Where are the Asian Barbie’s!?

[Meki]

Does anyone know where I can find an Asian Barbie doll? I promised my niece that I would find her an Asian Barbie doll since Christmas and I have had no luck in finding one that would be suitable for her. (I had to get her other toys for Christmas.) My sis-in-law does not want her to play with a regular one because she says that she had issues with that when she was growing up. I have looked everywhere, in stores and online and the only ones I could find that were decent were used on ebay. The others I found either had their hair tied up in some kind of elaborate bun or had such a ridiculous price tag. My sis-in-law would also prefer one that had modern clothing and not the stereotypical Asian clothing. But shoot at this point if anyone knows where I can get one that looks decent in any type of clothing, I’ll just get it and buy her a set of clothing to go along with it. It has to have playable hair. (i.e. not all tied up in a bun.) Why the hell is so hard to find a damn Asian Barbie!? I knew it was hard to find one when I was young but… What the hell!! :mad:

[truMp]

haha, have fun.

[SunWuKong]

look on google or ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48932&item=5534498333&tc=photo#ebayphotohosting

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48932&item=5514114177&tc=photo

or you can just not get a Barbie

http://members.cox.net/blackwhitephotos/asiandolls.html


EDIT: i see you've put down Korean as your ethnicity.
http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=B5870

[missmeow]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15953&item=5551069230&rd=1

The box is written is Asian. Asian, I tell ya.

I had a Kira doll when I was wee lass. Do they still make those?

[SunWuKong]

not Barbie, but some of these are in modern clothing.
http://www.chinasprout.com/shop/toys/yuesaiwawa

[Grasshopper]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/barb27.shtml

Three faces of Barbie a snub to Asians

Saturday, May 27, 2000

By PATRICIA WEN
THE BOSTON GLOBE

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20000527/barb27.jpg

AnnieJoy Abbott shows off her "Kira" Barbie dolls, the only Asian "friend" Barbie has. The 5-year-old says: "I like this one because it has black hair. It looks like me."

The makers of the nation's top-selling doll swelled with pride this month when they unveiled the new, enlightened "Barbie for President 2000" doll. What she lacked in anatomical correctness, this Barbie would make up for in political correctness, waving a Girls' Action Agenda aimed at empowering her young audience.

And, despite her politics-as-usual plastic smile, she seemed sincere in her message that you don't have to be a white person to aspire to the White House. Mattel made "Barbie for President" in three types: Caucasian, African American and Latin American.

But what about the Asian American version?

It was somehow eliminated, or perhaps never got on the drawing board to begin with.

This snub from Mattel Inc., the nation's largest toymaker, has angered many Asian Americans, who already feel overlooked in many spheres of U.S. life despite being the nation's third largest minority.

It also has triggered soul-searching within the Asian American community as to why there are so few Asian faces on doll-store shelves. Aside from exotic-looking collectibles, such as Barbie's "Fantasy Goddess of Asia," Asian American features are rare among dolls, giving Asian American girls few choices of dolls whose faces and clothing styles resemble theirs.

Now, as the nation's second largest toymaker, Hasbro, prepares to market a major new doll that is available in different races -- but not Asian -- members of the Asian American community are wondering what they have to do to get attention, even in this small world of dolls. They wonder, too, what effect it has on the impressionable minds of Asian girls that they are portrayed in toy stores as kimono-wearing foreigners.

"When there's an omission, it reinforces the image that you don't exist," said psychologist Jean Lau Chin, who practices near Boston. "Or, if you do exist, it's only exotic."

Mattel's reasons for offering other minority presidential dolls but not an Asian apparently had little to do with the fact that the 11 million Asian Americans (4 percent of the U.S. population) are a smaller market than the 35 million African Americans (13 percent) and 32 million Hispanics (12 percent).

Instead, company officials said the decision had to do with the impression that Asian girls don't care that much about a look-alike Barbie. While offering no figures to support the claim, a Mattel spokeswoman said Asian girls tend to choose white dolls instead of Asian ones.

"That particular community has not expressed interest in a doll that reflects their ethnicity," said spokeswoman, Julia Jensen.

However, she acknowledged that the African American and Hispanic communities never lobbied for a Presidential Barbie in their likenesses either, but Mattel chose to be "pro-active" about it.

On the face of it, the omission strikes many Asian Americans as callous to the girls in their community who adore Barbies as much as other American girls. It's particularly galling, they said, given that Mattel is based right outside Los Angeles, which has one of the fastest-growing Asian populations, and many of the dolls are made in Asia.

"It's just such an outrage," said U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, a 72-year-old Hawaii Democrat of Japanese descent. "How are these girls supposed to buy Asian dolls if there are none to buy?"

