Twinkie or My Fair Baby?

Circa 1960s Twinkie by Effanbee looks similar to the Dolls Test dolls currently on display in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.  The museum has one white doll and one black doll, dressed in diapers only.  Photo of a photo in Effanbee a Collector's Encyclopedia 1949-Present

Twinkie
After viewing online pictures of the "Dolls Test" dolls on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), I wanted to know more about the dolls other than their copyright year and the manufacturer's name, 1968 and Effanbee, respectively.  The museum label indicates "these and other dolls" were used in the Dolls Test.  They were donated to the museum by the Clark's daughter.  The 1968-marked dolls were used many years after the first 1940s Dolls Test dolls.  The first dolls used were purchased from a Harlem Woolworths for 50 cents.

Links to the museum's black doll and white doll were sent to the Facebook group Let's ID Our Dolls with a request for help with the doll's name.  One member replied, identifying the dolls as Effanbee's Twinkie.

Using Google, I found this image of a black Effanbee doll labeled as Twinkie from 1968.  The doll's widow's peak looks similar to that of the dolls in the museum.  This Pinterest image of a nude black doll is also described as Effanbee's Twinkie.  Its description indicates the doll has its original hang tag.  Effanbee's hang tags usually bear the doll's name.  However, hang tag images were not shown for either of the above two dolls.  In this completed eBay auction, this black doll has a hang tag that reads "Twinkie."  The doll was described as being from the 1980s but nothing else regarding the doll's marks was included in the description.  The "circa 1980s" timeframe could have been a seller error.  These three dolls look like the dolls in the NMAAHC.

I shared this information with another doll enthusiast whose series of questions led to further research.

I had already referenced John Axe's book, Effanbee a Collector's Encyclopedia 1949-Present, which was published by my first publisher, Hobby House Press, Inc., in 1994.  Axe's book shows that Twinkie was in Effanbee catalogs for the years, 1959-1967; 1970-1983, and 1984-1986.  Note that 1968 is not included.

From the index of Axe's book, the parenthetical dates indicate the years in which Twinkie was made.  This is followed by the various page numbers in the book which contain either catalog text and/or images of Twinkie.  The book includes very few images of Twinkie and none were of the black doll.

Based on the from-to dates, it is safe to assume that the 1959-1967 dolls used the same head sculpt and that the head sculpt was changed in 1970 and changed again in 1984.

Referring to the pages in the book (illustrated above) on which these catalogs appear, none of the Twinkie dolls are listed as having been "Negro," which is the racial identity term Effanbee used in their catalogs for these years with an "N" placed behind the dolls' stock number and "Negro" spelled out in the associated description.

Why is the "Negro" version of Twinkie not listed in any of Effanbee's catalogs in Axe's book and why is Twinkie not listed in black or white versions in the 1968 catalog in the book?  Did Axe not include some catalog information in his book, or were the dolls manufactured after the catalogs were published?

My Fair Baby

Effanbee's My Fair Baby from 1968 is shown in a screen-captured photograph.

A Google search for "1968 Effanbee Doll" led me to a Ruby-Lane-sold doll by Effanbee named My Fair Baby.  Since the link to Ruby Lane's actual buy page no longer exists, the doll is shown in a screen capture above. This doll also looks like the museum dolls.

From the index of Axe's book, the parenthetical dates indicate the 10-year span in which My Fair Baby was made.  This is followed by the page numbers in the book which contain catalog text.  There is only one image of the 1960s rooted-hair version of My Fair Baby in the book and that doll has blonde hair.  There are no images of a black My Fair Baby in the book.

According to Axe's book, My Fair Baby was on the market from 1958-1968.  Voila! (I think.)  The last year of manufacture matches the year the museum indicates as the year their donated dolls were manufactured.  The 1968 catalog in Axe's book also lists a 14-inch black version of the doll with molded hair and with rooted hair as indicated by the "N" that follows the stock number in the next image.

Shown in the above scan from Effanbee's 1968 catalog in Axe's book, My Fair Baby was available as a black doll (4461N and 4481N) with molded and rooted hair, respectively.  Like these versions of My Fair Baby, Effanbee dressed all My Fair Baby and Twinkie dolls from prior and subsequent years in baby-style clothing.  Unlike the museum's donated dolls, none of these dolls were released wearing a diaper only.

