolls in stores than black dolls. This is so sad!
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After watching this video, I honestly took a deep breath and held it in for about five seconds to prevent myself from shedding a tear. I took this video so personally because being a black female, I know exactly what the girls in the video were taking about. I wanted to cry because I was sad that many black, dark-skinned females in particular feel ugly; but what saddened me the most is that I am guilty of this in some way. Let me make this clear that I DO NOT think that I'm ugly at all, I actually think that I am really pretty, but I am guilty of conforming into what people think is pretty, which is how white people look like. Even though I have nice hair that goes down to my shoulders, I wear hair weaves most of the time, not because I don't have hair or because my hair is bad, but becauase I prefer longer hair on me and I feel more confident with longer hair.
I can't remember where there was ever a time in my entire life where someone from any race had called me ugly, at least to my face. Of course there were girls, black girls to be specific, that would hate on me just because I was such a pretty dark-skinned girl, which brings me to my next point that I want to share. Whenever I would get a compliment for being pretty, no matter what race they were or no matter if they were male or female, the usual response is, "you're such a pretty black girl" or "you're so pretty for being a black girl." At first glance, you would think and take this as a compliment, but what you are really saying is that as a whole, black females aren't attractive, but I'm one of the lucky ones that are actually pretty, and to make it even better, you're a pretty dark-skinned girl so you're really lucky! To be honest, for this reason, I would never use bleaching products for my skin because I feel like you can be dark-skinned and pretty.
I am saddened that many races don't find black girls attractive and I'm even more saddened that black girls, dark-skinned girls to be specific, aren't happy with themselves. The part of the video about the dolls made me really sad as well. I really went home, sat there in my bed at night before I went to sleep, and thought about whether I would have chosen the white or the black doll and honestly, I think I would've chosen the white doll only because most of my barbie dolls were white with long straight and flowy hair, which I loved to comb and style, and I never had that because my hair was big and kinky and not flowy. I feel that if my parents had embraced my culture more and had given me black dolls, I would have easily chosen the black doll, but since I was in a way taught at an early age that whiteness is more attractive and better in a sense cause that's what they mostly gave me, then the white doll is probably what I would have chosen.
Although I like my hair long and straight, I still love the fact that I am a dark-skinned female, I hardly ever had a problem with people calling me ugly or making me feel ugly or less beautiful then they are, which is probably why my self esteem isn't so low. People, especially people other than whites need to realize that there are all different types of beauty and that we all don't have to conform to more white attributes and features to feel beautiful.
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I found this video very interesting. This was the first time that I had seen it, and it really struck me. I have two little nieces that are constantly playing with dolls. All of their dolls are white and I wander whether or not they would have similar answers if asked to say which of the dolls are the good ones or not. I suspect that a lot of this has to do with doll production strategies. From their stand point it makes sense to make dolls that look like the largest percent of people, in order to appeal to the largest population of people so they can make the largest amount of money. Based off of this model, children of color are often forced to play with dolls that are white. Children can start to associate with external stimuli, and if their dolls are white than I guess they start to think that for some reason that they are white. As far as saying that the white dolls are the good dolls, I can’t really account for that quite as easily. High dogs and shit, lion king wasn’t racist, is was about lions, and would they be anywhere else but in Africa. I thought Sam’s story about his friends little girl coming home crying was an interesting perspective. The little girl was black, and was told by a white boy that she was dirty. Not because the boy was racist, just simply because he was a child who thought about his own skin when it gets dark and that it usually means that he got dirt on it and had to clean it off. This obviously upset the little black girl because she probably thought that maybe she is dirty somehow. This is a really messed up thing to have to happen to a little child. I’m sure that it could have a pretty big effect on the way that she perceives herself and others in a subconscious way. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, so eat your fruits and vegetables kids. I wander how common of an occurrence this is for children of color, especially ones living in a predominately white neighborhood or one that is pretty equally mixed. It seems that kids of a certain age easily rationalize things like that and that this situation could have been played out many times before. I wander what this video says about our society as a whole, and whether this will start to change now that white are becoming less and less of a majority in the country. As the populations of blacks, Hispanics and Asians rise I feel that toy companies will be forced to try to accommodate these rising populations in order to appeal to the parents of minorities and therefore make more money.
