Blondes Have More Fund
A Walmart has a black Barbie (aka Theresa) on sale, half-off, while a white Barbie is not, and people are screaming racism.
Could there be...another explanation?
Like, say, that there are more white people than black people, and people tend to buy their children dolls that look like them?
Meaning that maybe not as many black mommies were buying the dolls, and when things don't move in retail, they price 'em to move. (photo here)
Story on ABCNews.com. Alice Gomstyn writes:
A Walmart spokeswoman, who could not verify the exact store shown in the photo, said that the price change on the Teresa doll was part of the chain's efforts to clear shelf space for its new spring inventory."To prepare for (s)pring inventory, a number of items are marked for clearance, " spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien said in an e-mail. "... Both are great dolls. The red price sticker indicates that this particular doll was on clearance when the photo was taken, and though both dolls were priced the same to start, one was marked down due to its lower sales to hopefully increase purchase from customers."
"Pricing like items differently is a part of inventory management in retailing," O'Brien said.
But critics say Walmart should have been more sensitive in its pricing choice.
"The implication of the lowering of the price is that's devaluing the black doll," said Thelma Dye, the executive director of the Northside Center for Child Development, a Harlem, N.Y. organization founded by pioneering psychologists and segregation researchers Kenneth B. Clark and Marnie Phipps Clark.
"While it's clear that's not what was intended, sometimes these things have collateral damage," Dye said.
Other experts agree. Walmart could have decided "that it's really important that we as a company don't send a message that we value blackness less than whiteness," said Lisa Wade, an assistant sociology professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles and the founder of the blog Sociological Images.
Oh, please. It's retailing, lady. You want to send coded messages through doll purchases, get a bunch of people to go buy up all the black dolls, and it'll be the white ones that get marked down.
A few remarks from the comments on ABC. First, this one:
What is the probem. I am a black-american with 2 daughters. If I could find the dolls marked down I would by a couple of them. With so much else going on in the world is this really a controversy???? Maybe I am missing the point.!!!!!
Another comment:
I have a 3 year old daughter that loves Barbie...ALL BARBIES. Her 4th birthday is coming up and it is all about Barbie. In this case, she would have chosen the light skinned Barbie over the dark skinned Barbie simply because she had the PINK outfit on. If the dark skinned Barbie had the pink outfit on, then she would have chosen her. Does product selection always have to be about race?
For me, it was always about hair color. I had Raggedy Ann & Andy because they were the only dolls that looked like me. (I had a little black beady eyes and a red button nose as a child.)
I loved it when they came out with Kira, Barbie's Asian friend, when I was a kid. I had lots of Barbies, but I thought Kira was prettier. My parents couldn't have given less of a flip which color Barbie I chose. And from having worked retail as management, I can tell you that companies mark products down based on sales. We had these sinfully ugly sweaters in my store one time (not B. Moss brand, but bought from another manufacturer) that we didn't sell any of at first. They went on the markdown list almost immediately, still brand new. The same goes with items still in the store from a year before that still hadn't sold (which is what I suspect the case was in this situation). They just kept getting marked down until we had to send them back to be sold to a clearance house. It's just business; nobody was biased against the ugly sweaters except based on their sales.
NumberSix at March 12, 2010 12:17 AM
Racism? Yes, I see a lawsuit coming on now. Obviously, the dolls have had their civil rights violated.
Hmm...either side could cry foul over this. It could be viewed as suggesting that black women are cheap and less valuable than white women. Or that you're discriminating against whites by forcing them to pay more in order to give their little girls dolls that look like them.
Patrick at March 12, 2010 12:18 AM
Funny, Patrick, that's the first thing I thought when I started reading this post: someone is whining that the store is forcing the white women to pay more for their dolls. The commenter on the original article has the right idea: hey, they're on sale! I love getting things on sale.
NumberSix at March 12, 2010 12:24 AM
I think people complain too much...otherwise, there are much bigger things to worry about...imagine if you would a world where this is something to actually get upset and emotional about...
A world where:
-There is no war, not because everyone just backs down and gets their shit taken, because all of our enemies are dead and their shit is broken.
-Men are awoken with morning head.
-Women are greeted at home with a glass of wine and a foot massage, while talking about their day.
-The government doesn't do anything because everyone takes responsibility for themselves.
-There is no reality tv.
-The aggressors in Darfur are wiped out by the X-Men...who in this world that I have created are real...
Nope, not gonna happen...oh well, let's go burn down the Wal-Mart...
Red at March 12, 2010 1:18 AM
If someone could build an engine that ran on offense, we could tell the whole Middle East to get knotted.
I remember back during the Cabbage Patch Kids riots of the 80's, a lot of stores were getting stuck with...oh, let's say, certain styles of dolls that no one wanted. So some stores started wrapping the dolls in paper bags or gift-wrap, and you had to buy a doll, sight unseen. THAT didn't last long, I can tell you.
