I just listened to "This American Life" from 1/9/09 on the subject of matchmakers. In Act 3, Elna Baker tells the story of her job in the doll "adoption" center at FAO Schwartz, where a craze for the Lee Middleton baby dolls led to a shortage of white babies. White mothers and their daughters coped by "making do" with Asian and Latino adoptees but they left the black dolls to languish in their little toy incubators.
This discomforting story reminded me of a similarly discomforting time in my own family's life. About 20 years ago when some other baby doll was all the rage, my daughter, age 5 or so, wanted one *really* badly. When I got to the store, only the black ones were left. I hesitated for a moment, pulled one from the shelf, and added it to my cart. I was saddened but not completely surprised when upon receiving the gift, my daughter rejected it.
"If you really don't want it, I can bring it back to the store," I said. "Someone will buy it for another little girl who will love it and take good care of it." I gave it to Goodwill and hoped it would find a good home.
I hope 2009 will be different from 2008 in many ways but one thing comes especially to mind as I write this. I hope that when the Malia and Sasha dolls come out they will be the rage among little girls of all colors. I suspect my daughter, more open minded as an adult than she was as a child, will be first in line to buy one for her little niece.
01/16/2009 12:56:05 AM
