Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Time to gripe: everyone hates Frida

Time to talk about Barbie again.  Barbie is releasing a series of dolls based on inspirational women, and I'm tickled pink to see some of the people they're representing.  Bindi Irwin will be in the lineup, as will Amelia Earhart and this super-neat lady that I'd never heard of named Katherine Johnson.  Miss Katherine was a math teacher and a worker for NASA, at a time when women and people of color tended to be overlooked for such positions, and I love that.  Her doll is epic.  I also find Miss Katherine's story inspiring from a personal standpoint, as she proves one can be a scientist and still have a relationship with God (she's a Presbyterian).  It can be lonesome and frightening sometimes when you're a Christian and a science major, so I enjoy Katherine's story.

Also among the dolls to be represented is Frida Kahlo.  She is the center of this post, so here's a picture of her.
Frida was a danged communist, usually wear a scarlet letter in my book (I despise communism).  However, I love Frida's emotionally charged (occasionally graphic) paintings and her refusal to adhere to conventional beauty (she had a unibrow and a mustache), so to me she seems like a rational and original addition to the Barbie lineup.  Unfortunately...here comes the controversy.  Mattel apparently didn't get permission from Frida's family...wait a minute...she has surviving family???  Must be great nieces and nephews, as Frida was unable to carry a child due to a very unfortunate accident during her youth.  Anywho, Mattel didn't get permission from the family to use her image, and now they're mad about it.  They're also upset that Mattel tweaked the doll's appearance, doing away with the unibrow and the mustache.  I can understand that, because no Frida Kahlo doll is accurate without a unibrow and a mustache.  I give the family and the critics that.  Apparently Frida was also a rather voluptuous woman, and Mattel chose to give her a skinny body instead of the curvy one that they have available.  Mmmkay...that criticism is justified as well, particularly since Mattel has the resources to make the doll more accurate.

The intellectuals on Tumblr have dragged race into the mix and used a lot of ugly language to do it.  I don't blame folks for being mad about this doll's inaccuracy, but what does race have to do with it???  There are more minorities than whites planned in that inspirational women line, so how on earth does race factor in there.  Quite a bit of ignorance was perpetrated with Frida, yes...but racism?  No.  There is a lot of cash-grabbing here; Mattel wanted to appeal to the trendy "girls can do anything" tagline, and so they rushed a doll into production without covering their butts.  Mattel's failure to cover their butts surprises me since the designers worked closely with Katherine Johnson to make sure her doll was right.  But I fail to see the racism here.  I just see a doll company making a bunch of silly mistakes in order to heed the call of the holy dollar.  And Mattel NEEDS the holy dollar; Barbie's sales continue to slump, and I doubt the line of inspirational dolls will help, particularly since so many are now upset over Frida.

I personally am delighted to see Frida represented by a doll, flaws or no, and since she's controversial I want her.  Don't I always?  I can just hear my grandmother hollering "You ornery thing!"  But what say y'all?  Racist or just stupidly inaccurate? 

Cordially yours,
RagingMoon1987

9 comments:

  1. If you find a zoomed in photo of the Frida Kahlo doll, you'll see the unibrow isn't gone. The center bit is just painted more lightly, not visible in the zoomed out photo. *facepalm*

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  2. Mattel did obtain the rights to Frida Kahlo from the Frida Kahlo Corporation who currently own the rights to her name. I guess the family's beef is really with them. So as far as the legality of doing the doll, Mattel did go through the proper channels. Would it have been nice to also consult the family? Yes, probably! As far as her body type, most of the pictures I have seen of Frida she appears to be quite small. The doll does have the uni-brow (you can see it in the close up photos), but doesn't have the mustache. That was even true for the makeup done on Selma Hayek (unibrow but no mustache) for the movie she portrayed Frida in. Apparently, Ms. Hayek has also come out against Mattel's portrayal of the her as a doll, however, I believe she has probably profited more from her portrayal of the artist than Mattel will with a $29 doll! Personally, I would like to get the doll just because I like having the diversity in my collection. But, she sold out quickly and now seems to only be available from the scalper's on eBay!

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    1. So it sounds like the family doesn't have a leg to stand on if they pursue legal action. Yeah, I thought Hayek's outcry was hypocritical considering she didn't accurately portray Frida either, but I'm just a lowly civilian and not a movie star, so what do I know?

      I wanted to get the doll too; sold out! So sad! I hate it when that happens.

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    2. I am on the wait list at Mattel, WalMart and ToysRUs! I wonder if TRU will get any before they close their stores?!

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    3. THAT would be nice. Unfortunately the nearest Toys R Us to my neck of the woods is eighty miles away, and the car's tires are on the blink so I can't go there for one last visit. Le sigh.

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  3. Instead of being happy that this wonderful and inspirational woman now has a doll, people find things to complain about. I can't get over how much emotional energy some people waste in complaining about a doll. It blows my mind. Obviously, Mattel did something right as she quickly sold out. I think people forget that Mattel is in the business of making money and they know what sells (for the most part, lol). I can understand the disappointment over her skin tone if that was not accurate, because even I have beef with Mattel for underproducing dolls with darker skin tones. For those complaining that the doll lacks a mustache, I'm sure that can be something that is easily customizable. "Celebrity" dolls are never 100% accurate and I can get why some can be upset, but not to the levels that explode all over social media. That, to me, is generalized anger about something else in someone's life, but turned around and focused on a doll line. Sorry for the rant, lol...I just think it's absurd how cruel and mean people can be to each other on social media. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but don't be such a jerk about it. Like, move on with your day, lol. Count your blessings!

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    1. No apology necessary! I couldn't have said it better myself. I was ecstatic to see that Frida had been included at all and I hope those who want her can find her.

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    2. Oh, I so agree with your comments, Farrah Lily! People always see to be complaining about the Barbie doll! Some people are just not happy if they don't have something to complain about. If you don't like the doll, don't buy it!

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