Pictures tell the best stories. Any time I look at the picture above I remember the story behind Frida- the doll you see in the picture. I found her on the second row in a toy shop several years ago. She was the sole doll of her type displayed next to all the other dolls. She posed in her packet with a sucker in her mouth, looking at home in the cramped space she stood. She wore a white dress with pink trimmings and a white pair of boots. Her hair was held up in two ponies; she was the prettiest doll In that shop! Why was Frida special? it was because she was not just ‘baby-like’ but she was black; very different from all the other dolls.
Frida soon joined the collection of toys my sister and I shared. The only problem was that she was a little awkward. Her colour made her stand out like a sore thumb and she soon became the ‘scare crow’ of the bunch. Frida very quickly became a victim of both verbal and physical abuse. All our friends hated her, some couldn’t stand the thought of touching her. Her name was soon changed to ‘Ojuju Calabar’ (evil creep). They were convinced that she was a scary doll who should be chucked in the bin. There was one occasion one of them tried taking out her eyelashes!
Yes all of this happened several years ago, but the truth is that the Frida’s story reminds me a lot of what discrimination means, and how being different can quickly translate into hatred for others. Back then it was quite unusual to have or even play with a black doll, many kids thought it was creepy. For some unusual reason it didn’t translate as strange to me. There is nothing wrong with black dolls in my opinion, or is there?
What do you guys think? Is Frida really that bad? Look at her…
P.s: This post is in answer to DPchallenge , you should go check it out and participate!
Something more to think about 