There will always be dolls in the assortments that nobody wants. There is always a figure that sits on the pegs, filling the display, and the store claims they won't put out any more till these ones sell, much to the collectors' frustration. In boys' toys lines like GI Joe and Superhero ones, they're often female characters. So the toy companies put less of them in the cases, since they ostensib;y don't sell as well. Ah, but not that they're in reduced supply, that makes them rare, and the collectors snap them up FIRST. Play us like a harp, they do.
Remember the old 12-inch tall GI Joes? You know which the most valuab;e one is? The (female) nurse.
Vinnie Bartilucci at March 12, 2010 2:09 AM
"The implication of the lowering of the price is that's devaluing the black doll," said Thelma Dye, the executive director of the Northside Center for Child Development, a Harlem, N.Y. organization founded by pioneering psychologists and segregation researchers Kenneth B. Clark and Marnie Phipps Clark.
mpetrie98 at March 12, 2010 2:20 AM
Whoooops! I meant to add:
Aw Jeez, not this sh*t again!
mpetrie98 at March 12, 2010 2:21 AM
As a black man, I don't really understand how this can be viewed as racist. It is simply effective retail pricing.
These people should be complaining about how Walmart's super-cheap pricing can damage small towns and suffocate Main Streets all over America; black and white.
Syrus1987 at March 12, 2010 3:19 AM
Seriously? Personally, I'm psyched when something I want is on clearance at Walmart (or anywhere else). These people need to get a life.
And segregation researchers? Do people really get paid for this shit?
momof4 at March 12, 2010 3:56 AM
People need to get lives. I mean, seriously. A friggin doll goes on sale and that's racism? Ack.
Flynne at March 12, 2010 4:49 AM
Accusations of racism are growing more and more timesome.
We just elected a president who is half white, half black, and has an Arab name. Few whites care about race anymore. In fact, whites not only voted for Obama in the same percentages that they voted for Clinton, they did so him higher numbers due to turnout. Obama got the most votes ever.
But blacks voted for Obama by a margin of 20-1, so I really don't think people in this demographic should be pointing to too many other demographics for lopsided support of barbie dolls.
But, as Amy said, I'm also pretty sure that most children prefer dolls of the same race because it makes them fell like family. That's normal, not bigoted.
Trust at March 12, 2010 5:08 AM
For the record, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Barbie went on clearance in January. Of course as a Jets fan, I have no problem with the devaluing of anything Dallas, lol.
Kristen at March 12, 2010 5:13 AM
This is why "social sciences" departments need to be abolished. They give airheads a place to ramble on about bullshit from a position of authority.
Main Streets were suffocating long before Wal Mart moved in. A combination of low selection, high prices, no parking, difficult access, tax disincentives, etc. have been killing Main Streets for decades.
The town I grew up in? Main street has no shops any more. There's never been any parking worth a damn either. All the retail is out on the Avenue, where there's room for really big parking lots.
The town I live in now? Lots of restaurants and little shops. And a couple municipal parking lots. And a Wal Mart, Target, Lowes, etc.
When people talk about Wal Mart destroying towns, they are often using a false correlation to justify their irrational hatred of Wal Mart.
Nobody complained when Caldor moved in. But bad management killed them off.
brian at March 12, 2010 5:54 AM
I've said it before and I'll say it again: some people have to get up pretty early in the morning to work at getting offended.
This is such a non-issue. People need to get over themselves.
Ann at March 12, 2010 7:08 AM
So let me get this straight. It's discrimination if the black doll is priced at less than the white doll. But it's also discrimination if the black doll is priced higher than the white doll -- because that obviously would be a "colored tax". And it's discrimination if they are priced the same, because affirmative action demands that the black doll have more opportunity to be purchased, and hence should be priced lower.
My head hurts.
Cousin Dave at March 12, 2010 7:41 AM
It's fun to see what gets everybody's knickers in a twist. Today it's lesbians and Barbie. How about Black Lesbian Prom Barbie? Have they done that one yet?
Pricklypear at March 12, 2010 7:45 AM
It could have been worse- they could have auctioned the black dolls.
Eric at March 12, 2010 7:53 AM
Oooh, Eric! I'm torn between Ouch, and Good one!
Pricklypear at March 12, 2010 8:00 AM
I was unaware the laws of supply and demand and retail sales required the approval of the NAACP.
BTW, you're going to Hell for that comment Eric. :-)
Go-Fish at March 12, 2010 8:02 AM
Oh for the love of Christ. We are officially out of problems of this is the biggest bee in the proverbial bonnet. And wouldn't or have been more racist to tiptoe around the pricing issue in the first place simply because of the doll's skin color?!?
mse at March 12, 2010 8:20 AM
I wanted a barbie with brown hair and brown eyes that looked like me (cuz I look EZACKLY like Barbie dontcha know) but the ones I wanted didnt come in brown hair. They only made the generic ones in brown, not the cool ones like Crystal Barbie or Peaches and Cream Barbie or Pink and Pretty Barbie. I think they have improved since then, but at the time... why couldnt Barbie ahve brown hair AND a cool dress???