For the record, Mink isn't just reacting out of ethnic solidarity: She was actually the first Asian American woman to run for the U.S. presidency. In 1972, Mink was on the Democratic ticket in the Oregon primary.

Some Asian Americans worry this is another instance of Asians being too politically passive, making it easy for institutions to ignore them.

"It's part of a larger pattern in which Asian Americans are left out of the discussion," said Michael Liu, president of the Boston-based Asian Pacific American Agenda Coalition, which supports Asian American political candidates.

In fact, it is somewhat ironic that Mattel should overlook Asian Americans, too, since the company has made more effort to be inclusive in its selection of dolls than many companies. After years of criticism that Barbie projected a dumb blonde stereotype, Mattel has turned Barbie into an umbrella for a wide range of backgrounds and aspirations, offering Barbie in a wheelchair and as a basketball star.

Mattel also recently bought the Pleasant Co.'s popular mail-order line of American Girl dolls, products that enable girls of different races to create their own look-alike dolls, though at a hefty price tag of $80 or so. Barbies each cost roughly $10 to $15.

In the Barbie world, Asian-looking dolls are confined to the adult-oriented collector edition with an international focus or the second-tier "Friend of Barbie" collection.

Barbie has one Asian "friend" named Kira. While not heavily promoted, Kira has been a hit among some Asian American girls, such as 5-year-old AnnieJoy Abbott of Dedham, Mass., who has five of them.

Among the more heavily marketed mainstream Barbies, said Mattel's Jensen, "Barbie has not been produced as an Asian." And other toymakers don't appear poised to buck the trend. Hasbro hopes to make a big splash this fall with the introduction of "My Real Baby," a doll with high levels of artificial intelligence. Again, there's no Asian, though there's a Caucasian, African American and Latin American version.

In explaining the Asian omission, Hasbro spokeswoman Audrey Basso said there simply aren't enough Asians to justify it.

Beyond numbers, of course, there is the issue of political clout, and Asian Americans have been less aggressive in sensitizing the consumer-product and entertainment industry to their needs than Hispanics or African American leaders.

Psychologist Chin adds that Asian women may also have an emotionally charged reason to keep a particular distance from doll issues. She said they have long tried to escape the shadow of the pervasive "China doll" image here, suggesting Asian women are simply delicate and docile romantic objects.

"Perhaps there's some ambivalence about giving us more China dolls," she said.

In truth, Barbie tends to blur racial distinctions. The black and Hispanic versions of Presidential Barbie look much like the Caucasian version, except with different shades of tan, different hair color, nd barely detectable facial-feature changes.

Still, even the most obvious racial markers -- such as hair color or skin color -- appear to matter to some Asian children. When Abbott, a little girl adopted from China, was asked at a Dedham toy store to look at three collector-style dolls of the same model that represented Caucasian, African and Asian looks, she went instantly for the Asian one.

"I like this one because it has black hair," she said. "It looks like me."

Michelle Kwan doll

http://www.prillycharmin.com/asian/yee24b.jpg

[jz87]

Skip the Barbie, get her GI Joe action figures. Dolls are so obviously sexist, this is such an obvious social construct I wonder why are women still buying their daughters dolls. Well, better get them used to wearing cammo and combat boots early, cause you know, you don't want them to feel unmasculine when they grow up.

[kitty]

http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-1659761001.jsp?AID=10308351&PID=1548774&SID=Asian+Dolls+Store

what is this one? 'sucky sucky long time' barbie?

[ism]

For domestic U.S., my sister has some suggestions -- she said the Asian Princess Barbie (in a pink dress) doesn't look all that Asian and to avoid it. She has a couple Kiras and says the surfer Kira is the most Asian-looking (she just showed it to me -- it does have a different mold and coloring than the others).

There's also an Indian Princess Barbie, apparently...

[TB4000]

http://ak.collectiblestoday.com/images/product/280/1659761001.jpg

I guess you could pair this one with a G.I. Joe figure to recreate scenes from Full Metal Jacket.

[>:^|]

I think that the Asian Barbie doesn't exist (with the exception of those dolls from foreign lands bit). There's a "friend of Barbie" named Kira as others have noted. Barbie originally was White; it wasn't until much later that African American Barbies (as opposed to "friends of Barbie") appeared.

Kira is really hard to get; I went to a bunch of toystores looking because my little niece wanted one. She specifically wanted the Northwestern University Barbie, which didn't come in an Asian model. This despite the fact that Northwestern has a huge Asian student population. The other one she wanted was the NBA Barbie. Anyway, I was going to buy two dolls and strip the White one of her clothes, but I couldn't get the Kira doll.

