When I was growing up, I, like many girls, had a Barbie doll. From her bold outfits and fun hairstyles to her different professions, the iconic game was as empowering as it was fun. Mattel, the doll’s manufacturer, has created many different versions of Barbie over the years, but their latest is the one I wish I could have experienced in person while growing up. On January 16, Mattel released a new Barbie doll in honor of the late R&B Princess Aaliyah. Seeing this creation immediately filled me with a sense of happiness – but I also felt a great longing for a doll like this during my formative years.
the Aaliyah Barbie is now sold out – released on the singer’s 46th birthday – is the latest in Mattel’s musical series, produced in collaboration with the singer’s brother, Rashad Houghton. Since Aaliyah lost her life in a horrific plane crash in 2001 when she was just 22 years old, Houghton has been steadfast in preserving his sister’s legacy, especially through several major collaborations (including one with MAC in 2018 ), but this collaboration with Mattel shocked me in a different way.
Even though I was only three years old when the singer passed away, I was always inspired by her, especially as I entered my high school years. I loved her style, her simple yet distinct approach to beauty with side parts and winged inner eyeliner – her whole enthusiasm.
From Bratz to Barbie, I loved playing with my dolls, giving them different roles, putting them in my toy cars, taking them down Grandma’s stairs, and imagining my own little world. Trips to the toy aisles at Target and Toys R US were also part of my much-anticipated childhood adventures. In hindsight, I realize that the majority of the dolls I owned and saw in stores didn’t look like me — an experience that many black girls can relate to.
When I was younger, many Barbie collections were exclusive to black people, and most of these dolls were white with blonde or brown hair. There were exceptions here and there, but even many of those dolls symbolized blackness and received significant criticism (a particular black Oreo-themed Barbie made in the 1990s comes to mind…). Although I loved all of my Barbies equally, none of them were a true reflection of me or the woman I would become. I grew up in Brooklyn, which was a melting pot of different cultures and was especially welcoming to my Jamaican immigrant family, so I didn’t know there was a world that didn’t always embrace my people. Confidence and pride in identity were always driven in my home environment, so I did not encounter stereotypes or racial bias as a child. My family and friends didn’t make me feel unbeautiful or like my blackness was an inferior alternative, but the toy shelves did.
Our relationship with beauty doesn’t just begin when we put on our mother’s lipstick for the first time. It starts from the moment we enter the world, with the people around us, the places we see, and the conversations we hear affecting the way we see ourselves. The young mind is sharper than we think, with many experiences having a lasting impact, which is why having a black doll like Aaliyah was such a huge thing for me to grow up with. While her beauty is stunning, it is bigger than her body. Aaliyah was a black woman who succeeded simply by being herself and showing up fearlessly, and it’s so gratifying to see Mattel release her doll, not only to preserve her legacy, but for black girls to see their beauty appreciated as well.
Naomi Paris (she/her) is a New York-based fashion and beauty writer with over seven years of experience. She worked as an editorial operations assistant at PS, specializing in all things fashion. Obsessed with telling stories that fuse fashion and culture, her areas of expertise include fashion week coverage, daily news, high-profile interviews, shopping tours, and beauty stories.