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When I saw this, I was seriously crying. I had no idea that this was ever an issue. I thought that most kids would choose the doll of their color, but not because they thought one color was worse than another. This makes me wonder what is creating this in their heads. Like what makes them believe that one color is bad vs. another. Being a white person, I would never be confronted with things like this. But, I would never think that a black doll is bad because it is black, I just used the white dolls when I was younger because that's what my skin color was. I think that the Disney shows and movies definitely is why this is. Kids don't think like adults so when they watch kid movies they just see whats in the movie. If all they is white kids, then I think they would start to think that they don't use other colors because it is bad. I don't know, this is a sticky situation. It is really really sad. What this does to young kids of colors' self esteem, is terrible. I think we definitely need to make more kids shows with people of every nationality. Because when I think of America, I don't think of just white people. That's whats so beautiful about our Country, because we have so many different people…of all color, and religion…etc. The problem is, is that there is a problem with race. It's still so difficult to understand what the problem is. We are just different, that's all. Everything is different, if it isn't your "normal". So it just seems so simple of a problem, to be making this much noise about. But, as we can see from this video, this simple problem, has huge consequences. Children need to see that whatever color you are, you are still children of God. So I feel that if our media changed so that every nationality is in movies, or in magazines…this may change. And I do see it happening. Just recently did they start including other colors in Nationwide commercials. And just recently the move, The Princess and the Frog, did Disney have ever a main character be a black person. How long did this take! A long time…this is the problem, we have been living in a nation that is so far behind. And I don't think we didn't know, it was like the white people tried to make this the way for as long as they could. It's just a shame that these things affects young children, and even whole communities. It is our right as women to be beautiful and no one should ever make you feel otherwise.
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Although I have seen this video and studied things like this before in other psych classes, it still pulls at my heart every time I see it. It really shows how racism is still very much a part of our society even though many of us think it has virtually disappeared. When this little girl is asked which doll is the pretty and nice doll and then which one is like her, her face is priceless and it almost hurts me because you can feel her pain in that decision. She honestly thinks she is not pretty and not as good as the white doll. There is no reason for that in today’s world but it still happens. You could conduct that study over and over again every year but until racism is completely gone everywhere, it is never going to go away. Really no matter what race you are, your children should never feel like they are bad or ugly. They should feel loved and that they are special and are just as good as everyone else. There is no reason for a little kid to think that they do not measure up to another kid because of the color of their skin. And for those of you that think it is not that big of a deal because it is only dolls, you are wrong. They hold these feelings about themselves. The same ones that you see them show about the dolls, when they look in the mirror they see that about them and it can hurt them mentally. Especially in the future when they grow up, it can hurt them when they are trying to be successful in either getting a job or continuing their education. They get a mentality that they don’t deserve to be like those successful people because of their color and then they decide not to go to college or they decide they are only allowed to go to a black college because that is where their people belong. It is the same when they go to choose their careers, many of them will not strive for the top, they will settle for any job they can get because they are just thankful someone will hire them (because of their color). This needs to stop, and though we are seeing this slowly go away, Penn State for example, it is still very much the case, especially in little towns like the one I grew up in. Minorities feel like they are not good enough to be in the smart classes even if they are smart so they hold themselves back from doing better than the white kids. It is sad that it is still like this even after all the efforts we have put forward to get rid of this. Maybe after all the old farts who are still teaching racism to their children die off we will be able to get past this.