I ended up buying the Yue Sai "Panda Protector" doll that SunWuKong linked. My niece loved it.

http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-1659761001.jsp?AID=10308351&PID=1548774&SID=Asian+Dolls+Store

what is this one? 'sucky sucky long time' barbie?

So weird that they use Chinoiserie in its description. They should have just said Orientalist.

[Faithless]

look on google or ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48932&item=5534498333&tc=photo#ebayphotohosting

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48932&item=5514114177&tc=photo

or you can just not get a Barbie

http://members.cox.net/blackwhitephotos/asiandolls.html


EDIT: i see you've put down Korean as your ethnicity.
http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=B5870
Hm. None of those dolls look real Asian to me.

They look like how a non-pc female might dress up for a costume party, instead :rolleyes: on a date with Prince Harry.

[yoMAMA]

http://ak.collectiblestoday.com/images/product/280/1659761001.jpg

I guess you could pair this one with a G.I. Joe figure to recreate scenes from Full Metal Jacket.

holy shit!

nice legs too :wink:

[SunWuKong]

Hm. None of those dolls look real Asian to me.

well, neither does Barbie look like a real, or at least realistic, woman either.

[deez nuts]

holy shit!

nice legs too :wink:

pair that baby up with a chocolate ken or a some black gi joes for black dicks and an asian chick barbie gangbang and i got some masturbation material to last me this week.

[mr. x]

pair that baby up with a chocolate ken or a some black gi joes for black dicks and an asian chick barbie gangbang and i got some masturbation material to last me this week.
i went to stick my head in the toilet but found it occupied

[nonamerasian]

Try KB.

I think I've seen Asian Barbies in there and the KB I was in was pretty tiny.

[Bubba]

Instead, company officials said the decision had to do with the impression that Asian girls don't care that much about a look-alike Barbie. While offering no figures to support the claim, a Mattel spokeswoman said Asian girls tend to choose white dolls instead of Asian ones.

"That particular community has not expressed interest in a doll that reflects their ethnicity," said spokeswoman, Julia Jensen.
Ugh, I think I want to puke.

[SunWuKong]

Ugh, I think I want to puke.

i know. hey, maybe they choose white dolls instead of Asian dolls because there are hardly any Asian dolls around in this country.

[thaite]

http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-1659761001.jsp?AID=10308351&PID=1548774&SID=Asian+Dolls+Store

what is this one? 'sucky sucky long time' barbie?

Yeah, that one's hot!

[nonamerasian]

There have been studies showing that Black children choose the Caucasian dolls, too.

Some point to self-hate, but sometimes the minority dolls are made looking funny. Like with make-up that doesn't match their complexions, freaky colored eyes, or whatever. *shrug*

[Meki]

Well, thank you to all those who went out of their way to find me these sites. :wink: Unfortunately I have already been to those sites and none of them seem to appeal to my sister-in-law. I have tried KB Toys in my area with no avail. Not even one… Thanks for the tip though, Nonamerasian. The one that is supposed to be Korean is okay I guess because it seriously looks like a picture of my mom when she was younger! (Scary! :eek: ) But the hair seems to a non-moving type. That maybe alright for collectors but for a child, I don’t think they would enjoy that too much. Thanks anyway SunWuKong. I did see a used Barbie on ebay that looked very good. However, I don’t think it was Mattel that manufactured it nor did the person give the name of the doll (It probably was an import.) I should have got it anyway and had it professionally cleaned or something. Oh well… I will keep searching.

Skip the Barbie, get her GI Joe action figures. Dolls are so obviously sexist, this is such an obvious social construct I wonder why are women still buying their daughters dolls. Well, better get them used to wearing cammo and combat boots early, cause you know, you don't want them to feel unmasculine when they grow up.

Yes, I understand what the consequences are for a girl who grows up with an unhealthy image of what women should be. Shoot I am one of them… :frown: I am truly my own worst critic when it comes to my appearance. I kick myself every day and tell myself that none of it is important then find myself worrying about a blemish forming on my face. :redface: However, my niece is surrounded by women that are very strong willed and intelligent. Her mother especially, goes out of her way to make sure her daughter has a variety of toys and books for her to play with. But part of being a child is to pretend that they’re all grown up and one of the ways to express that is to play with dolls. I do not see that as a bad thing. It is up to the parents to inform their children with the knowledge that will empower them because even if a girl did not play with dolls, they would still be open to the media and to the rest of society. I think as adults we can only try our best to steer the younger generation in the right direction but also encourage them to have a mind of their own. And trust me; my niece has no problem when it comes to having a mind of her own.


http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct...ian+Dolls+Store

what is this one? 'sucky sucky long time' barbie?

