Every little girl loves her doll. Since the beginning of time, people have been making dolls to represent the human form to entertain their children. The first dolls were made of wood, stone, straw, clay and cloth.
Overtime, dolls have become more sophisticated, more flexible and are designed to represent different aspects of society. Some dolls have also earned their share of controversy by crossing the line of accepted decency. Here are the 7 most controversial dolls of all time.
1 The Racial Doll
A black cuddle doll was released to satisfy the black market with “Lil’ Monkey” written on its cap. The African-American population felt that this Cuddle with Me doll was extremely racist. The doll was exhibited in the shelves of Costco, America’s largest coupon distributor, along with a posse of stuffed monkeys. This further intensified the racial slur and Costco was sued by the black public. Costco later on apologized and an apology was gathered from the doll manufacturer as well. The racial slur dolls were removed from the shelves all over America.
2 Pregnant Barbie
Parents are usually not comfortable talking to their children about how babies are brought into this world. The standard story for a child of 8 or so is that a stork brings a blanket-wrapped little baby over to people who want to be parents. Mattel brought forth its ‘knocked-up Barbie’ perhaps in a misinformed attempt to educate children about how babies are born. This Barbie’s stomach was open and a fully formed baby was positioned head-down, ready for birth. The doll faced much criticism from parents who wanted to stick to their stork brought the baby story. Mattel, the Barbie manufacturer, took its pregnant doll away from the shelves to avoid further controversy.
3 Oreo Barbie
In 1997, Mattel, the manufacturer of the world famous Barbie dolls got together with Nabisco and created the Oreo Barbie that was supposed to look African-American. However, the term “Oreo,” is used to describe a black person who behaves like a white person, according to the Urban Dictionary. In the sense, the person may look black on the outside but will hold the cultural, linguistic and social aspects of a white person within. The Oreo doll caused a controversy among the African-American population and had to be taken off the shelves. Today the doll is a collector’s item, exchanged lustfully among people who enjoy racially provoked toys.
4 Indian Doll With A Trashy Tongue
JDK products came up with a doll of Indian origin, called the Patel doll In 2002. This doll was given a trashy tongue and a set of witty, trashy phrases in broken English for the amusement of buyers. Funny though this doll might have seemed, several people, especially the Indian population in the United States did not appreciate it.
JDK products was forced to bring down the doll after an aggressive online petition was mounted. JDK Products does not restrain its offensive toy making to the Indian market alone, however. They also take liberal digs at the Chinese population with Lee Chan Li, a moronic-looking Chinese man with a lispy accent. Other offerings from this redoubtable company are Bubba the Redneck; a pimp; Babs, a Jewish-American princess; and a gay parody based on John Elton. They are all collectors’ items and are viewed as very amusing by some.
5 Cuddle & Coo Pro-Islamic Doll
Fisher-Price came out with an adorable looking baby doll, called the Cuddle & Coo doll. Though the company vigorously defended its doll and called what came out of its lips as baby talk, the doll was definitely pro-Islamic. The doll seemed all geared up for jihad, spewing phrases such as “Satan is king” and “Islam is the light”. Many Islamic and non-Islamic people were offended by the sayings that would come out of the baby doll’s mouth.
Fisher-Price was sued over the controversial doll; the doll was defended by the manufacturer as only making cuddly, cooing noises that could be expected from any baby!
6 Homeless Doll
The Disney Dick Tracy series added another doll to its shelves in 1990, when K-B Toys created Steve the Tramp doll. Supposed to be based on a real homeless person, the doll was dressed in scruffy, ill-matched clothing, dirty hair, dirt face, hands and feet. The doll was marketed with a very objectionable line “you’ll smell Steve before you see him”. Several homeless people picketed the stores along with their lawyers and got this controversial doll of the shelves.
7 The Breastfeeding Doll
The ‘greedy baby’ or ‘Bebé Glotón’ in Spanish was made by a Spanish toymaker in 2010. This baby is unique in the sense that it expects to be breastfed by its owner, which would be a little girl in most cases. The baby doll came with a sucking mouth that was supposed to latch on to nipples and breastfeed. Though the doll was marketed as an educational item, it wasn’t received well by parents who felt that their little girls did not need to know about lactation so early. Plus, the parents found the special outfit for the “mommy” that came with the doll more objectionable. It’s a halter-top on which nipples are represented using a pair of daisies.
About the author: Marina Chernyak is co-owner of 1001Shops, online store of retail specialty products like corner etagere, contemporary furniture, vanity mirrors and lot more.
