Complaining about AG's supposed "lack of diversity"

[cebula_2005]

Wow! I actually have never seen a doll group more diverse than AG. That said, I recently posted this on another board I frequent.:

All the dolls of today could be from any culture you want them to be from. I know my AGT 26 is from an ancient Babylonian type culture. They have a lot of dolls that could be from any culture. They are not lacking dolls from other cultures/races. AG is VERY diverse.

What I am really really tired of is people complaining about the white dolls that come out. It's like they're saying there's something wrong with being blond/blue eyed or having a lot of white dolls. I really doubt that's what you're saying, but that's what it could sound like. To be white is just as good and special as to be any other race. For far too long people have been praising diversity, etc. while complaining about white dolls/people. It makes it sound a lot like racism. What would you all say if someone came out complainign that, say, Jess is marketed as "too Asian"? How is it any different to complain about a doll being "too white"? Or "too mainstream"? Smacks of reverse discrimination.

Sorry to vent, and I"m not aiming this at you, **** (name edited out) I've just heard this complaint far too much on *** (a certain board) recently and I'm tired of it.

[sharlit]

Jess being too Asian would be a very valid complaint if most of the dolls were Asian. When she's only the second one to be at all Asian, it's silly. The complaint isn't about the dolls being white, it's about most of the dolls being the same.

[cebula_2005]

But most of the dolls aren't the same. There are many different variations of dolls in skin tone, hair color, eye color, hair length, curls or no curls, freckles or no freckles, and bangs or no bangs, etc.

[sharlit]

It seems my post wasn't clear. By "same" I meant "sharing the same skin tone." There are variations in this because caucasians seem to have the widest variety of hair and eye color combinations.

With all the historicals, LEs, and current JLYs, 26 dolls are white, or light-skinned as AG calls them, while 12 are not.

I think part of the problem is AG limiting itself to 3 skin tones for the JLY dolls. I don't see this changing since even those 3 skin tones have variations depending upon when the doll is purchased (or more specifically where the doll was made and with what plastic).

[cebula_2005]

What people are saying about them sharing the same skintone sounds like they think it's nothing special to be white. It's just as great to be white as it is to be any other color. That was my point.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 02, 2006 01:14 AM: Message edited by: Tra ]</font>