Yeah, when we saw this one my sis-in-law and I didn’t know rather to laugh or scream…

[s1eve]

http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-1659761001.jsp?AID=10308351&PID=1548774&SID=Asian+Dolls+Store

what is this one? 'sucky sucky long time' barbie?

Yeah, I can see daddy buying this one for his daughter... :rolleyes:

[kimpossible]

So. Is there an Asian Ken? Or does Asian Barbie go IR? Asian Barbie is a sellout!

[hkRT]

I never had a Barbie-type doll growing up. I prefer stuffed animals more. :smile:

[TB4000]

http://mall.coimbatore.com/funskool/gijoefigures/quickkick.jpg

She could always hook up with Quick Kick from G.I. Joe.

[Tao]

just a quick aside...what kind of a name is kira? the only kiras i know are either russian jews or are on the lion king.

[kimpossible]

porn name?

[nola]

Skip the Barbie, get her GI Joe action figures. Dolls are so obviously sexist, this is such an obvious social construct I wonder why are women still buying their daughters dolls. Well, better get them used to wearing cammo and combat boots early, cause you know, you don't want them to feel unmasculine when they grow up.GI Joes reinforce gender stereotypes. Boys see GI Joe as the norm and are influenced to be macho or join the military like girls are influenced to be hyper-feminine and weak on their high heels. That's sexism too.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-1659761001.jsp?AID=10308351&PID=1548774&SID=Asian+Dolls+Store

what is this one? 'sucky sucky long time' barbie?

Okay like...isn't this doll supposed to be for little girls? The description reads like it's more catered to old horny white men. But maybe I'm just reading too much into it, haha. And 50 bucks? Hmm...seems like an asiaphile would get more of his money's worth by simply visiting an Asian whorehouse.

[nola]

http://ak.collectiblestoday.com/images/product/280/1659761001.jpg

I guess you could pair this one with a G.I. Joe figure to recreate scenes from Full Metal Jacket.Actually she's v beautiful and not quite slutty.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Actually she's v beautiful and not quite slutty.

Not that I'm complaining since I'm a guy (but it is a doll after all), but I think her dress is a bit short (which once again, in the right context, is an awesome thing). But I think it was just more of how they describe and advertise her as some exotic product wrapped in satin for your "child's" viewing and handling pleasure. haha

[nola]

Yeah a child would get the wrong idea with the shortshorts. Male or female.

[Chu Chi]

My sis-in-law does not want her to play with ***a regular one*** because she says that she had issues with that when she was growing up.


If a White doll is a "regular one",

then an Asian doll must be irregular.

CC

[Meki]

If a White doll is a "regular one",

then an Asian doll must be irregular.

CC

I'm sorry! I really didn't mean it that way... :frown: I was just typing really fast and not using my brain. Sorry... :frown:

[Chu Chi]

No need to apologize, the image translators work for the construct.


CC

[Tao]

No need to apologize, the image translators work for the construct.


CC

morpheus is that you?

[Napoleon Chynamite]

morpheus is that you?

hahahahahahaha

[asvenus]

So. Is there an Asian Ken? Or does Asian Barbie go IR? Asian Barbie is a sellout!

all the 'ethnic' barbies are sell out IR lovin whores i tells ya...all of em!!
LOL this thread is hilarious...fuck the barbie kack get her some scaletrix and if she cries just take the damn thing home and play it yourself... :biggrin:

[jz87]

GI Joes reinforce gender stereotypes. Boys see GI Joe as the norm and are influenced to be macho or join the military like girls are influenced to be hyper-feminine and weak on their high heels. That's sexism too.

I think it was quite obvious that I was being sarcastic, but I guess it doesn't come across well on the internet. I was making fun of the feminists who claim that there's no gender difference so women can be the same as men.

Now that aside, personally I'd recommend skipping dolls and getting her Lego sets. I had hours of fun with those when I was a kid. And move her up to the Lego Technic or Electric sets when she gets older. Playing with Legos is conducive to the imagination, you literally build your own world with Legos. When she gets to high school you can get her a Lego Mindstorm set, they didn't have those when I was a kid. If they had those when I was a kid, I probably wouldn't have left my room. With Lego sets it's like anything is possible if you can just imagine it and build it. I remember wondering why the world isn't built out of Lego blocks.

