The New Doll Test: A Crying Shame

Parent Cafe
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<p>…And crying is exactly what I felt like doing (yes, that’s a fragmented sentence, Leanid. So, sue me :rolleyes:). Today, I listened to a segment on NPR’s Talk of The Nation that left me stunned and quite frankly, demoralized. It centered around a film made by a 16 yr. old (now 17) African American girl named, Kiri Davis. The short film called, “A Girl Like Me” can be viewed by clicking on a link on this site: </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.reelworks.org/[/url]”>http://www.reelworks.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>In the film, Davis replicates a social psychology experiment conducted in 1940 by Dr. Kenneth Clark. The results of Dr. Clark’s experiment (which, for a number of years following, was replicated with similar results by many other psychological professionals), was the basis of his testimony during the Brown vs. The Board of Education Supreme Court case, and figured largely in its outcome. In the study, Dr. Clark presented negro children between the ages of 6 and 9 with two dolls, identical in every way, except that one doll was white and the other was dark skinned. One at a time, black children were seated before the dolls and asked four questions: 1) “Show me the doll that you like best or that you’d like to play with.” 2) “Show me the nice doll.” 3) “Show me the doll that looks bad.” 4) Give me the doll that looks like you." </p>

<p>Dr. Clark asserted before the court that the results of his experiment reflected the negative effect that segregation had on the self-esteem of school aged black children. Three quarters of the children chose the white doll when asked the first two questions, but chose the black doll when asked the third and fourth. His experiment sent shock waves throughout the country, and helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement. </p>

<p>But fast-forward to 2005, when Kiri Davis replicated Dr. Clark’s Doll Test in her film, “A Girl Like Me”. During the NPR interview, Davis reported that she had expected the results of her test to show a marked change from the results recorded by Dr. Clark in 1940. She had not been prepared for the results, which almost exacted replicated those of Kenneth Clark (who died at aged 90 in 2005). Almost three quarters of the children showed a preference for, and attributed positive characteristics to the white dolls, while indentifying the black one as the doll that was “bad” and looked like themselves. But how could this be? Institutionalized segregation was struck down more than half a century ago. Why would black children still have such negative perceptions of what it means to be black? </p>

<p>Kiri also filmed a number of compelling comments by female African Americans on perceptions about blackness, both within the black community and in society at large. </p>

<p>A second guest during this segment was Miami Herald columnist, Leonard Pitts, Jr. He asserts that today, the African American community bears a significant reponsibility for continuing the many negative images the that are being fed to black youth in America. He blames many in the entertainment industry, particularly those in hip/hop and music video genre. It was compelling. You can read Mr. Pitts column here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/15545216.htm[/url]”>http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/15545216.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The results of Kiri Davis’ replication of Dr. Clark’s experiment opens an opportunity within the African American Community to seriously address the issues it raises. The legacy is long, the issues complex and the solutions aren’t always simple, but, address them we most certainly must. It’s time.</p>

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<p>Sad.</p>

<p>The more things change, the more they stay the same.</p>

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<p>Poetsheart, thanks for sharing this. I watched the clip and it seemed so sad – those girls were GORGEOUS and yet complained about their appearance.</p>

<p>As a very fair skinned, Irish American, I spent most of my teenage years in California trying to DARKEN my skin. I finally gave up in my twenties and settled for being too white in every setting. I’ve had skin cancer, which I’m sure is related to the sun exposure of my youth. It just seems so mixed up --these girls talk about being lighter, and I was always trying to be darker. It just doesn’t make much sense.</p>

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<p>Ahhh, that film is heartbreaking. I don’t know what to say. The girls (both teens and children) are so beautiful and yet they feel unworthy, bad, ugly. Leonard Pitts is one of my favorite columnists, and this column is a good one, although as is usual, the people who need to read it most - and react to it - probably won’t. One of the teens in the film mentioned the anger that they feel being in the minority and with their history, and I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t anger that fuels the cultural messages and lifestyles Pitts mentions.</p>

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<p>That experiment confirms my support of Affirmative action.</p>

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<p>Thank you for sharing. </p>

<p>There is a problem with confusing correlation and causation - i.e. correlating segregation with negative self-image v. knowing that one caused the other. Segregation, as horrible as it was, was not the CAUSE of the problems, so changing that didn’t help much.</p>

