There have been some terrific posts lately on multicultural toys, and I wanted to draw your attention to a few of them.
Dawn Friedman of the Anti-Racist Parent explains why having a multicultural doll ghetto is not enough.
Over at BlogHer, Super Jive asked, Modern Dolls: Slut-Trainers or Empowerment Tools? Is There a Middle Ground?
Also at BlogHer, lmilbrand touches on one of my personal concerns: that American Girl dolls represent only “white-girl history”, even if their manufacturer does offer “ethnic” versions of the dolls as supporting characters.
[Link in this paragraph and blogger’s name removed due to blogger’s request for privacy on 1/30/2009] Another blogger compared Asian ethnic dolls and recommended the Karito Kids Chinese doll Ling over American Girl’s Chinese American Ivy.
The [now anonymous blogger’s] post brings up an interesting question in my mind: Can the American Girl “ethnic” dolls with their European features be useful to multiracial kids who are of European extraction? Please delurk and share your thoughts!