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I agree with Sam and everyone else who thinks this is one of the most disturbing videos we will see all semester. I was shocked to see how many black children picked the white doll. I guess I wasn't so much shocked they picked the white doll alone but I was shocked at their reasoning as to why they chose that particular doll. To hear that little girl say that white people are the nice dolls and black people are the "bad" dolls. To hear that little girl say it looks bad because the doll is black is enough to make many people wonder what was said or seen in these children's lives that would make them believe something like that. The look on the girls face when she had to choose which doll looked like her after she had just said the black dolls were "bad" brought tears to my eyes. For children so young and innocent to be exposed to racism already makes me wonder what it will be like for my children in the next five to ten years. As a white person, I guess when I was younger I never really thought about what color doll or even race in general. Where I am from everyone got along and my best friend was black. I saw everyone as equal people and didn't realize that racism actually existed probably until I hit middle school and was exposed to new people and a new environment. It really is sad to see a child believe that her own color is bad. People are beautiful no matter what race they are and I don't think that this issue will ever be stopped if our future kids and the children of today's day and age are already exposed to racism and believing that white people are more powerful and beautiful. Like I had said before, my best friend all throughout elementary school and into middle school was a black girl. The color of our skin never came up once in a conversation or anything. As I got older and started to see the racism and hear the stories I finally had asked her why her family had moved from Bronx, New York to a place like Lebanon, PA where there wasn't much to offer but farms and schools. Her mom had said because she did not want her children growing up to be the "typical" black family. I really to this day do not know what she means by that in saying "typical" but it was shocking to me to hear her say something like that. She wanted her kids to grow up in a white environment where they wouldn't be exposed to sex, drugs and gangs. I guess it's mothers like her who make their little children believe that a white doll is better then a black doll. Do we blame the parents for the way those kids think or society?
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The first thing I can remember from this class to prior watching the video was, Sam mentioned that this was one of the most disturbing videos he was ever watched and I totally agree. It almost seemed after the experiment that blacks were ashamed of who they were. I found it very upsetting because they were just children who saw the black doll as evil and the unwanted one. They were identical dolls with the same features just on the basis of a “color” one was seen as bad and the other of good. It seems that racism is implemented to children at such a young age. What is the answer in understanding this kind of mentally just based on a skin color you’re automatically seen as something. What influences this, can it be media? Media has influence the mind of almost all of us, especially the younger the generation. We see everything that goes on in the world and unconscious many of these images portray what is good and bad, evil and good. What does this say about other cultures, minorities who want to be something they’re not because they see others as beauty or acceptable. This is the earliest forms of racism and it all comes back in life and affects all of us in a form. I can tide this to the application experiment, where two identical resumes were given to employments one being from a black person and another to a white person, the white person for the most part got accepted over the black. What does this imply, just based on stereotypical ideas it can be the life decision of many individuals. Never thought this was the case of many minorities who were basically ashamed of whom they were just because of their skin. I am Hispanic and I don’t think I can be any prouder of whom I am; I wouldn’t change it for the world. I find it very difficult to understand this mentally, you are who you are and make the best of it. I know that I am Hispanic and cannot understand the view of those affected; I know racism does affect me. For the reason affirmative action was put in place because it is a proven fact that racism does exist in this country and many opportunities to the minorities are lost because it is sometimes based on color. I found the video very disturbing and do not even know if there is any solution to this problem, but just to educate our generation for a better tomorrow. The answer is not simple and as we see throughout the world nothing cannot be equal because of what history has done to us, so it is us to in turn change it to progress and improve.
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When it comes to the topic of the standards that African American women are suppose to look like I always see it as something that’s not really a problem but a topic of conversation. I am Nigerian and identify as Nigerian or African American because I was born and raised here. I do my hair the way I want, and I don’t think that I allow the media/dolls to affect the way I carry myself. I wear a weave because I want; I have my hair short because I want to have it short now. Everybody wear weaves, celebrities, white, black, Hispanic whatever. I don’t see the anger that these females are talking about. I don’t see why you would feel like you’re missing a part of your root if your considered black. I see why they might feel like they don’t have a culture because Africans emphasize on culture a lot they have a lot of culture in them. But I don’t think its ignorance or anything I just feel like they have come accustomed to the American lifestyle and that itself is their culture.