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<p>I think it is a given trait that females complain about their appearances. Something we adult females should think about as we jokingly degrade our figurs,wrinkles, hair, etc. Then we shake our heads in concern as the younger women take it to the extreme when they have heard the laments from their role models, their mothers, all of their lives.</p>

<p>Another point to contemplate is that societies, not just ours, tend to base beauty on “lightness” of color. Tanning is a privilege of the light skinned, and the most spectacular tans are on those with light hair. The white face powder of the Japanese culture, the focus on being a lighter skinned African–these biases have been around for a long time. Even the “goth” look with the black hair, is complemented with white, white skin. And now dark haired ethnic groups are going blonde. The hair color jobs tend to go lighter rather than darker.</p>

<p>The most serious issue, is not among any of the above, however. In many of the neighborhoods where the darker skinned population live in this country, the authority figures, the “good” guys tend to be white or light. My friend who is married to an African American was horrified by her daughter’s observation of this when the little girl was not yet in kindergarden. All but one of the teachers in her school and her brother’s school were white, as were the principals and the bulk of the staff except for the janitorial and cafeteria workers. At most social functions, the wait staff were black, the guests tended to be white. And when you go into some of the worse neighborhoods, the black/white can be starker. Children notice these things. </p>

<p>Just one of the reason why we are trying to expeditie the integration process from the top in college population. </p>

<p>One complaint I have alwåys had about black dolls is that most of them are dark skinned version of the white doll. With the exception of some specialty expensive dolls, the African American dolls are not reflective of most black girls in features, hair, etc. And American Girls Dolls that have the historic era dolls, has only the slave African American doll which is not so popular from what I understand because the accessories are not really as fun as some of the others. The company has done a decent job with their “custom” dolls that let you design your doll with some choices of colors. I don’t know of one “cool” or “hot” doll that started out black. They tend to be black versions or “best friends” of the white doll. I’d like to see some more authentic looking black dolls with some wardrobes complete with some of the beautiful African costumes as well as some snazzy contemporary clothes. Something that is Black first, not a black knock off of a white doll.</p>

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<p>I’m not at all surprised by the results. I don’t, however, blame black people for the results. People in this country still are surrounded by images of white women as the standard of beauty. The light skinned,black women on the hip hop and rap videos are there because they still are considered the black women who most represent American beauty.</p>

<p>Heck, even on CC, I’ve seen threads about which race of women is the most beautiful, and I’ve seen plenty of posts saying that black women are ugly unless they look like (can’t remember her name) the Oscar-winning sister who in another role played James Bond’s love interest.</p>

<p>So, no surprise that black girls would think that a doll that looks like them is bad. That’s what society in general – not just some black people – are telling the girl.</p>

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<p>“There is a problem with confusing correlation and causation - i.e. correlating segregation with negative self-image v. knowing that one caused the other. Segregation, as horrible as it was, was not the CAUSE of the problems, so changing that didn’t help much.”</p>

<p>Aries, I would say that segregation was the primary response to the ironclad assumption by whites that the theirs was the inherently superior race, and that all due deligence must be excercised to maintain the purity of that race through the systematic separation of the races. Since whites had never been circumspect in voicing this fundamental belief to the negros in their midst (most of whom they kept as chattel), and since whites held all existing social, economic and political power, blacks soon came to internalize this belief as as logical and true. If you think about it, Stockholm syndrome is nothing compared to this phenomenon. </p>

<p>So no, segregation, per se, was not the “cause” of low negro self-esteem, but it served to constantly reinforce the problem. Since this poisoned mindset had been entrenched for literally hundreds of years, the end of segregation alone, would not mark its end.</p>

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<p>I don’t disagree, Poetsheart. I’m just saying that segregation, itself, is not the cause of these problems. As a scientist, I dislike the conclusions drawn from the experiment. The real experiment, to determine if segregation itself affects black mentality, would be to compare the psyches of black children in all-black schools and black children in integrated schools.</p>

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<p>“One of the teens in the film mentioned the anger that they feel being in the minority and with their history,”</p>

