On Mo’Nique, Gabourey, and discounted black Barbies
from Sociological Images
A story that’s been making its way across the Interwebs this week has been gnawing at me: A Wal-Mart customer took a snapshot of these two Barbie models – one black, one white – one guess as to which cost half the other.
Here’s Lisa at Sociological Images: “Walmart claimed that the doll was priced less because they were trying to move inventory (ABC News). It’s possible that the doll wasn’t selling (low demand) or they had ordered more than they could sell (high supply) and so the doll went on sale.”
Unsurprisingly, my good pal Sonny thinks that of course Wal-Mart should price the dolls according to which one is selling better, that’s just good business!
As anyone who has worked in retail — or is familiar with basic economics — will tell you, [pricing according to demand is] an eminently reasonably course of action! If something isn’t selling well, you need to reduce the price in order for it to sell. But, but … one’s white! One’s black! Racism, yes?
Well, yes. Perhaps if this were simply Hula-Hoop Barbie outselling Rock Star Barbie, it’d be one thing. But placing a lower value on black skin is to continue a self-perpetuating cycle in which doing precisely that manifests itself in virtually every corner of our culture. Pretending this is simply an isolated, toy economics calamity is laughable. (Even if we do go along with the charade and say this is just about toys, defending the pricing move still doesn’t pass the snuff test. Parker Brothers used to sell a game called “The Game of Ten Little Niggers.” Would it be appropriate to keep this game on the shelves as long as it was making money? Ebay, more recently, banned the sale of “Ghettopoly”- a move that had nothing to do with how well the game was selling.)
If black female bodies were indeed valued the same as everyone else’s, for example, would there have been such an uproar over Gabourey Sibide and Mo’Nique at the Oscars this past week? Funny how the backlash over people being celebrated as the best of their industry was aimed squarely at the two large black women in that group – Howard Stern insisted that Oprah was a “filthy liar” for suggesting Sibide had a bright career ahead of her; and Mo’Nique was criticized for invoking Hattie McDaniel, the first black woman to win a supporting actress Oscar, during her speech.
In regard to the latter, my blog-crush Adam Serwer has an appropriately thorough thrashing of a comment on Andrew Sullivan’s blog reacting to the speech, in which the commenter cluelessly insisted that “Large black ladies have never been ‘vilified’ in this country. Made fun of and stereotyped, yes, but not ‘vilified.’”
“Mammy” was meant to depict black women as ugly and asexual, content to exist as surrogate mothers to the saintly white children of their owners or employers. Mammy’s false happiness assures white people that the institutions of slavery and later Jim Crow have black people’s consent and approval, her rotund body an alibi for the rampant exploitation of black women by their white slave masters.
Following market demands is an easy way to explain away the black Barbie fiasco, but it certainly involves a whole lot of tuning out the larger problem. There’s always an explanation for these types of things: I sent this offensive e-mail comparing Michelle Obama to a primate because it’s funny, not because it’s racist! When I encouraged people to dress as “ghetto” chicks for Black History Month, it was satire! But hey, these are all isolated incidents, not blatant examples of a frightening outlook in which the status quo is being reinforced day after day after day, right?
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Oh Sara. Part of me wants to think that you realize this is hyper-ridiculous nonsense and that you wrote this just to get my goat. Mission Accomplished!
Seriously, though: If you wanted to make the argument that the black doll was lower priced because of a societal belief that black equates to ugly or valueless, I’d at least understand it. But to say that Wal-Mart is at fault here for lowering the price on a doll that wasn’t selling well is insane. I’m curious to know what you thought the store manager’s thought process was. “Well, these two dolls are selling equally well, but man…that black skin sure is UGLY. We better discount the price to reflect that fact.” Something like that?
Here’s what’s going to happen: In the future, the store will order far fewer of the black dolls — possibly even none at all. As a result, Mattel will make fewer of them — possibly even none at all. Is that what you want? Or should Wal-Mart and Mattel simply suck it up and accept a loss? I’m honestly curious to know what you think the manufacturer and store should have done differently in this situation.
It strikes me that that was less than clear. What I meant was: If you wanted to make the argument that the black doll was purchased less (and therefore lower priced) because of a societal belief that black equates to ugly or valueless, I’d at least understand it.
