Open thread

5 Responses to Open thread

1. CJsDaddy says:

   December 25, 2008 at 7:06 pm

   Merry Christmas everyone!

   I’m wondering what ya’ll think about the movie a Christmas Story. A lot of people love it, many hate it, but I’m wondering from an anti-racist parent POV.

   It’s a mostly harmless movie about anticipating Christmas in the pre-WWII midwest (I believe).

   There are two potential problem spots. At one point, the narrator mentions that his father love to deal more than an Arab trader. I doubt most people notice that line during the Christmas tree shopping.

   Then there’s the more famous scene where the family goes out for Chinese food on Christmas because the neighbor’s dogs have destroyed their feast. The restaurant staff sing Deck the Halls with “fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra.”

   At the very least, it’s cringe-worthy. But the family does end up enjoying a nice meal and treat their hosts graciously.

   So, any thoughts?
2. sallyjrw says:

   December 28, 2008 at 1:28 pm

   I’m about to have my first child. I’m white and my husband is black. Does everyone remember awhile back when they had black children saying white dolls were good and black dolls were bad? I’m committed to being an anti-racist parent and I want my child to grow up with a healthy self-esteem. I want to have postive images of all races of children, especially black girls. It’s very easy to find books and toys and clothes of white children (especially with blue eyes). I don’t mind looking harder for things with minorities, but some stuff I really like is with white babies. But I am worried about getting too much stuff with white children. Will looking at too many things with white babies affect my biracial baby negatively? Or am I overreacting?
3. deesha says:

   December 29, 2008 at 10:14 am

   Hi, Sally,

   My children are not biracial (not anymore than your typical AA, whatever that is!), and perhaps another parent whose family is more similar to yours than mine is will chime in, but I think it’s just a matter of balance. You won’t get “too much stuff with white children” if you commit to buy a balanced assortment of dolls, toys, etc. These may be easier to find than you think. I recommend http://www.dollslikeme.com as one resource.

   To the extent that this is a numbers game, I exclusively buy dolls of color because experience has shown me that my children’s classmates will bring the diversity with toys and gifts featuring white dolls and Disney princesses, given as birthday gifts. Some older relatives have done the same.

   So perhaps if you exclusively “buy black”, you can leave your relatives and others to buy otherwise. However, some parents choose to ask their family members to only buy black dolls (for example). So that’s another consideration that may help you as you strive for balance.

   Related, I recently showed my girls (ages 5 and 10), Kiri Davis’s short film, “Girl Like Me”, in which she repeats Dr. Kenneth Clark’s famous doll study. My youngest had asked me why I don’t buy her white dolls. I explained as best as I could, and then we watched the video. The girls both “got it”, and we’ve had good conversations since. My youngest has reduced it to “You should like yourself just the way you are”, and at the end of the day, that’s the bottom line.
4. deesha says:

   December 29, 2008 at 10:17 am

   CJsDaddy:

   We are sharing a brain! That scene is cringe-inducing indeed.
5. sallyjrw says:

   December 30, 2008 at 6:30 pm

   deesha:
   Thanks for the website. I already bought something!