<p>Momof2, I totally understand the feelings expressed by the girl you referenced in the film, because I have often felt the exact same anger—and something else as well: A literal sense of bereavement over what I see to be the permanent loss of my legitimate roots. It bothers me tremendously that I can’t find information on anyone who must have preceeded the freedman known to have established my paternal family. Even less is known about my maternal side. Slave family ties were seldom honored Pre-Civil War, and careful records were seldom kept. I am the chairman of the Family Tree Committee of my paternal family’s reunion committee (we hold a reunion every two years). But, I am having a devilishly difficult time digging up information that may shed light on anyone who came before this known patriarch. </p>

<p>At my house, there is a five and a half foot long parchment roll, chronicalling my husband’s German family roots. It extends all the way back to the mid-sixteen hundreds. His grandfather willingly brought his family from a small hamlet in Germany to America, landing at Ellis Island with every expectation of a better life, a leap of faith replicated millions of times over by immigrants from all over the world. But, African Americans are the only peoples whose ancesters arrived here in chains, with no hope for happiness or prosperity of any kind, who were systematically denied just that for four fifths of our nation’s history. The knowledge of this “apartness” has always given me a feeling that’s hard to explain, an indescribable sense of—well, for lack of a better word, “loss”. When in elementary school (which I attended in “the cradle of American Democracy”, Williamsburg, Va., and during the midst of the Civil Rights Movement), whenever we studied the the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, penned by the great white founding fathers whose supposed conviction was that, “all men are created equal”, whenever we visited Bruton Parrish Church, where Patrick Henry delivered the immortal words, “Give me liberty, or give me death”, I never failed to feel sad, and angry. </p>

<p>My children have access to a full family history from their German-American side, but by comparison, virtually nothing by exists from their African American side, and I cannot provide it. Yes, it bothers me.</p>

<p>What’s more, I’ve always been bothered by the lack of even the possibility of uncovering the original common language of my African ancestors. No tribal affiliation. No tribal language. No tribal names. No roots. Just, sally, or Buck, or Henry, names given to African slaves. Not even a last name. Knowing that my English maiden name was most likely the name my freed patriarch adopted from his former master at the time of his emancipation does nothing for my sense of pride. This is the story of most African Americans. It is a history of self-perceived shame, and impotence, and overwhelming loss. If we can somehow find a way to get past this legacy, we can probably change the results of future Doll Tests.</p>

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<p>This film is heartbreaking. :(</p>

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<p>“I dislike the conclusions drawn from the experiment.”</p>

<p>Aries, what conclusion would you have drawn from the experiment?</p>

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<p>I also wonder how the results would be with other ethnic groups, for example Asians. I’m not quite sure what cause-effect conclusions would be valid, especially given the very small sample size of this study (just 21 children).</p>

<p>How would any of us have answered these questions if we were the study subjects? I’m not sure my kids would have cooperated and would have fought with whomever was asking the questions because they would not agree with the questions or limited choices offered.</p>

<p>I agree it would make more sense to know the social background of the children questioned–whether they are from a strictly segregated setting or an integrated setting.</p>

<p>In HI, there are kids of all races attending school together from preschool thru college. I would be curious to see how the results from such a background would contrast with one that was much more segregated.</p>

<p>Many/most/all Asian immigrants were given new names (sometimes first & last) from immigration when they arrived in the US & tracing ancestry is difficult as well. You are right that people taken as slaves from Africa would have MUCH more difficulty tracing anything back, tho & a very long period of oppression.</p>

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<p>To me, the fact that the kids have no problem with the questions is even more upsetting. They don’t even need to think about which doll is nice or bad or why, and they don’t question why someone would ask them that. I agree that it would be interesting to know more about the kids’ backgrounds.</p>

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<p>Kiri Davis’ experiment subjects were from a Harlem Day Care Center. And 15 of the 21 children surveyed preferred the White doll over the Black one. I’m assuming that this Center is largely, if not entirely African American, that the children live in neighborhoods that reflects the same demographic. Dr. Clark’s subjects were from a totally segregated school as well. I wonder how black children from predominantly white schools and neighborhoods would respond to the questions posed in the experiment? Would they balk at the questions, and argue with the tester? Would they refuse to answer? How would white children respond to this experiment? Interesting questions, all.</p>

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<p>PoetsHeart - if you are trying to throw me into a corner, in opposition to you, you will fail. I’m simply not opposed at all to what you are trying to say w/r/t segregation and social issues of blacks.</p>

