- Flavas
Flavas was a line of dolls made by
Mattel in2003 to compete with theBratz line byMGA Entertainment . The dolls were dressed inhip hop fashions and appeared to be designed as a way for Mattel to tap into the 'urban' market.Dolls
The dolls - Kiyoni Brown, Happy D, Tika, Liam, Peebo, and Tre - wore hip-hop/urban-inspired clothing and came with accessories such as
cell phone s and soda cans. Unlike more traditionalBarbie dolls, the Flavas dolls had more points of articulation including jointed elbows andwaist s, allowing them to strike presumably more 'urban' poses. Flavas ranged in height from 10.5 inches to 11 inches. All of the dolls featured at least two variations which were packaged with two outfits, two pairs of shoes, and stickers. The packaging that the dolls came in also doubled as a doll stand.Criticism
Some aspects of the Flavas dolls were considered offensive and it has been suggested that, rather than embracing hip hop culture, the dolls were actually making fun of it. It has also been suggested that the dolls were racially offensive in that Mattel portrayed negative stereotypes of
African-American s, such as Kiyoni Brown, who wore a very shortmini skirt andhalter top , giving her the appearance of the standard "video hoochie".It was also suggested that the Flavas were unsuitable role models for children as they encouraged children to engage in illegal activities such as graffiting. The dolls were not liked by rappers and hip-hoppers because they thought that the dolls were making fun of their culture.
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