Rising up, I, like many women, had a Barbie doll. From her spunky outfits and enjoyable hairstyles to her numerous professions, the long-lasting toy was as a lot of a source of empowerment because it was enjoyment. The doll’s producer, Mattel, has created many various versions of Barbie over time, however the newest is one I want I might’ve personally skilled rising up. On Jan. 16, Mattel launched a brand new Barbie honoring the late R&B princess, Aaliyah. Seeing this creation instantly crammed me with a way of happiness – however I additionally felt an awesome eager for a doll like this throughout my youth.
The now-sold-out Aaliyah Barbie – which got here out on what would have been the singer’s forty sixth birthday – is the newest in Mattel’s Music Sequence, made in collaboration with the singer’s brother, Rashad Haughton. Since Aaliyah misplaced her life in a horrific airplane crash in 2001 at solely 22 years previous, Haughton has remained steadfast in preserving his sister’s legacy, particularly by many main collaborations (together with one with MAC in 2018), however this one with Mattel hit me in a different way.
Though I used to be solely 3 years previous when the singer handed, I used to be at all times impressed by her, particularly as I entered my highschool years. I liked her type, her easy but distinct strategy to magnificence by aspect components and inside winged eyeliner – her entire élan.
From Bratz to Barbies, I liked enjoying with my dolls, giving them totally different roles, placing them in my toy vehicles, sliding them down my grandmother’s stairs, and imagining my very own little world. Journeys to the toy aisles of Goal and Toys R US had been additionally a part of the childhood escapades I extremely anticipated. In hindsight, I understand that almost all of the dolls I owned and noticed in shops didn’t seem like me – an expertise many Black ladies can relate to.
Picture Supply: Getty/Photo by Sal Idriss/Redferns
After I was youthful, lots of Barbie’s collections had been exclusionary to Black folks, with most of those dolls being white with both blond or brunette hair. There have been exceptions right here and there, however even lots of these dolls tokenized Black folks and garnered important criticism (a specific Oreo-themed Black Barbie made within the ’90s involves thoughts. . .). Whereas I liked all of my Barbies equally, none had been a real reflection of me or the lady I’d develop into. I grew up in Brooklyn, which was a melting pot of various cultures and significantly welcoming for my migrant Jamaican household, so I wasn’t conscious that there was a world that didn’t at all times embrace my folks. Confidence and satisfaction in id had been at all times pushed in my house setting, so I didn’t expertise racial stereotyping or prejudice as a toddler. My household and mates didn’t make me really feel unpretty or that my Blackness was an inferior various, however the toy cabinets did.
Our relationship with magnificence doesn’t simply start once we placed on our mom’s pink lipstick for the primary time. It begins from the second we enter the world, with the folks we’re round, the locations we see, and the conversations we hear influencing the way in which we have a look at ourselves. The younger thoughts is sharper than we expect, with many experiences having a long-lasting impression, which is why having a Black doll like Aaliyah would have been so monumental for me to develop up with. Whereas her magnificence is awe-inspiring, it’s greater than her physicality. Aaliyah was a Black lady who succeeded just by being herself and exhibiting up fearlessly, and it’s gratifying to see Mattel launch her doll, not simply to protect her legacy, however for younger Black ladies to see their magnificence can be valued.
Naomi Parris (she/her) is a New York-based trend and sweetness author with over seven years of expertise. She served as an editorial operations affiliate at PS, specializing in all issues trend. Obsessive about telling tales that merge trend and tradition, her areas of experience embody Style Week protection, each day information, high-profile interviews, procuring roundups, and sweetness tales.
