The Black baby doll doesn't fit the disconnect between early childhood diversity policy, early childhood educator practice, and children's play

“Doll #135 with vitiligo”: Are alopecia and vitiligo Barbie worth the hype?

“…Crucially, original Barbie received the greatest praise. With these findings previously replicated and parallel responses observed toward other diverse dolls, including black dolls and Down syndrome dolls, 6,14,15 researchers posit that diverse toys tend to promote recreation and thus perpetuation, rather than alleviation, of existing societal stigma 6 . This has worrying implications for children’s reception of vitiligo and alopecia Barbie: instead of fostering an appreciation of difference, the dolls could become agents for enacting societal stigma in the dollhouse, which risks further alienating children with similar dermatoses.…”

“…In fact, diverse dolls might not even be welcomed by the children they represent. Like Clark’s original doll studies, 5 children belonging to marginalized groups have repeatedly been shown to favor typical dolls over those that look like them, 6,8,16 suggesting that they are not immune to recreating societal stigma in the dollhouse. Furthermore, researchers have found that when exposed to Emme dolls representative of a size 16, young girls report greater “desire to be thin when adults” compared to neutral controls, suggesting not only that realistically sized dolls might lack the desired effect on body‐esteem, but that they might instead have the opposite effect of decreasing it 11 .…”

“…Black children’s self‐esteem was thought to be damaged by internalized societal stigma, which led to demands for racial diversity in children’s education and play materials. Today, multicultural policy often mandates the inclusion of diverse toys in children’s classrooms, reflecting the belief that exposure to such materials can foster greater self‐esteem in the children represented by these toys and a greater appreciation of multiculturalism in peers 6 . Vitiligo and alopecia Barbie are applauded using parallel logic: by offering children toys depicting visible dermatoses, the hope is that these dolls could significantly benefit the self‐esteem of children with similar dermatoses and the appreciation of such disorders by their peers.…”

“…The dolls are given identities and personalities by qualified teachers, who encourage children to vocalize viewpoints related to race and to explore these views using the dolls. This methodological aspect is important given children’s aforementioned tendency to recreate societal stigma in their play, suggesting that educational supervision is an important factor for challenging rather than perpetuating negative stereotypes in the playroom 6 . Although Schenk’s methodology did not include structured educational workshops, the participating children were introduced to, and instructed to play with, the dolls within a classroom under teacher supervision, with teachers’ responses to children’s play behaviors and attitudes toward the Down syndrome dolls not measured or controlled for 15 .…”

Anti‐racism in U.S. early childhood education: Foundational principles

“…In response, reconceptualist early childhood scholars and scholars of color have challenged the epistemological domination of developmental psychology by articulating new perspectives of children and early childhood education through the prism of postcolonial, feminist, Black feminist, Chicana feminism, anti‐racist, critical race, and post‐structural theories (e.g., Escayg et al, ; MacNaughton, ; MacNevin & Berman, ; Pacini‐Ketchabaw et al, ; Pérez, ; Pérez & Saavedra, ). Specifically, they have explored how issues of power and inequities affect the lived realities and opportunities for racialized children and have offered robust insights on the socio‐cultural construction of childhood and the competencies of young children, including how they perform their racialized identities and agency.…”