Barbie Releases A Video Where She Discusses White Privilege And People Are Praising It
The beloved Barbie doll has her own animated vlog series on the brand’s official YouTube channel and nothing is off-limits. Last week, she sat down to have a difficult conversation with her friend, Nikki. The two of them tackled difficult social dynamics that have been in the spotlight throughout most of 2020.
In the recent episode of “Barbie Vlogs,” Nikki talked about experiencing racism and the scope of this big problem.
Equally compelling as Nikki’s reflections are Barbie’s responses during the video. Throughout all of Nikki’s stories, she remains an active listener and when she speaks, Barbie uses the opportunity to educate her viewers on how her friend’s experiences shouldn’t be brushed off.
The video has already accumulated over 500K views on YouTube and after someone shared a snippet of it on Twitter, it went viral there as well.
Image credits: Barbie
The Barbie YouTube vlog is a commitment by the Mattel company to girls’ empowerment. The original video content allows Barbie to engage with its young consumers while nurturing interpersonal skills and self-confidence. In other Barbie vlogs, for example, she has taught young viewers about gaslighting, over-apologizing and mental health.
“Barbie is championing gender equality to help close the racial injustice barrier girls face through the Dream Gap and this is one way the brand is addressing it,” Mattel told CNN in a statement.
“The goal of [this] episode is to help girls to understand that there is a huge movement going on in the fight against racism, why people are marching together and the importance of reading and learning more about Black history,” Mattel said.
With over 9.7 million subscribers, the official Barbie page is currently one of the biggest channels directed at girls on YouTube. With their emphasis on educational content, Mattel and Barbie are trying to reach the new generation with consideration and kindness.
“We hope that families watch this together and leverage the brand to discuss a really tough topic with a young child and hope it spurs many more conversations on how girls can support one another, especially leading up to International Day of the Girl this weekend,” the company said.
People really applauded Barbie’s vlogs
Image credits: taegistrawberri
Image credits: LittleBoba1
Image credits: pradafairies
Image credits: M00MINIS
Image credits: LilGummiSmile
Image credits: CryptoidInSpace
I wish they had this when I was younger, because I grew up in such a racist house-hold, my stepdads birthday was close to Martin Luther King Jr, and he called it "N***a day" and that "N****r dont deserve his own day" (Mind you we lived in the ghetto and we got shot at plenty of times.) Then, I got adopted by an amazing women, and was taught that everyone has their differences, but we are all equal. Sorry, I just wanted to say. Great job! Im happy they put in such a popular brand saying this. More kids will learn. Our next generation will hopefully be the one to learn. :)))
I think Barbie has always stood for the right side of humanity and progress while she is fabulous too. I'm glad to see this. ❤️
I am black. I have delt with racism. I was racially abused by 8th graders being called racist black slang words and told to go back to Africa. The assisant principal even called me a peanut, the exact colour of my skin. I am scared to go back to America for fear of getting stopped. Its not fun. My life matters first. All lives matter, but MY LIFE MATTERS FIRST RIGHT NOW. BLM matters. Please THINK about what your going to say to a person of colour like me. #BLM
This is horrifying. I will not teach children to be ashamed of the color of their skin. I treat everyone the way I want to be treated. I taught my children to do the same. The only way to end Racism is to TEACH OUR CHILDREN THIS BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE!!! You don't even have to be religious! STOP TEACHINGT SHAME! It only makes people resentful and fills them with self loathing. HURTING PEOPLE HURT OTHER PEOPLE! The only way for it to stop is to BE THE EXAMPLE!!! NO it's not going to happen overnight, but all of this political race baiting is exacerbating the problem, and the riots don't change anyone's mind about anything. It just makes everyone more afraid and likely to react in violence when someone approaches you. THIS!!!! This is making things worse. PLEASE!!! TEACH LOVE AND RESPECT, NO SHAME AND SELF LOATHING!!! We get enough of that without it being shoved down the throats of our very young.
This entire comment section took away any of my remaining faith in humanity. Congrats y’all
I feel the same way. I don't think anyone got the true meaning of this message, they just got defensive and mad.
Load More Replies...
Just a reminder that today is George Floyd’s birthday. He would’ve been 47. Rest In Peace and BLM!!
Can we get boredpanda to ban scyth. And his IP address. He makes this website 20 times worse
Load More Replies...
I think this is fantastic. My only concern is that the narrative is being controlled by a for profit company. Otherwise, kudos to Mattel for stepping up when so many others duck down.
True, but when profiteering corporations are saying it too, maybe more will listen.
Load More Replies...
Impressed by how Mattel handled the conversation about racism and privilege in a mature way. They acknowledged the discrimination without sugarcoating it, but handled the conversation in a civil tone.
