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!
I don’t know. Yes, the American Girl dolls have Addy and Josefina as “major” characters, but the newest American Girl has a “token” Asian American best friend. Then there’s the American Girl of Today series, that does have a little more diversity in its lineup– there are dolls that at least ATTEMPT to look multicultural– though it’s a rather bad attempt, IMHO. And they’re also leaving out different religious groups, though at one time, the Pleasant Company (now owned by Mattel) DID have a Jewish outfit. What about the other faiths of the world? I guess mothers, with their daughters, could create clothing appropriate for other faiths, but if you read what Mattel “stands for”, shouldn’t THEY do the legwork? If you’re going to try for political correctness and diversity, go all the way, don’t leave out certain groups!
Have you heard of the German toy company Playmobil? After so many years of being very white bread, cookie cutter with no diversity whatsoever, they’ve now come out with “modern families” that are a BIT MORE diverse– they have African American, Asian, Caucasian, and Hispanic/Mediterranean families now. That link is at http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Search-Show?cgid=Citylife-Modernes_Wohnen — hopefully that gets you there. Your little guy might be a wee bit too young for these sorts of toys yet– (small pieces!), but they also have a line for toddlers called Playmobil 1-2-3. The diversity is very lacking in that line– only the Zoo Veterinarian is black, though I’ve done eBay searches in the past, and there are black families available for the dollhouse and other sets.
KUDOS to you for this site. I’m a future teacher, and believe that kids need to step outside of their homeogeneous worlds sometimes and experience life outside of the box. Since children learn so well by playing, I have your same beliefs on multicultural toys, and I’m happy your site is out here in cyberspace! Merci beaucoup!