Did your mom let you play with white dolls or Barbies? – post 1

When I was little, my mom never let me play with white dolls or Barbies of any race. My sole interaction with those dolls were at my friends’ houses. I didn’t get it when I was young, but it makes sense to me now, and if I had children, I would do the same thing with them.

It’s all about developing a positive self image. The no-Barbie rule was because my mom felt she was too “developed” for a child to be playing with. As I’m writing this post, I’m thinking I should call my mom (or talk to her when I see her this weekend) and ask her firsthand, as an adult, if what I believe she was thinking was actually true. I’ll update this post after interviewing her.

This post was prompted by bumping into a site called http://real-kidz.com/ that sells dolls of bi-racial heritage. I can’t remember how exactly I got there, but I can only guess I somehow linked to it through the Mixed Chicks products website.

While not officially declared, I am somewhat of a doll collector. I loved playing with dolls as a child and only gave it up in middle school because it was uncool at some point, but I’ve kept nearly all of my favorites. Somehow, by saying that I collect dolls conjures up images of grannies with plastic furniture and a hutch with pricey dolls from QVC in it. However, instead, I’ll choose to say it loud “I’m nappy, a doll collector (of sorts), and proud!”

One of my pastimes, when my husband and I travel abroad, is to purchase a doll representing that country. I guess at some point I need to find a neat storage option, but that’s when the grannies with plastic furniture feeling sets in.

So, nappies and nappy-nots, did your parents place any doll restrictions on you as a child? I’m especially wondering about the Barbie thing because I feel like I was the only kid on the planet with that restriction.