The creation that I'm persnally most proud of was a bomber I designed and built in 6th grade. It had fully retractable landing gears and bomb bay doors that open/close. It took me 2 months to design and built it because there was very limited space to allow the frontal landing gear to fully retract so I had to redesign it over and over again. I built everything from dinosaurs to suspension bridges, it really is a great toy for kids who like to imagine things. It really gives a sense of accomplishment when you design and build something difficult.

[Faithless]

http://mall.coimbatore.com/funskool/gijoefigures/quickkick.jpg

She could always hook up with Quick Kick from G.I. Joe.
Or a superhero.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/chottomatte/kikaida000.jpg

[Meki]

all the 'ethnic' barbies are sell out IR lovin whores i tells ya...all of em!!
LOL this thread is hilarious...fuck the barbie kack get her some scaletrix and if she cries just take the damn thing home and play it yourself... :biggrin:

Not sure I want to know but... scaletrix? :confused:

[asvenus]

LOL no its not some fast variation on dominatrix with scales!! its one of the most fave games from my childhood...a racing car game built on electric tracks that you can build around the house...tis wicked!!

[mr. x]

i got your asian barbies right here

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00064AEJW.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[achtungbaby]

Moving to Women

[bluemonq]

If a White doll is a "regular one",

then an Asian doll must be irregular.

CC
"irregular - not being or acting in accord with laws, rules, or established custom." see synonyms anomalous and unnatural. - the main definition from merriam-webster online.

last time i took my cousins toy shopping, the dolls that i would see would be white. on those dozens of trips, i've seen maybe three asian dolls. so would i call an asian doll on the market irregular, anomalous, or unnatural? you bet.

as i've said before, the meaning behind a statement depends not just the intent of the speaker but also the intent of the listener. semantics isn't a game only one person can play...

[applehead]

oh god.
korean barbie dolls are called mimi dolls.
and i always thought they were asian looking.

but i tried to look for some links for you meki
and found out that they were not asian looking at all.
i wonder why i always remembered the dolls as korean looking.
weird.
http://www.mimiworld.com/fashion/fashion_view.asp
here's one link i found.
they're cute though!

[Meki]

oh god.
korean barbie dolls are called mimi dolls.
and i always thought they were asian looking.

but i tried to look for some links for you meki
and found out that they were not asian looking at all.
i wonder why i always remembered the dolls as korean looking.
weird.
http://www.mimiworld.com/fashion/fashion_view.asp
here's one link i found.
they're cute though!

Yeah, I remember one that my grandmother got me while she was in Korea when I was little. (I don't think it was a Mimi though.) I remember it looking Asian as well but when I was going through all my old stuff at my parent’s house for this toy drive, I actually found it and was surprised that it didn't look Asian. Perhaps, it's because we associated anime with Asia and the dolls do seem to look similar to anime characters... :confused:

Thanks for your effort! :biggrin:

[kasia]

you want to buy her an asian doll b/c you want her to be able to identify with her toy. however, you are choosing a barbie doll because you don't care about increasing her chances of becoming anorexic when she grows older? If the doll originally marketed were human-sized, her measurements would have been 39"-18"-33". After objections from feminist groups, they changed it to 39"-19"-33".

For many Americans and others in developed countries the image of the perfect body surrounds them every day, which greatly contributes to a society obsessed with perfection. The Eating Disorders Association describes the effects of this obsession by looking at the threefold increase of eating disorders from 1988-1994 (Eating Disorders Association). One of the reasons for this increase in eating disorders is the constant pressure from society to have the perfect body as established by fashion magazines and anorexic actresses. This obsession with perfection is taught to us even as small children, Barbie being a prime example of perfection to every young girl. The Anorexia and Nervosa Related Eating Disorders Inc. examines the problems with having Barbie as an image of perfection. Barbie weighs about 101 pounds, whereas the average American woman weighs in at approximately 145 pounds. Barbie’s dress size is a four, while the average female American usually fits into an eleven to fourteen, ten sizes larger than Barbie, the standard for perfection. The average woman has about a 29-31 inch waist while Barbie has an astonishingly perfect 19 inch waist (Anorexia and Nervosa Related Eating Disorders Inc.). These disturbing figures highlight the problem with achieving the perfection that is expected of the average female American. This obsession with perfection is considered by many doctors to be one of the causes of eating disorders.

[Meki]

you want to buy her an asian doll b/c you want her to be able to identify with her toy. however, you are choosing a barbie doll because you don't care about increasing her chances of becoming anorexic when she grows older? If the doll originally marketed were human-sized, her measurements would have been 39"-18"-33". After objections from feminist groups, they changed it to 39"-19"-33".

