The New York Times - City Room, Blogging From the Five Boroughs - March 11, 2009
Posted by Jennifer 8. Lee

More than 150 dolls were placed on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday, each with a little tag bearing some depressing statistic about women's health, such as the AIDS rate. The dolls were assembled as part of a call to action by Gay Men's Health Crisis, in recognition of National Women and Girls H.I.V./AIDS Awareness Day.

The dolls -- which were brought in by staff members, volunteers and clients -- were cobbled together from old castaways, current dolls in use and new purchases.

But there was one considerable hurdle: creating a racially mixed set of dolls.

Having black and brown dolls was important, because about 90 percent of women living with H.I.V. in New York City are black and Hispanic, while 94 percent of new H.I.V. infections in teenage females are in blacks and Hispanics, according to the city's health department. A black woman in New York City is nine times more likely to die from an AIDS-related illness than a white woman.

But the reality is that most dolls made today are still white, despite the fact that racial and ethnic minorities now make up 43 percent of the country's population under 20 (and even more in New York City). Yes, doll manufacturers started diversifying their doll lines decades ago. While early "black" Barbies were essentially Barbie dipped in color, Mattel has done a better job with increasing the colors of its doll palette. In recent years, the success of Dora the Explorer has helped bump the Hispanic presence in the doll market. And the popular American Girl line introduced a variety of ethnic dolls a few years ago.

But even in New York City, it was a scramble to get dolls to reflect their desired demographics. "A few people who purchased dolls found it very hard to find brown or black baby dolls," said Krishna Stone, a spokeswoman for Gay Men's Health Crisis. "I went to three 99-cent stores and couldn't find any. Another colleague went to four stores. What is that about?"

In the end, most of the dolls that Ms. Stone brought ended up being white, though she managed to take some of her daughter's old Barbie dolls, which were black and Hispanic. Another worker finally managed to find two dozen brown dolls.

But on the morning of the demonstration, someone showed up at Ms. Stone's cubicle with two very large black dolls in pink tutus.

"They are four feet tall," said Ms. Stone. "Those are big girls."

The two essentially became the centerpiece of the exhibit. "I was really thrilled," Ms. Stone said.
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