In response to another comment. See in context »Sara you are kinda cute but you are a fucking douchebag and RACIST!!! Unfortunately you HATE other White people so I can imagine you would treat me worse then you would treat me if i happen to be black. That is a shame but you hard core Liberal racists do exactly that.You go out of your way to show how tolerant you are to anyone you think might be a minority but in the meantime you treat others worse then you treat the minority you are raising up upon a pedestal.It is very common especially in retail.Management does not want lawsuits so they let some people get away with stuff that they hold other people accountable for.If you lived in the real world you would be the same management person doing this raicsm towards white people or hispanic people.TREATING ANYONE I MEAN ANYONE even white people less then you treat others is WRONG. GET that through your thick skull you bigot!!!! Your friend was exactly Correct in why the Black barbie was reduced in price. I worked in retail in toys also in the past and know full well what happens with dolls and pricing.You also have to realize the white barbie sells a lot better then the black one. Black families are not traditional Barbie buyers in the sense that the mom had one so she is going to buy her daughter the same fond memory of the Barbie that makes her buy it for her daughter. Gues what Bratz dolls are more popular because they have all kinds of ethnic looks to them and are cuter in my opinion anyways. Also there are less black girls then there are white girls though that won’t be true in a few more years so of course even if they equally bought the dolls the white barbie would sell more. Also if the black mother had a barbie and bought the barbie for her daughter that she fondly remembers,the mom probably statistically had a white barbie as there were no black barbies back then. Also the white one is named Barbie the black one is Theresea,some kids want the BARBIE not another similar looking doll by another name.All these and many other reasons go into why the white one sells a whole bunch more but mostly supply and demand causes the price to everntually go down on the black barbie to clearance them out to get in a new batch of toys that wil take the place of the lower selling item. Also guess what ??? In stores where there are lots of white barbies not being sold they also get reduced in price MG say it isn’t so what RACISM!!! They hate the White little girls and are going to make them have self esteeme problems.Those fuckersssssss!!!!!!!!!!!! Well what about where I work where if you are black you get special treatment and do not get punished for wrong doings because the company is afraid because like you many of the black workers when they are not happy scream racism to get ahead,some even admit it.My one friend told me which pissed me off,don’t hate the player hate the game!!! He fails to understand as you do…his actions playing the race card gets him treated better then the rest of us that are white and hispanic and asian and that it is totally unfair and bigotry.Would he want to be treated that way and have the spanish or white people treated better then he is? I can’t imagine anyone wanting that.I myself do not want that or to be treated better then anyone else because me being a non liberal know that i am no better then anyone else.You liberals feel that you and the black guy are btter then the non liberals and the non back guys.That makes you racist bigots!! Understand the definition of racism and you wil realize how racist you liberals truly are.You feel that ohh the black guy needs lifting because of all the racism or something? Assuming that he needs lifting up assume he is somehow incapable or not as good as others,,,RACISM bitch!!!
Also bitch how very double standard you are it was ok to refer to george bush as a monkey over and over again but if obama was made to look like a monkey all of a sudden it is racist!! Why and how? Because you assume he looks like one as much or more so then george bush?Why isn’t it fair gamne? Why was it OK for vanity fair to Portray Bush as the JOKER and then when someone did the exact same thing with Obama all of a sudden it is not so funny and somehow now racist??? You fucking liberals laughed your asses off by bush’s portrayal as a monkey and the joker but oh no RACISM when it is Obama… How utterly hypocritically and bigoted you guys are. You disgust me…either it is wrong for everyone or wrong for NO ONE fuck off douchebag!!
Did it not occur to you that calling me a “bitch” and a “douchebag” was perhaps not the most effective way of refuting charges of insensitivity?
In response to another comment. See in context »quixel:
Just a heads up. I’m a writer on the Bill O’Reilly show and on the board of Keep America Safe. We actually workshopped the whole pre-emptive charges of racism thing and it turns out that it makes us look even more racist.
The Minneapolis focus group results were usefull. It turns out we shouldn’t say, “I don’t see color,” or “I don’t care if you’re blue, green or yellow!”
The fact is that we haven’t been able to hijack the Texas public school system and there’s a large number of people that still remember that this is a country founded by white slave owning aristocrats that “wanted to be free.”
The new directive is to just keep quiet. Don’t discuss race ever.
Otherwise we all (honkalkoids) get lumped in with assholes like you in the big picture. Got it?
See you at the gun show fucknuts!