After a mother could not find a doll that resembled her daughter, she decided to give one a makeover, and she didn’t stop there.
Queen Cee Robinson of Hamilton, Ontario had seen black Barbie dolls before, but most of them wore bikinis and all had long, straight hair. They all looked the same and Robinson describes them as “Barbie’s token black friend.”
Makeover proved popular
After an extensive internet search, she bought up as many of the dolls she could and modified one for her daughter giving it curly hair and a new outfit. She posted pictures on social media and got several requests for modified dolls.
Since then, she has made several custom dolls giving them different ethnic looks and charging for her time and materials. Eventually she would like to turn her effort into a proper business.
Robinson also uses the dolls for her non-profit Bee-You-Tiful Girls Club, which gives girls creative outlets to express their identities. In February, she held a Just Like Me workshop at the Hamilton YWCA where girls used the dolls to create characters and tell stories aimed at empowering and inspiring them.
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