Bambi, the actress of Love & Hip-Hop, is defending herself today after viewers objected to the color baby doll she chose for her kid to play with. The outspoken reality star took to Instagram to let the world know that she doesn’t care what other people think, especially when it comes to a child’s toy. Many people, however, believe she is missing the meaning of the fury and has attempted to educate her in the comments section.
Bambi and rapper Lil Scrappy had a beautiful kid, Xylo Richardson. Xylo is just a year old, but he already has nearly 90,000 Instagram followers. The cheerful little girl can be seen delightfully walking through the house with her large blue hair ribbon, pink pocketbook, and baby doll in hand in the most recent post from baby Xylo’s Facebook. While many people thought the video was charming, others quickly pointed out that Xylo is holding a white baby doll.
Bambi was having none of it and took to her own page to trash anyone who tried to find a flaw in the image. “Why are so many adults concerned about what color a doll baby is? Weird asf,” says on a post.
“Because representation matters,” actress Amanda Seales answered, garnering over 100 replies from Bambi’s fans. Some fans of Bambi on The Shade Room attempted to educate her on the history of baby dolls, their color, and their impact on children. “Brown vs. Board of Education doll test,” one person commented. Anyone familiar with the Brown vs. Board of Education doll test will appreciate the powerful significance of a young child’s choice of the color baby doll. Kenneth and Mamie Clark, psychologists, devised a series of experiments using baby dolls to explore the psychological impacts of segregation in the school system in the 1940s. The purpose was to determine the racial preferences and perceptions of children.
When given nearly similar dolls with the exception of skin tone, children preferred the white dolls. The black youngsters would explain that they thought the white doll was better, prettier, or more desirable when asked why. Everything they’ve done is predicated on their idea of whiteness. Now, more than 80 years later, social media acts as its own litmus test for the most attractive appearance. Women like Bambi, black women who have undergone considerable surgery to seem more fair-skinned or European, receive the most criticism.
Bambi makes it apparent that she is unconcerned about this and believes she should be able to buy her child any doll she desires. “Y’all should mind your business,” said one supporter. “It’s about representation. But your kids, your preference.” said another.
Should she be extra cautious about the type of representation her child interacts with?
