At the 87th Academy Awards this past February, singer, actress, and dancer Zendaya Coleman was stunning in a gorgeous off-white Vivienne Westwood gown. She also donned simplistic makeup, Chopard jewels, and dreadlocks. Later that week on an episode of Fashion Police, reporter Guliana Rancic made some less than friendly remarks about Zendaya’s look, especially her dreadlocks that were specifically for the event.
"I feel like she smells like patchouli oil... or maybe weed." said Rancic.
Fans of Fashion Police and Zendaya alike were quick to criticize Rancic on social media outlets for days to follow. Even Zendaya had some words for the reporter, making a point to note that not only weed smokers have dreads and many successful individuals share the same hairstyle.
Among the controversy surrounding Zendaya’s hair and whether or not Guiliana’s comments were microagressions, Mattel found a way to turn this negative into a positive situation. The company famously known for manufacturing Barbie dolls has created a limited edition Barbie in Zendaya’s honor. “When I was little, I couldn’t find a Barbie that looked like me, my…how times have changed,” said Zendaya. The doll replicates Zendaya’s exact look from the night of the Oscar’s, “even down to my pinkie ring,” gushed ‘Daya to Vogue magazine.
By the end of 2015, Mattel will have 78 new Barbies for sale of eight skin tones and 14 different hairstyles. The company has decided that Barbies are the way the young girls learn to view themselves and diversifying the line is a way of honoring the changing of times. By 2020, minority groups will be over half of the American population, which means a lot of ethnic little girls who will need to be represented.
This is an enormous milestone, not only for Mattel, but also for young girls and women of color across the nation. Growing up, I did not own any dolls of color or dolls that resembled me in any way, not because they did not manufacture and sell dolls that resembled me, but because, it just felt like the norm to only own white dolls.
Currently, there is no Zendaya Barbie for sale… she owns the only replica; however, the company said that if there are enough outcries for Zendaya to be put on the shelves, they will do just that. If they decide to put the Zendaya Barbie’s out for mass production, it would take at least eighteen months to get them into stores.
...So until Zendaya is in every Toys R’ Us and Target in the nation, we can just gush over her beauty on Instagram and her hit Disney channel show K.C Undercover, Sunday nights at 7.
Thank you Zendaya for speaking up for yourself when no one else would and thank you Mattel for embracing the diversity that is life.
