Just Like People, Black Dolls Come in All Colors

As illustrated in the above screenshot, the manufacturer of Jesui describes the doll's complexion as  "black."

A reader who identified themselves as one of the research and development marketing assistants for the Queban line of dolls contacted me through the Contact field of this blog stating emphatically that "the BJD doll Jesui by Queban is not a black doll." They ended the email by requesting that I correct this error in my blog post dated July 28, 2022, (find the link below). 

The tone of the email was rather harsh with the person taking a "know-it-all" stance about the doll line. My reply iterated that my post never mentioned the doll's ethnicity. I also included the screen snapshot shown above from the Amazon buy page wherein the doll's complexion is described by Queban as black. This person's email was, therefore, pointless. If they were truly an R&D assistant for the product, they obviously missed the company's intent regarding the doll's hip-hop background (which originated with Black culture) and their description of the doll's black complexion (which is actually caramel).

Jesui has black-rooted hair, blue eyes, freckles, and a caramel complexion.

The intrusive email was brief but the false sense of entitlement that demanded I "correct" the doll's ethnicity did not sit well with me at all. My reply was as polite as possible after "reading" the email and "reading" the writer's overall intent to exert a sense of authority and superiority by demanding I change something that did not need changing.

For that reader and others who see light-complexioned dolls as "not black," the newsflash is this: dolls that represent Black people and others of African descent are now manufactured in all colors of the African color spectrum. 

My mother is shown with her coworkers and the doctor for whom they worked in this February 19, 1988, "reunion" photograph taken a few years after the doctor retired from practice. (Rest peacefully mama, we will always miss your beautiful, graceful, elegant, caring, God-fearing presence.)

Black people (like my dear mother who transitioned on November 25, 2022,—the reason I have been absent from this blog) can be as fair in color as a "white" person and are often mistaken as being of Eurocentric descent. So when you see a doll with a light complexion with blue eyes and freckles like Jesui, don't automatically assume the doll represents a "white" person or that the doll cannot possibly be "black." Also, please don't assume that the person is biracial. My mother was not. The offspring of two Black parents can result in a variety of complexions. 

Like the doll, Black people can have blue eyes, freckles, and pale complexions. If you're uncertain about a doll, ask the manufacturer their intent, but more importantly free your mind from being bothered by the many offerings of dolls of color that are now on the market because there are always more or other white dolls from which to choose, always. More important than anything else, know this: once a doll becomes part of a person's collection or part of a child's playthings, it can be whatever the owner wants it to be— a white doll can even be considered a Black doll's relative. How about that? This is a new day. No longer are black dolls manufactured in two colors only, blue-black or Hershey brown. 

Finally, kudos to Queban for offering affordable brown-skinned BJDs that both collectors and children can enjoy. (And if you so desire, their dolls can be considered white, too.) 

Read the original blog post about Jesui here.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

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