As she shopped with her two daughters, Karen Byrd noted that while there are more black dolls out on the market, they still lacked the diversity she was missing from her childhood toys. The California mom set out on a mission to create dolls that young girls can relate to.
Through her company, Natural Girls United, Byrd customizes dolls with handmade hairstyles. Each style can take up to three days to complete and her current stock is almost sold out. Her continuously growing waiting list has prompted her to hire more employees as her customer base has spread to the United Kingdom, Africa and Australia.
“People are excited that the dolls look like them or their children or the people in their community,” she told HuffPost. “It makes them feel good about themselves.”
She recalls having straight-haired, white dolls as a child and wondering why they didn’t look like her, asking herself, “Am I beautiful?” Her custom dolls sport hairstyles such as locs, afros and even a TWA (teeny weeny afro). The three most popular ones are Big Afro Doll, Brown Sister Locs Doll, and Dark Blonde Curly Locs Doll.
Author of Black Dolls: A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion, Debbie Behan Garrett, shared her views on the diversity of children’s toys in a February Collectors Weekly article.
“I’m emphatic about a black child having a doll that reflects who she is. When a young child is playing with a doll, she is mimicking being a mother, and in her young, impressionable years, I want that child to understand that there’s nothing wrong with being black,” Debbie Behan Garrett told Collector’s Weekly.
While Byrd won’t share the complete process of her handmade hairstyles, Barbie enthusiast, Kristl Smith Tyler, shares an online tutorial on how to give straight-haired dolls natural hair. Read more about Byrd’s line of dolls on The Huffington Post.
BMWK–What are your views on the lack of diversity in children’s toys today? Would you buy one of these dolls for your daughter?
Glow says
I love the dolls; they are beautiful! However, I wish she had a less expensive collection to select from for my preschooler to play with. I would definitely purchase one as a collectible for myself!
Anonymous says
How much are they.?
Glow says
The dolls I saw on the website range from ~$50-140.
Anonymous says
What a shame that African American little girls and boys were brainwashed into hating or being ashamed of THIER own black and brow and precious brown golden skin, skin like bronze.
Tiara B. says
Where do I purchase…?