You know what I REALLY hate? When a line of dolls comes out that has blond hair with blue eyes, brown hair with green eyes, red hair with green eyes, black, hispanic black hair brown eyes, asian, and every single combination EXCEPT white with brown hair and brown eyes. I guess they figure that they have the brown eyes covered with the other races... but seriously, white girls with brown hair and eyes are probably the largest demographic.
Im going to sue mattel.
NicoleK at March 12, 2010 8:43 AM
I wanted a barbie with brown hair and brown eyes that looked like me (cuz I look EZACKLY like Barbie dontcha know) but the ones I wanted didnt come in brown hair. They only made the generic ones in brown, not the cool ones like Crystal Barbie or Peaches and Cream Barbie or Pink and Pretty Barbie. I think they have improved since then, but at the time... why couldnt Barbie ahve brown hair AND a cool dress???
You know what I REALLY hate? When a line of dolls comes out that has blond hair with blue eyes, brown hair with green eyes, red hair with green eyes, black, hispanic black hair brown eyes, asian, and every single combination EXCEPT white with brown hair and brown eyes. I guess they figure that they have the brown eyes covered with the other races... but seriously, white girls with brown hair and eyes are probably the largest demographic.
Im going to sue mattel.
NicoleK at March 12, 2010 8:43 AM
So sorry, double post...
NicoleK at March 12, 2010 8:45 AM
Those Barbies were waaaay too well-dressed to be in a Wal-Mart...at any price.
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?page_id=9798
Conan the Grammarian at March 12, 2010 8:57 AM
Jihad Barbie!!
http://www.pacificnet.net/~joelinux/jihad_barbie.jpg
Eric at March 12, 2010 10:30 AM
Kids don't look at the price tags anyways.
lsomber at March 12, 2010 12:11 PM
So if I came out with a line of cookies ranging from the full-boat Macaroon through the coconutty Quadroon and down to the crunchalicious Octaroon, I'd have to sell them all for the same price?
That don't make no sense.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at March 12, 2010 2:27 PM
Note that not one of the critics actually has a job selling anything. They don't have to worry about moving inventory or turning a profit.
They're people paid to actually produce nothing. They have no inventory, no customers to worry about, they have no experience actually having to worry about what is selling and what is not.
That is the problem today, to many people get paid just to criticize, analyze, and talk about both, they never have to actually DO anything.
Even a teenage retail worker learns why sales and cost cutting happens.
Stupid stupid people.
How DO they get paid for this stuff?
Robert at March 12, 2010 11:14 PM
''So let me get this straight. It's discrimination if the black doll is priced at less than the white doll. But it's also discrimination if the black doll is priced higher than the white doll -- because that obviously would be a "colored tax". And it's discrimination if they are priced the same, because affirmative action demands that the black doll have more opportunity to be purchased, and hence should be priced lower.
My head hurts.''
Thanks, I needed a smile today.
Kendra at March 13, 2010 4:42 AM
"How DO they get paid for this stuff?"
By generating "earned media." Some organizations decide that free publicity is better than obscurity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_media
...I'm not advocating this organization's position, just answering the question.
Michelle at March 14, 2010 12:56 AM
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Thanks, sociologists, for setting that dream back yet again.
Melissa G at March 14, 2010 7:42 AM
How about everyone just collectively ignore these shithead organisations that cry 'racism' at every single things whites do, sometimes including just existing ... their accusations are almost always BS, and their goal is power, not equality, and they are not 'adding' anything to any 'debate'.
Lobster at March 14, 2010 9:59 AM
But critics say Walmart should have been more sensitive in its pricing choice.
OK, "critics," if Wal-Mart marks the black dolls back up to the same price as the white dolls, and the black dolls don't sell as well as the white dolls, would you be willing to purchase the difference so Wal-Mart could keep the prices the same?
Doobie at March 14, 2010 6:34 PM
Remember the old 12-inch tall GI Joes? You know which the most valuable one is? The (female) nurse.
Is that with or without kung-fu grip?
Doobie at March 14, 2010 6:37 PM
I have a perfect solution that will make both sides happy - although people who like to tell other people what they should do never consider solutions like this... ready?
Wal-Mart is marking them down to make room for new stock because the dolls aren't selling. Thelma Dye doesn't like the implication of having the dolls marked down.
Maybe.. SHE SHOULD BUY THEM ?! Her organization could donate them to needy kids or put them to some other positive use.
Seriously, I'm getting SO tired of hearing cries of racism where there isn't any. It cheapens and dilutes charges of real raceism when it exists.
Vincent Meyer at March 20, 2010 8:08 PM
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