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I found this video to actually be a reason to watch the videos posted and to blog on. Most videos or topics have somewhat interesting topics but overall things that we’ve heard over and over again and are simply being reinforced. This video however was truly meaningful for me to watch because it showed something more different than usual and wasn’t a simple opinion or observation but a somewhat psychological or scientific study providing good evidence and facts for a pretty serious matter. As human beings it is pretty interesting to me how we either want to be exactly the same as the social norm in some cases but in other cases we want to stand out be different. For instance in fashion it seems that a lot of girls are similar in their winter attire with very similar boots, similar pants, and similar coats. People feel the need to converge in that instance. But at a prom or dance girls always want to stand out and have the best, trend setting dress. I think if it were a more natural world free of illogical biases and prejudices people who were naturally different than others would embrace this as a positive gift and almost show off their more unique special inheritance. But our world does not make sense. People who are naturally different to what the majority is or the expected feel the need to assimilate to this as much as possible. I would not call these people traitors to their heritage but more that it is engrained in them from an early age what they should and shouldn’t be. And if they are one thing or another they should think better or worse about themselves. We may call adults with years of experience and opportunities to see different views of the world racist or not accepting of others but a 4 or 5 year old kid is simply an observer of their environment. It is incredibly sad at such a young age that the kids in the video thought that one color was better than the other and that the color which was bad or less desired was theirs. It is so terrible that five year olds are ashamed or can’t show pride to who they naturally are. I would expect black kids to choose their own colored doll less than a white kid would but I didn’t expect the majority of black kids to favor the white doll over the black doll. People are inherently self centered so you’d expect people to like what they are. However what does on in the observable world around them in the few years of life they’ve lived has caused them to come to the conclusion that they would rather be white. According to what they see this is probably a reasonable conclusion, but the point is they should not be receiving that message and as a society we should not be sending that message. We have made some progress over time but there are many more steps that need to be made to solve problems like these that you can’t really measure with a statistic. This is one of those problems that in the grand scheme of things don’t seem like a problem but it is a problem since it stems to the ideology that our world wrongly portrays.
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I thought this video was so sad. I’ve actually heard of this test before and have seen a very similar video. My reaction was the same. It’s heartbreaking to see the kids choose the bad or ugly doll and they have to choose the one that looks like them. Watching their faces is so disheartening.
I believe the media has a lot to do with the reactions of the kids. Racism is in the media. However, media isn’t the cause of racism. People in the older generations are more proned to being racist. Sadly, I know my grandmother who is very old fashioned, is sometimes racist. I’ve heard comments in the past from her about blacks being “bad” but that’s because she’s personally had some bad experiences with them. I was lucky enough to not believe in her thoughts completely though. It’s so crazy how thoughts can develop in kids’ minds and they don’t question why a black doll is automatically bad and ugly, or why a white doll is good and pretty. It’s sad what society has become. In my opinion though, I feel like times are changing and racism is not as prominent.
It’s weird that different races believe that being lighter or darker leads to beauty. For most blacks, being lighter is better, and for most whites, being tan is better. For Asians, being lighter is better. However for me, even though I’m Asian, I prefer to be tan because that’s what I’m used to in the American culture. My grandma though, is always criticizing how dark I am because she’s so used to the idea that light skinned people are better looking. I know she doesn’t truly get upset about how dark I get though, it’s more of her just making fun of me.
It’s so weird how times have changed. Years ago, being dark meant you worked outside so you were most likely poor working hard for your money, while if you were white, you worked inside with little labor. But in some cultures, having light skin made you look pale and ill. No matter what, cultural ideas will always change, but it’s up to the people to decide what makes them happy and beautiful inside.
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This video, to me is very disturbing. I understand the times that they were living in back then when the first experiment was done, I understand that they felt like actual minorities and felt like the white people or white doll in this case is superior. But, when they did the second experiment in more recent times, and the black children still thought to pick the white doll because she is prettier or because she is not dirty just boggles my mind. Even as children, i think that they should represent themselves and be happy for who they are. I know when I was growing up, I had very few black friends, but I still had a black cabbage patch kid doll because when I would go to the beach for the summer, I would get really tan and I would have skin close to that color of a black dolls. I think that is probably why I am having such a hard time understanding this issue, because at the end of every summer, I came back to school and was a different color than my friends who I thought were supposed to be the same color as me. I guess you can blame it on the one eighth native american blood that runs through my veins, but I was a very confused child.
