From The Scoop: Barbie's Multiculturalism

From the September 8issue of Gemstone Publishing's The Scoop:
Did you know that the first African-American member of the Barbie line debuted at the height of the U.S. civil rights movement? Mattel released the first brown-skinned addition to its all-American doll series, Barbie, in 1968--one year shy of its ten-year anniversary.

The doll, called Christie, was marketed as one of Barbie's close friends. Christie was not simply a brown-painted Barbie mold. She had a brunette bubble cut (with coarser synthetic hair than that used for Barbie), large, almond-shaped eyes, a slightly wider upturned nose, and subtly fuller lips.

Prior to Christie's introduction the availability of mainstream African-American dolls was quite scarce. Mattel's decision to unveil Christie, particularly when racial tensions and political strides to alleviate those tensions were at their height, was a bold and ultimately successful move.

Versions of the Christie doll remained popular throughout the '70s, but in 1980, Mattel released its first "Black Barbie"--an actual African American version of the Barbie character, and with a push to promote that doll, Christie's popularity waned. The same year, Mattel also introduced its first Latina addition to the Barbie line, Teresa.

Other nationalities have since been represented in Barbie's Dolls of the World series and Princess Collection. Nationalities featured include Peruvian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Kenyan, Native American, Arctic, and Australian.

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