I believe I have already responded to this type of question in a previous post. But let me just reiterate that it is up to the parents to teach their children how a woman should be perceived because regardless of what toy they play with, they will ultimately be exposed to today's media. Where there are far more objectifying images of women than a doll. But also by to refusing to let my niece have a Barbie doll which all her friends have. Then wouldn't that make her feel more alienated because she would not ‘fit in’ due to that as well as her race? Like I said it has a lot to do with how the child is raised.


Yes, I understand what the consequences are for a girl who grows up with an unhealthy image of what women should be. Shoot I am one of them… :frown: I am truly my own worst critic when it comes to my appearance. I kick myself every day and tell myself that none of it is important then find myself worrying about a blemish forming on my face. :redface: However, my niece is surrounded by women that are very strong willed and intelligent. Her mother especially, goes out of her way to make sure her daughter has a variety of toys and books for her to play with. But part of being a child is to pretend that they’re all grown up and one of the ways to express that is to play with dolls. I do not see that as a bad thing. It is up to the parents to inform their children with the knowledge that will empower them because even if a girl did not play with dolls, they would still be open to the media and to the rest of society. I think as adults we can only try our best to steer the younger generation in the right direction but also encourage them to have a mind of their own. And trust me; my niece has no problem when it comes to having a mind of her own.

[nola]

Thanks for the passage, Kasie. I've been looking for something about Barbie because men never seem to understand the impact she has on American women. They pass it off like Barbie has no impact on girls.

[bluemonq]

Thanks for the passage, Kasie. I've been looking for something about Barbie because men never seem to understand the impact she has on American women. They pass it off like Barbie has no impact on girls.
i don't know if this will sound inflammatory or not, so im going to say upfront that this is just a pure observation: you have this woman to thank for the barbie doll, who i believe set the original dimensions (but i believe i could be wrong)
http://www.cnn.com/STYLE/9903/09/barbie.at.40/link.handler.jpg
ruth handler

[nola]

I know about her and she's a token woman. That doesn't excuse how Barbie and/or overemphasis on physical perfection are occupying too much mental space in American female lives.

[SunWuKong]

oh god.
korean barbie dolls are called mimi dolls.
and i always thought they were asian looking.

but i tried to look for some links for you meki
and found out that they were not asian looking at all.
i wonder why i always remembered the dolls as korean looking.
weird.
http://www.mimiworld.com/fashion/fashion_view.asp
here's one link i found.
they're cute though!

they look like anime chicks.

[rice cracker]

oh god.
korean barbie dolls are called mimi dolls.
and i always thought they were asian looking.

but i tried to look for some links for you meki
and found out that they were not asian looking at all.
i wonder why i always remembered the dolls as korean looking.
weird.
http://www.mimiworld.com/fashion/fashion_view.asp
here's one link i found.
they're cute though!

I had a Mimi when I was little, or else it was a knock-off Mimi. But she didn't look like those! I remember they always had really ruffly clothes and brown hair.

Oddly, this article (http://www.kocca.or.kr/ctnews/eng/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/06/01/200406010005.html) says that the dolls haven't changed for 20 years. Maybe mine was a different kind, but I swear those dolls were all over with their hollow little bodies and gigantic princess dresses.

[applehead]

we are finding out new things
about mimis in this thread.
interesting article kim.
i wonder why we remember our dolls
differently than they really were.

princess dresses! i remember those!!

[Meki]

I finally found one but my cousin is having it shipped from Korea. She says that it actually has a larger waist size and smaller boobs then the American counter parts! :biggrin: I will try to post pics once my sis-in-law gets it.

[kasia]

i don't know if this will sound inflammatory or not, so im going to say upfront that this is just a pure observation: you have this woman to thank for the barbie doll, who i believe set the original dimensions (but i believe i could be wrong)
http://www.cnn.com/STYLE/9903/09/barbie.at.40/link.handler.jpg
ruth handler

you mean kinda like that korean man that we have to thank for creating the kung fool costume? i hope you're not putting forth that information as a form of justification.

I finally found one but my cousin is having it shipped from Korea. She says that it actually has a larger waist size and smaller boobs then the American counter parts! :biggrin: I will try to post pics once my sis-in-law gets it.

sounds great. i wonder if that was a conscious decision on their part.

[Meki]

sounds great. i wonder if that was a conscious decision on their part.

I know... It seems surprising b/c my cousin tells me how she struggles with the fact of what people view as skinny over there. She says people comment on her weight and she wears a size 5 and she's 5'4". :confused: But maybe that's why they made them, to try and deter that type of thinking.

