Page 176 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

Ethnically Correct Dolls . 161

attractive, short, kinky, hurts-to-comb hair" (53). I do not wish to sug-
gest that dominant American society has not represented stereotypical
black hair as being everything that DuCille suggests. However, accepting
the stereotypical notion of black hair makes light of the fact that the
"good" and "bad" hair debate would not be possible if black kids did
not have hair that comes not just in tight, nappy curls but also in straight
or curly locks to rival Veronica Lake's famous eye-obscuring cascade.
There are some indications that the absolute line between what constitutes
"black" or "white" hair was originally enforced by white slave-owning
women who, when faced with female slaves who had long, silky hair,
would have it cut off (White and White 1995). 7
"But what," DuCille wonders "does the transference of flowing fairy-
princess hair onto black dolls mean for the black children for whom
these dolls are supposed to inspire self-esteem?" (51). My guess is, it de-
pends on what you're doing with the flowing fairy-princess hair. Under-
lying criticisms of Barbie-doll hair is the assumption that one must treat
white hair in certain ways, that is, putting it into styles that are marked
as being white. The assumption seems to be that one must treat this
racialized commodity within the confines of the racial boundaries it is
seen to represent. As Erica Rand has so keenly observed in her book
Barbie's Queer Accessories (1995), people do not necessarily respect the
manufactured identity of Barbie when they deal with her. Rand's book
focuses mostly on the ways in which people's play with Barbie made her
queer in many senses of the word, not the least being in terms of her
sexuality. Similarly, Barbie (or any other doll) can be queered racially as
well. Certainly, in Newhallville, kids do not seem to respect these bound-
aries, at least when it comes to dolls' heads. After seeing what it is that
these kids do with their white dolls, one might rephrase DuCille's ques-
tion: what does the transference of intricate braids and cornrows onto
white dolls mean for the black children for whom these dolls are thought
to inspire lack of self-esteem?

Braids and the Blonde Doll
I have a photograph of Cherelle's younger sister, Clarice, sitting on the
front steps of their porch, next to her younger brother Joey. Joey seems to
look out from the photo (at me) with a skeptical, almost belligerent
glower. He holds a plastic toy in his hand as if to display it to me, the way
you might display a weapon. Clarice, more at ease, has a doll snuggled
on her lap. Against the dark color of Clarice's t-shirt, the doll's light skin
and blonde hair are blazingly white. The front section of the doll's long,