<p>Conclusions should always reflect the nature and limitations of an experiment. This was an experiment conducted without controls - i.e. no comparison to students in non-segregated districts, or white students, or other students of other races who were not segregated. Ergo, any comparisons between segregated black children and any other group, based on segregation, are entirely unwarranted. If there is no control for some factors, you simply cannot state, with conviction, that your experiment proves that those factors cause the results.</p>

<p>I cannot help but think of the test that is often given to college students in a statistics course. They are told to plot data and draw conclusions. Their first data set is number of ice cream cones eaten. Second data set is temperature. A surprising number of students conclude that eating more ice cream causes the temperature to rise. Correlation? Causation? Reverse causation? You have to actually use this thing called the scientific method to ferret out the difference when that difference is not so blatant… even though people will still get the obvious wrong. :)</p>

<p>What conclusions would I have drawn? Simple. For some reason (most likely societal, as genetic would be absurd), to be explored by further research, young blacks have a strongly negative self-image; they have internalised negative stereotypes about their race (i.e. “blacks are bad”); that black children see white children as more desireable playmates; etc etc. This is a result of some societal issue - but segregation vis-a-vis lower income, lack of portrayal in the media, lack of good role models, differing family structure - why pick segregation as the reason for this?</p>

<p>I absolutely despise the idea of segregation - I think that it is one of the most inhumane things we can do to each other - to state that someone is not even worthy of being in the presence of others; is horrible for the people who have to deal with it; and, on a less important note, detrimental to everyone else who misses out on knowing more about their country, about humanity, and about the people around them. (Your post #11 is an excellent example of the latter.) I am also certain that Dr. Clark’s experiment did not prove a thing about the effects of segregation as opposed to any of the heaps of other societal ills that were inflicted on blacks for the 200 years prior to his experiment.</p>

<p>This becomes an issue for the simple reason that, if segregation is the root cause of these problems, then ending segregation should end the problems. That hasn’t happened, otherwise, Miss Davis wouldn’t have much of a film. It’s not just about being anal-retentive w/r/t statistics; it’s about properly interpeting studies so as to motivate real, continuous societal change. If you improperly tag something very concrete as being the root cause of an ill, you’ll lose momentum for your activism when that concrete, root issue is changed, although a thousand other problems could remain.</p>

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<p>I’ve quizzed my D about what she would have done then & now if asked about beauty, etc. as a preschooler & now. She says as a young child, she too would probably have chosen the blond (if she didn’t fight with the interviewer), since blonds featured prominently as princesses in many favorite fairy tales. Now, as a nearly 17-year-old, she says her ideas of beauty have evolved to encompass the rainbow of people she has encountered & embraced in her life. She considers herself & her friends attractive & they hail from all races and backgrounds.</p>

<p>Making sweeping generalizations from this study greatly troubles me, even more than the study itself. I think it’s useful to ask children/people about how their perceptions of beauty change (or don’t) over time. I think it’s a bit more difficult to KNOW why. Yes, we can point to the media, Hollywood, advertising, etc., but there are so many factors involved, including exposure/experiences of the individual & the individual’s family, etc.</p>

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<p>My reaction is very much in line with Seole’s. Perhaps it isn’t “scientific,” but the film spoke volumes to me. I found it wrenching to see how quickly the kids picked the white doll; how the little girl grimly pushed the black doll forward when asked which one was like her. I am not sure what it proves or doesn’t prove, but we were afforded a rare window into real kids’ real feelings, something not always gleaned from the reports from large studies.</p>

<p>I made my husband and 17 year old son watch it.</p>

<p>Thank you for sharing it.</p>

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<p>The study involved 570 boys and 691 girls, including 1,011 Caucasians and 250 African-Americans. Female African-American eighth-graders evaluated themselves more positively than did Caucasian girls. Caucasian eighth-grade males evaluated themselves more positively than did African-American boys. African-American girls in the survey had the highest opinion of themselves; African-American boys had the lowest.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.science-spirit.org/article_detail.php?article_id=274[/url]”>http://www.science-spirit.org/article_detail.php?article_id=274&lt;/a&gt;
faith seems to be one of the keys in african american female 8th graders a good sense of self</p>