Amazon, is it too much to ask for a doll of color to be included in today's Gold Box promo of Barbies?
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UPDATE: Amazon has heard us, and they have responded by adding FOUR black Barbies to the promotion. A lovely Amazon PR rep just called me to share the news, let me know they have passed our feedback through the right channels to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again, and ask me to tell y'all to stop emailing them. (Okay, she didn't say that last part, but I inferred it.) THANKS, Y'ALL!
Amazon, you know I love you. A quick glance at my order history or banking account makes that clear, and I'm sure our mail carrier has lost count of the number of smiling boxes he's delivered here this month alone.
Hi, I'm Shannon, and I'm addicted to Amazon.
I've been on the lookout for black Barbie dolls for our newest daughters, Patience and Patricia, who are the oldest and youngest members of the sibling group of three we're adopting from Uganda. But, Amazon, you know that already; my wish lists on your site include several black dolls. When we travel (hopefully next month), I want to bring Barbies that look like them, especially since my current daughters already have lots of white Barbies and one Asian one.
Imagine my excitement when I saw this today.
Now imagine my disappointment when I realized "40% off select Barbie toys" meant "40% off select white Barbie toys."
Sorry, Ammy, one brunette doll with a brown horse doesn't count as diverse.
I didn't expect all of the dolls to be black, but I expected at least one to be. After all, more than 1 in 20 Barbies are non-white* (*per my observations, not any documented research) so I would expect a sale including 20 Barbie items to include at least one of color. I would understand Amazon's stance if Barbie only made white dolls, because you can't influence a vendor to be more inclusive. But Barbie does, so it's Amazon that has made the choice to only include white dolls.
While one of my children is Asian, I didn't expect an Asian doll to be included, because Barbie only makes one or two of those, so in a sample of 20 items, it wouldn't be statistically likely for an Asian doll to be included. But, using that same reasoning, it would be expected - based on the Barbie product line - for a black Barbie to be included by Amazon in this promotion.
I truly don't think this was intentional. If I'm honest, I have to admit that I wouldn't have noticed the issue here two years ago when I was a white mama to two white children. Now, though, as the mother of soon-to-be six - one via special needs adoption from Taiwan last year and three siblings through waiting child adoption from Uganda this year - I am much more aware of how most commercial merchants target people of my skin color over those with more pigment. (I even blogged about white privilege and black dolls a couple months ago.)
As I told Asic and John, the two customer service reps I chatted with today, I am sure no one at Amazon meant any ill will or maliciously discriminated in the choice to only include white Barbies in today's promotion. I'm assuming it was an accident. Nonetheless, this is an issue for those of us who would love to see at least one doll of color represented.
If the Gold Box special was just one doll, I would expect the typical white, blond, blue-eyed Barbie - who, incidentally, looks a lot like my oldest daughter - to be the one chosen for the promotion. But for no dolls of color to be represented in a selection of 20 Barbie items? That didn't sit well with me, so I contacted Amazon's customer service.
Asic spent some time checking into things, before replying with this:
Enter John.
I tried giving them an out by suggesting that they could lower the price of select black Barbies without officially including them in the promotion, but no dice. I'm encouraged that John says it won't happen again. But, as nice as he was via chat, I don't know John. I don't know if he can really ensure that this won't happen again.
But I do know the power of social media.
So, friends, if this bothers you as it bothers me, share this post. Contact Amazon, through customer service HERE (choose "something else" and follow the prompts to contact them via your preference of phone, email, or chat) or by directly emailing their PR team at amazon-pr@amazon.com.
After all, their mission is "To be Earth's most customer-centric company where people can find and discover anything they want to buy online," and today's Gold Box deal doesn't feel very customer-centric to me.
And, finally, Amazon? We can still be friends, right? If you want to reach out to me to discuss this further, you have my email address. and phone number. and home address. and credit card number. and coffee flavor preferences... so don't be a stranger, mkay?
~+~
Amazon, you know I love you. A quick glance at my order history or banking account makes that clear, and I'm sure our mail carrier has lost count of the number of smiling boxes he's delivered here this month alone.
Hi, I'm Shannon, and I'm addicted to Amazon.
I've been on the lookout for black Barbie dolls for our newest daughters, Patience and Patricia, who are the oldest and youngest members of the sibling group of three we're adopting from Uganda. But, Amazon, you know that already; my wish lists on your site include several black dolls. When we travel (hopefully next month), I want to bring Barbies that look like them, especially since my current daughters already have lots of white Barbies and one Asian one.
Imagine my excitement when I saw this today.
 |
| Let's ignore the number of tabs I have open on this screenshot, shall we? What can I say? I'm a multi-tasker with a touch of ADD. |
Sorry, Ammy, one brunette doll with a brown horse doesn't count as diverse.
While one of my children is Asian, I didn't expect an Asian doll to be included, because Barbie only makes one or two of those, so in a sample of 20 items, it wouldn't be statistically likely for an Asian doll to be included. But, using that same reasoning, it would be expected - based on the Barbie product line - for a black Barbie to be included by Amazon in this promotion.
I truly don't think this was intentional. If I'm honest, I have to admit that I wouldn't have noticed the issue here two years ago when I was a white mama to two white children. Now, though, as the mother of soon-to-be six - one via special needs adoption from Taiwan last year and three siblings through waiting child adoption from Uganda this year - I am much more aware of how most commercial merchants target people of my skin color over those with more pigment. (I even blogged about white privilege and black dolls a couple months ago.)
As I told Asic and John, the two customer service reps I chatted with today, I am sure no one at Amazon meant any ill will or maliciously discriminated in the choice to only include white Barbies in today's promotion. I'm assuming it was an accident. Nonetheless, this is an issue for those of us who would love to see at least one doll of color represented.
If the Gold Box special was just one doll, I would expect the typical white, blond, blue-eyed Barbie - who, incidentally, looks a lot like my oldest daughter - to be the one chosen for the promotion. But for no dolls of color to be represented in a selection of 20 Barbie items? That didn't sit well with me, so I contacted Amazon's customer service.
I tried giving them an out by suggesting that they could lower the price of select black Barbies without officially including them in the promotion, but no dice. I'm encouraged that John says it won't happen again. But, as nice as he was via chat, I don't know John. I don't know if he can really ensure that this won't happen again.
But I do know the power of social media.
So, friends, if this bothers you as it bothers me, share this post. Contact Amazon, through customer service HERE (choose "something else" and follow the prompts to contact them via your preference of phone, email, or chat) or by directly emailing their PR team at amazon-pr@amazon.com.
After all, their mission is "To be Earth's most customer-centric company where people can find and discover anything they want to buy online," and today's Gold Box deal doesn't feel very customer-centric to me.
And, finally, Amazon? We can still be friends, right? If you want to reach out to me to discuss this further, you have my email address. and phone number. and home address. and credit card number. and coffee flavor preferences... so don't be a stranger, mkay?