The fact that the video accompanying a NY Daily News article uses runway models to illustrate the growing diversity of Barbie dolls pretty much keys into my response to the introduction of the new So In Style black Barbie dolls. They still don't represent real women's beauty and they tie into unattainable standards of beauty that contribute to social ills such as anorexia and bulimia.

I'm not on a crusade and I do believe there's room for all sorts of fantasy figures in people's lives, but I have to ask, where are the women I've known and loved, whether up close or at a distance?

The big girl at the club who dances better than all the skinny chicks.

The nerdy scholar whose thrift shop style represents a new cool for emerging generations.

The tattooed and pierced bad ass who shaved her head and has no regrets.

The paint spattered artist who doesn't mind dirt but cleans up real nice.

I think the discussion that's happening around these dolls is important and I'd like to think the Barbie cliches help open up space for various efforts at alternative dolls. I just hope that, in those discussions, folks don't forget that all these Barbies are cliched fantasy figures that have their place in women's lives but should not be allowed to become the sole definition of beauty.

Note: If you want to dig into deeper Barbie analysis, one thing you might consider in the video mentioned above is that, as the commentator describes a boombox, the violin actually seems more prominent and any serious critique should take such complicating details into account.

Over at Hip Hop Press:
Barbie Launches a New Line of Black Dolls Called So In Style