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Seeing this video just makes me realize how many issue this 5 or 6 year olds are faced to deal with everyday when it comes to race. It really doesn't help when the media has such a strong influence on their generation. Where I am from, there is always breaking news about a hunt for a black male who gunned down a few people or a convienience store, and that would always make me afraid of them, we would rarely ever hear anything about a white man or native american man on the loose. I really am not even sure what could be done to change all of these oncurring issues. I just feel like kids need to be themselves and experiments like there might be eye opening but I truly think that they are unnecessary. I think putting a child through this no matter the outcome or payoff they may receive is traumatizing, embarrassing, and makes them feel quite shameful. It is is so sad to hear that a little black girl, if given the option, would rather be white, because the skin she has now is just "dirty," that really truly breaks my heart.
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I found this video to be pretty disturbing. It was a very interesting experiment and really opened up my eyes to how at such a young age racism is introduced to us. This was probably one of the first videos that I have watched in this class where problems of racism are real and racism is not just created but taught to us. Why would these children describe the black doll as “bad” and the white doll as being “good”. Children, from my experience, follow what they are taught. These children have obviously been tainted by ideas and stereotypes fuel self-resent and racism. It’s almost the same thing with young girls being shown pictures of hundreds of stickly thin models in magazines and at a very young age think that this is what is “beautiful”. They grow up to think that if they don’t look like these girls then they are not beautiful. These children are shown a cookie cutter doll whenever they enter a toy story. If I were to envision a doll in my head that is commonly sold on the market it would probably have big blue eyes and blonde hair. So every time a child goes into a store this is what they are shown to be the “ideal” image. It was painful to watch the children’s faces as they thought about in their head what doll to choose. The one girl left a definite impression on me when the girl asking the question asks the little girl to show the doll that looked like her. She hesitated and then slowly slides the black doll toward the interviewer with this look of sadness and anguish on her face. That image of her will remain in my head. Not only was the footage of the experiment conducted disturbing, but also the stories that the young women in the video told were as equally unsettling. The one girl talked about knowing parents bleaching their children’s skin and soaking them in baths of bleach at an extremely young age. This was crazy to me. I am the type of person to lay on a stifling, hot beach all day trying to get my skin as dark as possible even if it means being uncomfortable (which I know is not healthy in the least bit). I guess in a way it’s the same thing as what these women were doing. They had this idea in their head that if their skin was not a certain color then it would not be beautiful so they went to any length to change it, even if it was uncomfortable also. Black, Brown, and White people put themselves through such critical torture because everyone is constantly being told what an ideal image is. I think this video demonstrated not just how racism is present but also showed a sickening criteria for what we must be but will never be able to obtain because it is not real. Very few people are 100% comfortable with who they are and it’s really a shame. It is a shame that these girls had to deal with such criticism about their natural hair, skin, etc. Its really ridiculous that everyone was basically telling them to conform when they just wanted to be themselves.
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This was a very disheartening video and study to watch because it really brings out the views that children have about race and beauty. Most often, we talk to adults and adolescents about racial issues, but I think it was important that we all saw this and realized how very young children view themselves and race. I have heard about a video like this from a friend, but you really have to watch it to get the real impact. Just watching the poor children’s faces as they decide which doll is “beautiful” or which doll is most like them is heart wrenching, because all children should view themselves as beautiful (and so should people at every age) regardless about what they look like or where they come from. It was terrible to hear the children answer that the doll that they chose is “beautiful because they are white”. This view that only the white dolls or white people are beautiful is a poison that should be kept away from their minds. It would be very interesting to hear the children being interviewed further about their thoughts about this, because this video was just so hard to watch.
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As a white woman, I do not know what it is like to be a black person. I do know, however, that a lot of the belief that only white is beautiful, comes from the media. The media has always been everywhere, but in today’s society, it is increasing ever so much because of the availability of technology and all the media access it has to offer. It seems as if everyone has access to technology and the media, especially children these days. Younger children more than ever are starting to watch more tv, listening to music on their ipod, using a cell phone, and other forms of technology. These forms have easy access to the media, and are media themselves. There are falsified views of beauty in all of these forms of media, and it is ruining everyone’s vision about how they feel about themselves. If people look or dress differently than the beautiful celebrities, then they may not think they are special or beautiful themselves.
