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<span style="font-weight: bold">Not all girls embrace latest black Barbie doll, say Mattel toys went too far with rap-detail</span>
Barbie from the block got mixed reviews Wednesday from city girls inspecting the newest spin on the old-school toy.
"So In Style" dolls, a fresh take on the black Barbie, hit store shelves this week, featuring a group of plastic friends sporting shiny bling, big earrings and fancy sneakers.
Many of the city girls liked the dolls - Grace, Kara and Trichelle - but some felt the Mattel toy company went too far with the rap-inspired details.
"Not all black people like hip hop," said Barbara Mootoo, 15, of Manhattan, looking at Kara's silver rope chain necklace. "They gave her a chain like a 50Cent video."
Tyaine Danclaire, 15, of the Bronx, liked Trichelle's straight, long hair because it looked like "a weave," but she thought the idea "was sorta racist."
"They say black girls are ghetto with the gold earrings, with the big bling; I don't agree with that," she said.
Mattel said veteran Barbie designer Stacey McBride-Irby, an African-American mother of two, created the dolls so her kids could have toys that look like their neighborhood friends.
Standard black Barbie dolls have been around since 1980 and are darker versions of their blond counterparts.
The new $30.99 dolls have "authentic-looking facial features" such as fuller lips, a wider nose ... and curlier hair," Mattel said.
"I like it," said Rachel Kahn, 9, of Charlotte, N.C., visiting relatives in Manhattan. "It is hip hop. It is Beyoncé."
Nikki Wright, 12, of East Harlem, showed off her braided hair extensions and gold hoops in her ears while holding a Trichelle doll.
"They look like people where we live," the seventh-grader said. "I wear big earrings. The weave. Things that we use."
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Barbie from the block got mixed reviews Wednesday from city girls inspecting the newest spin on the old-school toy.
"So In Style" dolls, a fresh take on the black Barbie, hit store shelves this week, featuring a group of plastic friends sporting shiny bling, big earrings and fancy sneakers.
Many of the city girls liked the dolls - Grace, Kara and Trichelle - but some felt the Mattel toy company went too far with the rap-inspired details.
"Not all black people like hip hop," said Barbara Mootoo, 15, of Manhattan, looking at Kara's silver rope chain necklace. "They gave her a chain like a 50Cent video."
Tyaine Danclaire, 15, of the Bronx, liked Trichelle's straight, long hair because it looked like "a weave," but she thought the idea "was sorta racist."
"They say black girls are ghetto with the gold earrings, with the big bling; I don't agree with that," she said.
Mattel said veteran Barbie designer Stacey McBride-Irby, an African-American mother of two, created the dolls so her kids could have toys that look like their neighborhood friends.
Standard black Barbie dolls have been around since 1980 and are darker versions of their blond counterparts.
The new $30.99 dolls have "authentic-looking facial features" such as fuller lips, a wider nose ... and curlier hair," Mattel said.
"I like it," said Rachel Kahn, 9, of Charlotte, N.C., visiting relatives in Manhattan. "It is hip hop. It is Beyoncé."
Nikki Wright, 12, of East Harlem, showed off her braided hair extensions and gold hoops in her ears while holding a Trichelle doll.
"They look like people where we live," the seventh-grader said. "I wear big earrings. The weave. Things that we use."
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