Man Gets Slammed on Twitter for Claims No Black Barbies Existed Over Past Several Decades
A social media user recently learned — the hard way — that sometimes it is best to do your research before sharing a hot take post.
Earlier this week, amid fanfare over the release of the new “Barbie” movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Twitter user @Dooboy310 unexpectedly went viral.
He claimed that the Black versions of the iconic doll were not available decades ago. And the user further asserted that Black women were somehow merely jumping on the Barbie bandwagon in response to the film.
“All these black girls wanna be Barbies when they know damn well wasn’t no black Barbie dolls growing up , y’all just hop on trends and blindly run w it [sic],” he wrote.
The post has since been viewed over 11 million times. And it has garnered hundreds of reactions from folks slamming the user for his lack of research before making such a bold remark.
One critic called the man out, writing, “And you ... not taking the twenty-seconds to google that there have been Black Barbies since the 1960s and are hundreds of different ones by now... and just blindly running with it.”its
Earlier this week, amid fanfare over the release of the new “Barbie” movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Twitter user @Dooboy310 unexpectedly went viral. He claimed that the Black versions of the iconic doll were not available, and they further asserted that Black women were somehow merely jumping on the Barbie bandwagon in response.
“All these black girls wanna be Barbie’s when they know damn well wasn’t no black Barbie dolls growing up, y’all just hop on trends and blindly run w it [sic],” he wrote.
The post was viewed over 11 million times and garnered hundreds of reactions from folks slamming the user for his lack of research before making such a bold remark.
One critic called the man out, writing, “And you ... not taking the twenty-seconds to Google that there have been Black Barbies since the 1960s and are hundreds of different ones by now... and just blindly running with it.”
Twitter users also shared dozens of photos of various Black Barbie dolls throughout the decades, with some released as early as the late 1960s.
NBC News reported that toy giant Mattel launched its first dark-skinned doll, named Francie, in 1967. Francie was introduced as a friend of Barbie. Christie, another darker-toned doll, followed a year later. However, neither Francie nor Christie, were deemed official Black Barbie dolls.
The company would officially release its first Black Barbie in 1980, created by Black fashion designer Kitty Black Perkins. According to the National Museum of Play, the Barbie was sold in a box that read, “She’s black! She’s beautiful! She’s dynamite!”