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Maybe it is the way that these dolls were advertised that is part of the problem. From my experience, I only remember the Barbie dolls that were advertised in the magazines or tv as being the white ones with blonde hair. So maybe if they start using advertisements that include all racial groups, young children of different ethnic groups will see this and see that all ethnic groups are beautiful.
This is a complex topic, and there may be many reasons why these children chose the dolls that they did. Either way, it is something that as a society, we should do something about. Whether it is teaching our children that everyone is beautiful, or changing the media portrayal of beauty, something needs to be done.
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Wow! What a lovely topic for me to express my thoughts on this week! I must admit as a dark-skinned black girl I was so amazed when I seen this video. I mean for these children to choose the white doll over the black doll was astonishing to me! I guess I was so shocked by the responses because I never really sat down and thought about a child's view on race. By no means do I think these children understood their remarks they were saying. Because when each participant were asked "why do you like that one" their response was "because this one is white". the most crazy part was at 4:27, when the little already identified the black doll as bad and she was asked "which one looks like you" she hesitated, because she reached for the white doll first ( the good doll).and later pushed the black doll forward. the look on her face was shameful because in instance she was saying she is bad. I think she was alittle confused after that and unfortunately she was unable to comprehend what exactly was going on. I wonder if I was there at the time, what my choice would have been.
Its funny because in Africa, where I am from we have the same negative views about African Americans they are seen as loud, ghetto, unreasonable, uncultured, etc. Movies portray African Americans to be this way too, but it is concealed by comedy. We tend not to pay attention to it but stereotypes exists in movies. For example in the movie Rush Hour, Chris Tucker was lazy, talkative, loud and a screw up. so it is things like that on main stream media that was constantly forcing these views upon the audience. We later find ourselves believing these things, turning them into our own beliefs. And I do see these difference between my Black American friends and I. Some things I value, or traditions that I follow do not apply to them. For instance seeing your friend to the door upon their departure, having respect for your elders, bending one knee to greet older people, etc.
I am saying these things and it does not mean that African Americans do not have their own views on Africans. That is another discussion for another time. Going back to this topic about the white dolls being favored. Children watch Disney movies and all they see are white princesses for example Snow white, Cinderella, Beauty from Beauty and the Beast, etc. that is why these children feel the white dolls are prettier, or nicer because they constantly see their favorite princess on television looking similar to the white dolls placed before them.
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This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this video yet it still leaves me with my mouth hanging open in the end. You know the first time I saw this video my insensitive self just figured their preference for the white doll was because of the overproduction of blonde hair blue eyed white Barbies. I figured that any kid that saw a doll that deviated from the formula that followed Hitler’s preferences would seem alien, ugly and undesirable to them. The sad thing is, is that just as much as the media, with their advertisements and products, equates beauty to thin, driving many women to psychological and physical sickness, the media does just as efficient of a job at promoting white as the superior race leading to the confusion and hidden damages to kids just like those seen in the video. When these kids see white doll after white doll, with an occasional colored doll as one of the long lost best friends of Barbie, they begin to assume that white is the norm.
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Then, when exposed to these colored dolls they see something strange and more often than not, ugly. And what really disturbs me is that the colored children that look at these dolls and choose the white one are feeling deep down that they wish they had such an easy choice with choosing their skin color. For a child to have to feel that way so early on is a burden that is way too overwhelming for them to handle. It’s not like they (colored children) get enough racist comments from other children pointing out their different hair, or nose, or skin color or even smell. Even though the other kids are not at fault because they are simply making an innocent observation, this sense of alienation is a side of racism that is affecting younger children all the time.
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As much as I hate to admit, I remember when I was in third grade I called this girl “black girl”. It wasn’t said with any mean intent, it was merely an observation and my teacher who was African American overheard me, pulled me aside and called me a racist child. Now I am not victimizing myself but simply trying to show how these differences in race, when exposed to children through contact with other kids or through the media and their products, can create a very troublesome world. I’m not sure exactly how to solve this problem with kids. Maybe they need to be exposed to the problems of race earlier on or maybe companies need to start making dolls of all types and being more sensitive to race. But tackling the media and their deficits in the world of race is an entirely different story.
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