[bluemonq]

you mean kinda like that korean man that we have to thank for creating the kung fool costume? i hope you're not putting forth that information as a form of justification.
'course not. however, my point was that sometimes it almost seems that people are taking the easy way out, ie. "it's the MEN's fault that we have this crap!" you just gotta wonder why people like the korean dude who did the kung fool costume start these things. remember, there's always a market for anything you sell, but why are they selling in the first place? please don't say, "oh, this was back in the 50s when this stuff was invented, it's ok." it isn't the 50s anymore. i ask you, who is it mostly buying these dolls? probably not the kids.

[rhetorical question]how come so many people are quite willing to boycott sellers of the kung fool costume for perpetuating a dangerous stereotype but not sellers of barbie dolls for perpetuating a dangerous stereotype?[/rhetorical question]

[nola]

There is self-hate among women and buying womens' magazines and trying to look perfect are a part of that. I boycotted womens' magazines a few years ago and feel alot better about myself but many women still read them. I have tried to lose twenty pounds for years and that has wasted way too much time and energy. Most American women are not happy with their bodies and it is from societal pressure. Buying Barbies are like buying womens' magazines or trying to look perfect. It's American culture.

[bluemonq]

good for you! but you're definitely in the minority. whatever happened to "empowering women"? what, not buying barbies turns peopple into unamerican-pinko-fascisti? i suppose the same argument was used on people who were all for treating african-americans as equal back in the sixties, and homosexuals to this day. i just really don't understand.

[rhetorical question redux]how come so many people are quite willing to boycott sellers of the kung fool costume for perpetuating a dangerous stereotype but willing to spend $20 to get a barbie doll for their daughter or niece?[/rhetorical question redux]

[nola]

People are more aware of racism than sexism because oh my god racism involves men! and that's people LIKE ME! so we have to do something right away!

[Meki]

To all of you who object to the image that Barbie projects. I whole heartily agree with you. I wish Barbie came in every shape, size and race but it doesn't. And if any of you can look into five year old little girl’s eyes and tell her that even though she's been a really good girl she can't have the toy that she's been wanting, then you have a much, much stronger will than I do. And although I respect your views it just seems that I'm being told the same information over & over. I created this thread to find the doll… So please...... :redface:

[bluemonq]

from the cia world factbook:

sex ratio: total population: 0.97 male/female (ie, male 48.5%, female 51.5%)
...
ethnic groups: white 77.1%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.5%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.3%, other 4%

lest you say i'm blaming the women, i'm going to say right now: i'm not. it's everybody's fault.

[Faithless]

A "Get Real Doll" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004YT19/minorijobbank/002-6151610-5968839) !

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00004YT19.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[TB4000]

A "Get Real Doll" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004YT19/minorijobbank/002-6151610-5968839) !

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00004YT19.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
http://www.astrumignis.com/nox/images/npc-jubes.jpg

Uncanny, ain't it?

[artsfartsyjanet]

Asian Pacific Barbie Page

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/8788/asnbarb.html?200524

when i was a little girl, i had an asian barbie.... called Miko.

[Shuriken]

Asian Pacific Barbie Page

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/8788/asnbarb.html?200524

when i was a little girl, i had an asian barbie.... called Miko.

About the name Miko:

In my years reading scripts and other forms of fiction, I noticed that one of the most common names given to a Japanese female character by a white writer was "Miko."

However, while "Miko" can be a Japanese female name (meaning "child of the berry" — the suffix -ko at the end of a name usually means child and is usually reserved for women), the word is also Japanese for a Shinto priestess and thus would have a number of connotations that Japanese parents would likely not want to saddle their daughter with. "Miho" is a much more popular name for girls in Japan than "Miko."

So, while Miko is a rather common name for a Japanese woman in Euro-American fiction (and popular culture à la Barbie), it is not a very common one for Japanese women in Japan.

[Coquinegra]

yeah I know I'm late.. Do you know Kira? Friend of Barbie

Does anyone know where I can find an Asian Barbie doll? I promised my niece that I would find her an Asian Barbie doll since Christmas and I have had no luck in finding one that would be suitable for her. (I had to get her other toys for Christmas.) My sis-in-law does not want her to play with a regular one because she says that she had issues with that when she was growing up. I have looked everywhere, in stores and online and the only ones I could find that were decent were used on ebay. The others I found either had their hair tied up in some kind of elaborate bun or had such a ridiculous price tag. My sis-in-law would also prefer one that had modern clothing and not the stereotypical Asian clothing. But shoot at this point if anyone knows where I can get one that looks decent in any type of clothing, I’ll just get it and buy her a set of clothing to go along with it. It has to have playable hair. (i.e. not all tied up in a bun.) Why the hell is so hard to find a damn Asian Barbie!? I knew it was hard to find one when I was young but… What the hell!! :mad:

[kimpossible]

At first I thought this was a Barbie knock-off but I guess Mattel is the true manufacturer of Going Home Barbie, complete with Chinese baby. I tried like mad to find a picture of one but I can't. I just thought it bizarre there is an actual, official Barbie like... Malibu Barbie

Going Home Barbie is a special-edition doll that Mattel has been manufacturing in various styles since 2001. She can't be found in stores, and she isn't being hyped on Saturday-morning TV; only about 6,000 of her kind are made each year, and all are distributed free at just one location in the world: the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China. To get the doll, you have to stay at the famous five-star hotel, and you have to check out with at least one more child than you had when you entered the country.

[nola]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/donnadarko/ba7d159f.jpg http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/donnadarko/ab779044.jpg http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/donnadarko/56a7fe98.jpg http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/donnadarko/18d17bd4.jpg

Fuck Barbie and impossible Western beauty standards. Only 1 in 100,000 women has her measurements and more Barbie dolls have been sold in Sweden than the country's current population. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie) This is a better model, the La Brea Tar Pit Barbie, available for $85 at www.hotheadpaisan.com.

[applehead]

oookay. that's just scary.

[nola]

Barbie is prehistoric and should be covered in tar.

I think Tar Pit Barbie is hawt!

[applehead]

i liked jigsaw puzzles more than barbie.
i was forced to play barbie because of my sister.
i wonder why little girls like it so much.
oh well.

but i meant the "homicidal lesbian terrorist" part is scary.
hahahahahaha

[nola]

Hothead Paisan is hawt too:

Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist; comics for the fed-up, rage therapy for the marginalized. Way cheaper than a shrink. If nothing makes sense to you, you're in the right place. This is your Hotheadquarters for comics, T-shirts, stickers, prints, original artwork and other groovy crapola! Every purchase you make enables this fringe lunatic to run around and stab the Right in the ass with the First Amendment, for ALL of us! Feel kisses now! Sign up for the hothead mailing list and never miss another Hothead moment!

LOLZ.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/donnadarko/hothead.jpg

Hothead flipping off piggish white male businessman. Her tattoo says "DYKE" and "EAT ME". Hott.

Yeah I never played with Barbies. I had stuffed animals only.

[kinith]

All the barbies have westernised features anyway look at the black one for instance. Apart from the afro hair and dark skin it's just the blonde one with the same stick thin features, small nose and tiny @ss which is in no way representative of your average black woman.

This kind of "ideal look" no doubt would make your average impressionable girl want to look this way too. Look at how many girls wanna look this way with the amount of kids going for surgery etc. This kind of negative imagery helps reinforce insecurities in children as it is.

I say fck barbie and stick to Hello Kitty!

[etcj]

I can't imagine Barbie playing such a dominant role in the market anymore. There are many other different dolls out in the market that do have a more diverse representation in their lines. However, I find that dolls typically choose to accentuate the features that most young girls learn from their parents as pretty or cute. That include the puckered lips, skinny waistline, and small feet. Yes, those are details that the Barbie dolls have been oh-so conscious about. Certainly there's the same debate in the boys' aisle about representation and realistic representation...Quick Kick and the other ninjas in G.I. Joe seem to put a rather somber look on how Asian males are supposed to be portrayed.

Of course, we include Asian dolls/action figures for the sheer purpose of them being Asian...or associated with something with Asian. The dragon-lady, geisha, and ninja can certainly be pasted onto a white doll, but I guess Hasbro fears that it would be un-PC. For YW folks, this would be the Lucy Liu conundrum. It would be interesting to see what dolls in Asia look..ahemm, and I'm not talking about busty anime ones either.

[Chad]

There should be the "Asian Barbie" and then the "Asian American Barbie", two distinctly different models.

[mr. x]

course even if they make an asian barbie there will be no need for an asian ken

yes i realize im killing the joke

[nola]

There should be the "Asian Barbie" and then the "Asian American Barbie", two distinctly different models.Barbie should be discontinued.

I'm glad Mel found a Kira for her niece.

[Faithless]

Maybe it's a good thing that there aren't any Asian babs, because --

Barbie doll is hate figure (http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=2430072005)

Mon 19 Dec 2005

GIRLS hate Barbie so much that many admit torturing, maiming and even decapitating the doll, according to new research out today.

The all-American toy has become a "hate figure" among seven to 11-year-olds, who regard Barbie as a "babyish" symbol of their earlier childhood.

Researchers from the University of Bath questioned 100 youngsters about a range of branded products and found the doll provoked the strongest reaction.