Racism; A Funny Note

Mother Jones Magazine, a bastion of liberalism, is reporting on a case racial discrimination at a Louisiana based Wal-mart. The twist here is that the person being discriminated against here is a Barbie doll.

In the Wal-mart store portrayed in the story, two Barbie dolls sit side-by-side on the shelf, identical in every way expect for two. First, one Barbie doll is white, and, secondly, that doll cost almost twice as much as its dark-skinned counterpart.

Teresa, as the darker doll is actually named, is marketed by Mattel as part of the Barbie series, and was first introduced in 1988. According to the Barbie story, Teresa is actually Barbie best friend, but she is not getting the appropriate respect.

This is sad, but should not be totally surprising. The fact of the matter is, most young white girls, or more to the point, their parents, actually prefer white dolls. These prejudices, whether innate or created in childhood, continue into adulthood. As reported in a recent Time magazine article, African-American women are less likely to receive request on popular dating sites.

This means that the reported death of racism in America is premature. Yes, we have elected a black president, but suspicion of others, or even just a desire to surround oneself with one's own race, is still prevalent in America. This is mostly a humorous story about a child's toy, but we should not ignore it as such. These are the little lessons that we must all take about the United States today, and about how we can create a more perfect union.