About Natural Girls United!
Positive Community Change: I have wanted to take on the project of customizing dolls hair, to have the look and feel of styles, and textures of ethnic women and girls, for a long time. As a young girl, I remember loving to play with my dolls... mainly with my Barbie's. I thought the dolls were beautiful, but always noticed that my African American dolls did not look like me. Their features did not look like mine, and their hair certainly did not look or feel like my hair! This did affect my view of what beauty was.
There have been quite a few studies done that show that African American boys and girls often think of black dolls as bad and white dolls as good. Of course, this is not something that the parent is teaching their child. So why are they getting these mixed messages about good and bad skin color, or good and bad hair? It all has to do with the images they see as they grow up. If a child is constantly looking at images, dolls, television, books and magazines - and only seeing beauty as something or someone with non-ethnic features and long, straight hair - then they are going to assume that this is what beauty is. It is something that has hurt young people for centuries. In articles, videos and news stories such as "Black Girls Want White Dolls", "What a Doll Tells Us About Race", "Black Doll White Doll", "White and black children biased toward lighter skin" & "A Girl Like Me" - it is apparent that this is something that affects many children and adults; and that there is a need for positive community change.
The Natural Girls United! project has turned into a business and is something that I hope will help to bring a positive view of what ethnic beauty is. There is a need for our young girls to be able to have dolls that look like them. It is something that affects their self-esteem and confidence, and how they fell about themselves. But each day we learn that it is important to show them and teach them that their beauty is beautiful.
Karen Byrd
Natural Girls United
Owner & Custom Doll Artist
Naturally Beautiful Hair Blog & Website
"Our Beauty Recognized"
There have been quite a few studies done that show that African American boys and girls often think of black dolls as bad and white dolls as good. Of course, this is not something that the parent is teaching their child. So why are they getting these mixed messages about good and bad skin color, or good and bad hair? It all has to do with the images they see as they grow up. If a child is constantly looking at images, dolls, television, books and magazines - and only seeing beauty as something or someone with non-ethnic features and long, straight hair - then they are going to assume that this is what beauty is. It is something that has hurt young people for centuries. In articles, videos and news stories such as "Black Girls Want White Dolls", "What a Doll Tells Us About Race", "Black Doll White Doll", "White and black children biased toward lighter skin" & "A Girl Like Me" - it is apparent that this is something that affects many children and adults; and that there is a need for positive community change.
The Natural Girls United! project has turned into a business and is something that I hope will help to bring a positive view of what ethnic beauty is. There is a need for our young girls to be able to have dolls that look like them. It is something that affects their self-esteem and confidence, and how they fell about themselves. But each day we learn that it is important to show them and teach them that their beauty is beautiful.
Karen Byrd
Natural Girls United
Owner & Custom Doll Artist
Naturally Beautiful Hair Blog & Website
"Our Beauty Recognized"