It's great that they are teaching young girls/boys the importance of racism. BLM!✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻
“They don’t make those assumptions about white people like me” Uh, yes, they do. In Sweden, when I was living in Malmö city, I was called "white slut" and "white whore" on a regular basis. I left Malmö because I was fed up with it. I was declined a job because I have blue eyes, blonde hair and white skin. I reported the company but the only response I got was "You should have understood that this interviewer guy had these thoughts about you because he comes from another culture". If it would be the opposite, there would be a lawsuit on the guy. White people aren't living some dream and never get harassed for their skin colour. It’s good to bring racism up, but white people aren’t protected. No one is protected. Stop ignoring racism when it is directed to white people. We are all one, we are all equal and should be treated as such.
"White people get an advantage that they didn't earn." Nonsense. Not having a negative is not an advantage. It's the norm. Just because black people are denied what's normal does not mean white people have a special privilege. .
If you think a discussion about white privilege is political, you are most likely a beneficiary of it.
Load More Replies...
Cool it bro, it’s an example meant to show white privilege. Not everything is about you.
Load More Replies...
I wish they had this when I was younger, because I grew up in such a racist house-hold, my stepdads birthday was close to Martin Luther King Jr, and he called it "N***a day" and that "N****r dont deserve his own day" (Mind you we lived in the ghetto and we got shot at plenty of times.) Then, I got adopted by an amazing women, and was taught that everyone has their differences, but we are all equal. Sorry, I just wanted to say. Great job! Im happy they put in such a popular brand saying this. More kids will learn. Our next generation will hopefully be the one to learn. :)))
I think Barbie has always stood for the right side of humanity and progress while she is fabulous too. I'm glad to see this. ❤️
I am black. I have delt with racism. I was racially abused by 8th graders being called racist black slang words and told to go back to Africa. The assisant principal even called me a peanut, the exact colour of my skin. I am scared to go back to America for fear of getting stopped. Its not fun. My life matters first. All lives matter, but MY LIFE MATTERS FIRST RIGHT NOW. BLM matters. Please THINK about what your going to say to a person of colour like me. #BLM
This is horrifying. I will not teach children to be ashamed of the color of their skin. I treat everyone the way I want to be treated. I taught my children to do the same. The only way to end Racism is to TEACH OUR CHILDREN THIS BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE!!! You don't even have to be religious! STOP TEACHINGT SHAME! It only makes people resentful and fills them with self loathing. HURTING PEOPLE HURT OTHER PEOPLE! The only way for it to stop is to BE THE EXAMPLE!!! NO it's not going to happen overnight, but all of this political race baiting is exacerbating the problem, and the riots don't change anyone's mind about anything. It just makes everyone more afraid and likely to react in violence when someone approaches you. THIS!!!! This is making things worse. PLEASE!!! TEACH LOVE AND RESPECT, NO SHAME AND SELF LOATHING!!! We get enough of that without it being shoved down the throats of our very young.
This entire comment section took away any of my remaining faith in humanity. Congrats y’all
I feel the same way. I don't think anyone got the true meaning of this message, they just got defensive and mad.
Load More Replies... Just a reminder that today is George Floyd’s birthday. He would’ve been 47. Rest In Peace and BLM!!
Can we get boredpanda to ban scyth. And his IP address. He makes this website 20 times worse
Load More Replies... I think this is fantastic. My only concern is that the narrative is being controlled by a for profit company. Otherwise, kudos to Mattel for stepping up when so many others duck down.
True, but when profiteering corporations are saying it too, maybe more will listen.
Load More Replies... Impressed by how Mattel handled the conversation about racism and privilege in a mature way. They acknowledged the discrimination without sugarcoating it, but handled the conversation in a civil tone.
It's great that they are teaching young girls/boys the importance of racism. BLM!✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻
“They don’t make those assumptions about white people like me” Uh, yes, they do. In Sweden, when I was living in Malmö city, I was called "white slut" and "white whore" on a regular basis. I left Malmö because I was fed up with it. I was declined a job because I have blue eyes, blonde hair and white skin. I reported the company but the only response I got was "You should have understood that this interviewer guy had these thoughts about you because he comes from another culture". If it would be the opposite, there would be a lawsuit on the guy. White people aren't living some dream and never get harassed for their skin colour. It’s good to bring racism up, but white people aren’t protected. No one is protected. Stop ignoring racism when it is directed to white people. We are all one, we are all equal and should be treated as such.
"White people get an advantage that they didn't earn." Nonsense. Not having a negative is not an advantage. It's the norm. Just because black people are denied what's normal does not mean white people have a special privilege. .
If you think a discussion about white privilege is political, you are most likely a beneficiary of it.
Load More Replies... Cool it bro, it’s an example meant to show white privilege. Not everything is about you.
Load More Replies...
113
70