The one thing that I can agree with you on is this: No one, not I or anyone else, can prove what is beautiful. It’s not a fact–it’s subjective. What is considered beautiful is always an opinion. And my blog IS my opinion–NOT a sociological study, and I never claimed otherwise.

And you are right, many toys and characters around the world are white and have fair features. This is a complicated issue, and there are many factors to consider as to why this is the case.

But because people are exposed to these appearances most often in the media, and these are the figures that most often represent beauty, it makes sense that people would recognize beauty of that type more often than other types that are not represented as much. That was the basic point I was trying to make in this blog.

Why not have more representative figures in the media? Then people can be exposed to more kinds of beauty, and can better form opinions about their personal preferences.

First of all, the African American vs. black issue. Black is a name given to a skin-color category. African American is a name given to a group of people who share a common history and ethnic background. They are not interchangeable. Not everyone who is black in America is African American–that is true. Some people believe that it is more polite, or politically correct, to refer to dark skinned Americans as African American, though this is not always technically correct.

I don’t think that either term is right or wrong to use, it just depends on the situation. People should be able to identify themselves and what terms they would like to be described with, but, unfortunately, they don’t always get the chance to do that.

And I really have to say something about the comments on “black music.” I’m guessing that those people were referring to rap/hip hop. Some of it certainly does have a lot of profanity, violence, and sexuality in the lyrics, but it really is an under appreciated genre. A lot of it focuses on social issues, and is a lot deeper and more creative than the stuff you usually hear on the radio. If you are interested, some artists I recommend are Run D.M.C., Immortal Technique, Talib Kweli, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Del Tha Funkee Homosapein.

Also, hip hop is not the only genre of music originated by black people in America. Funk, soul, doo-wop, jazz, gospel, blues, rock & roll and more were also created by African Americans. A brief history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_music

Also, while you can make up a fake name or remain anonymous when you post a comment, please do not pretend to be two different people just so you can make it look like someone else is responding to your own comment. While I cannot prove that anyone is doing this, there are comments from the same IP address and/or email address that use different names.

Look how in other countries cartoon characters
And dolls emulate the look of us oppressive
White people

Guess they think we are beautiful but that must
Be wrong too

You just can’t prove what is beautul so
You article is just opinion without numbers
Do some real homework ms sociologist!

This article was written in haste. They forgot
To mention how Dumbo Obama the commie
Has already said he would nationalize all toy companies
Pretty soon all toys will be “fair” and available
Even if you have no money

Tyra Banks is NOT mixed. Both of her parents are black. There is only mixed woman in that line up and that is Kimora Lee, who is Black and Japanese.