To make the dolls' gender ambiguous, I believe the Clark's replaced the dolls' original clothing and created diapers using cotton waffle-weave cloth; or, the donated dolls were nude and the museum added the cloth diapers.

Summary

Side-by-side pictures of the black doll donated to the NMAAHC and the Ruby Lane doll sold as My Fair Baby

I am not positively certain which doll was donated to the museum but based on the year, 1968, it seems plausible that the dolls are black and white versions of Effanbee's 1968 My Fair Baby dressed in replaced diapers.

As a side note, since 1960s-1980s Twinkie appears to share the same sculpt as My Fair Baby.  Could it be that the name, My Fair Baby, was discontinued after 1968 and the mold continued in use for Twinkie?   This would explain the reason for the eBay auction for a black circa 1980s Twinkie that looks like the 1960s doll.  The fact that Axe's book does not document black versions of Twinkie could be an oversight on the author's part and/or Effanbee's failure to include the doll in their catalogs.  Human error is always a possibility.

Related Post:
Simple Justice and see the links at the end of the Simple Justice post.

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There is always something to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Simple Justice 1993

Dolls Test Dolls from American Experience Simple Justice

On January 18, 1993, episode 8, series 5 of PBS's American Experience was titled Simple Justice.  The documentary starred Peter Francis James as Thurgood Marshall during his 1930s Howard University law school attendance and law practice that followed.  The late James Avery played the role of Charles Hamilton Houston, who was Howard University's Dean of Law at the time Marshall attended.  The documentary is based on the book, Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality.  The book was written by Richard Kluger, first published in 1975.

After graduating Howard Law School in 1933, Marshall along with Houston and other lawyers began challenging the 1896-established "separate but equal" ruling in higher education because facilities and institutions of learning designated for blacks were separate but never equal to those available to whites.  Their work led to overturning the Plessy v. Ferguson case* and the 1954 Supreme Court decision to desegregate schools in the United States.  By 1971, all schools in the US were desegregated.  (It took almost 20 years, however!)

In Simple Justice, Giancarlo Esposito plays the role of Psychologist Kenneth Clark whose Dolls Test was used in the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.  Clark's test concluded that segregation caused black children to feel racially inferior to whites.

In Simple Justice Dr. Clark's Dolls Test used four dolls that cost him 50 cents at a Harlem Five and Dime store.  Because African American boys and girls were the subjects of the test, two of the dolls used were dressed as males (one black and one white) and two were dressed as females (one black and one white).  Except for gender and race, the dolls were the same brand.  In the original 1940s test, four dolls dressed only in diapers were used, two white dolls with yellow hair and two black dolls with brown hair.

Still shot from American Experience Simple Justice of Dr. Clark's character, Giancarlo Esposito, conducting the Dolls Test

Dr. Clark's role in the film begins at the 50-minute timestamp and leads to the reenactment of the actual Dolls Test.   You may skip to the second video to view the 55-minute 10-second location where the Dolls Test begins, but the argument to support the need for the test is worth viewing.

The argument to support the need for social science (the use of the Dolls Test) to prove segregated schools were damaging to Black children begins in the following video.  Press the Play arrow to begin and the Pause button after the argument concludes at 52 minutes and 16 seconds.



The Dolls Test -- Press the play arrow to begin and the pause button after the Dolls Test segment.  A link to the full documentary is at the bottom of this post.


*"Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court issued in 1896. It upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality – a doctrine that came to be known as 'separate but equal'." [Wikipedia]

Library of Congress photo of Dr. Kenneth Clark [reenacting] the Dolls Test with a young male child.  This photo was taken by Gordon Parks, published in the July 1947 issue of Ebony magazine wherein the child is referred to as "Peter."

As Simple Justice also reenacts, Brown v. Board of education proved that separate but equal schools were damaging to the psyche of black children and was ruled unconstitutional in 1954.  Dolls were used to prove this.

While the documentary does not give credit to Dr. Clark's wife, Mamie Phipps, Clark, "It was an extension of her Master’s thesis on racial identification of Negro students. That was the thing that came to be known as the 'Dolls Test' that the Supreme Court cited. The record should show that was Mamie’s primary project that I crashed. I sort of piggybacked on it." (K. B. Clark, as cited in Documenting history: An interview with Kenneth Bancroft Clark. History of Psychology, 13, p. 76 by L. Nyman, 2010.)

Related Links:

• The full documentary, American Experience Simple Justice can be viewed here.
• Learn more about Brown v. Board of Education Topeka, Kansas here.
• Dr. Clark's eulogy, which mentions the dolls used in the Dolls Test, their cost, and where they were purchased, can be read here.
• Read a PDF of the original Dolls Test here.
• Profile Mamie Phipps Clark
• Marked 1968 identical black and white dolls by Effanbee were donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) by the Clark's daughter, Kate Clark-Harris.  (Based on the 1968 date, these are not the original dolls used by the Clarks but are possibly one of the last, if not the last pair used in one of their later doll studies.)
• See the 1968 Effanbee dolls as they appear on exhibit in the NMAAHC here and here.  The museum label for the dolls reads:  Segregation and Child’s Play
  Tests performed by psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark using these and other dolls helped convince the justices that segregation had negative psychological effects on black children.  Gift of Kate Clark-Harris in memory of her parents Kenneth and Mamie Clark in cooperation with the Northside Center for Child Development

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There is always something to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Thank you for following, commenting, and sharing using the share button below.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
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Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

More Teaching Dolls and Test

In 2009 I special ordered a SOMSO-Plast baby which is designed for use as a teaching aid usually in a medical setting.  The version I ordered is designed to teach infant care.  It is anatomically correct, has ball joints for each of its extremities, an open anus, synthetic brown eyes, hand-painted hair, is the height and weight of a 6-week-old infant, and described by the German manufacturer as "a perfect combination doll for bathing, dressing practice and nursing exercises."

These  baby models are sold through medical equipment companies here in the US and when not in stock usually take three to six months to receive.  They are each handmade by the German manufacturer upon special order request.  

SOMSO-Plast Babies for teaching infant care

I wanted a certain dark-skinned model that was not in stock with any US medical equipment company I contacted.  With one company whose price was the lowest, I placed a prepaid order and waited patiently 90-some-odd days for the baby to be made and shipped from Germany.  Instead of receiving the dark-skinned version, I received the white model.  I contacted the US company, who placed a second special order for the correct version.  The second baby arrived in the summer of 2010.  As things worked out, I was able to keep both female baby models.

Even though both are females anatomically, I purchased coordinated girl-boy outfits.

Babies dressed in coordinated outfits (aren't they adorable)?

 After the dolls had been here a while, my daughter noticed them in the doll room in a basket with other life-size baby dolls.  Since they were identical except for complexion, she decided we should conduct an updated version of Dr. Kenneth and Mamie Clarks' Dolls Test, which was first conducted with African American children in northern and southern US states during the late-1940s.  

The Clarks initially used four dolls dressed only in a diaper.  The dolls were identical with the exception of their complexion and hair color.  Two were white; two were black.  With a series of requests of the children, the Clarks discovered that, while 66% identified themselves with the black doll and 33% identified with the white doll when requested, "Give me the doll that looks like you," most children chose the white doll and rejected the black doll when requested, "Give me the doll you like to play with the best." 

My grandson was 4 at the time he took the test, which I video taped, but for privacy reasons, have chosen not to share here. 

A transcript of the questions my Grandson answered can be read below.  These were modeled after the Clarks' Dolls Test requests, but spontaneously updated and amended by my daughter as they were asked.  (To all, with the exception of the ones where an answer is provided, Grandson chose the black doll.)

Which doll would you want to play with?

Which one looks nice?

Which one looks bad?

Which one can dance?

Which one has a nice color?  White doll

Which one looks like you?

Which one can sing?

Which one plays basketball?

Which one plays hockey?  White doll

See more educational SOMSO-Plast babies (models) here.
See Dr. Clark's original Dolls Test data here. 

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