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| Possible Bollywood Extras shown in photo above: top, Mattel Juliet; right, Mattel Amazing Nails Kayla; bottom, Mattel Flavas Party Tika; and left, Lanard I-Girl Sahara. |
Isn't May "Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month," period? With the adjective Asian referring to people from both South and East Asian countries? In the U.S.A., yes. So why am I breaking the list into two sections? To see what I can see. I assume that because I have more East Asian dolls that possibly, there are more East Asian dolls available. Let's start with the South Asian list - as listed - to test that assumption. Note: please share any South Asian heritage, playscale dolls or action figures that I have missed here. (Thanks in advance ;-D)
Countries falling under "South Asia" include India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka: for a complete list, see the World Bank website. Dolls in this post lists have heritage from those areas.
Aside: I need to ask your indulgence on a small matter. I have cheated: some dolls listed are not ALL based on American citizens. I confess to stealing English, Irish, and other citizens to provide greater representation. Why does that matter? Well, this is an American ethnic heritage month, but here I am bogarting dolls and characters outside of the United States. Sigh. I warn you in advance though.
INDIA
Funskool
Miss India Sindy 1996-2005
Additional Sindy
Integrity Toys
Isha
Malika
Poppy Parker
Leo Company (with Mattel)
Expressions of Barbie
Barbie / Ken / Skipper sets
Mattel
Barbie I Can Be [a] Movie Star - Katrina Kaif 2010
Dhoom Barbie 2014
Dhoom Ken 2014
Princess of India Barbie 2000
MGA Entertainment
Bratzillaz Back To Magic Illiana Honesty
One World Doll Project, Inc.
Dahlia (to be released Fall 2014)
SpinMaster
Priyanka Chopra 2006
Kajol 2006
Hrithik Roshan 2006
Shah Rukh Khan 2006
(None of these actors are American.)
YNU Group
Mixis Bollywood Outfit - Bright colored tunic, palazzo pants, and tailored dupioni shoes
2 Mixis dolls not yet on the market have Indian heritage. Bios and photos on FB Mixis Jr.
PAKISTAN
Hasbro
Zayn Malik
(Mr. Malik has English-Pakistani heritage.)
SRI LANKA
Vivid Imagination
Siva Kaneswaran
(Mr. Kaneswaran has Irish-Sri Lankan heritage.)
Wow, your list is quite comprehensive! I didn't know about all of these dolls -- when are the Barbie Dhoom dolls supposed to come out?
ReplyDeleteThat Malika doll is gorgeous! Man, I wouldn't mind having her.
ReplyDeleteHi Phyllis and Muff!
ReplyDelete@Phyllis - the Barbie Dhoom dolls are out now. Both the Barbie and the Ken are GORGEOUS. The Barbie has a new face mold; they are only available in India. I have not bought either of them yet - have to get them though. Just HAVE to. If you know a dealer in India or have a friend there, fine. If not, you might try this gentleman.
Good luck! Glad you found the post useful ;-)
@Muff - Yes, Malika is gorgeous. She was a My Favorite Doll Exclusive. I had her and sold her years ago.
No, I did not sigh there.
Solid list! All three of those dolls from Integrity are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteSince the Dhoom Barbies are on there, how about some of the other India-only Barbie releases, like the Expressions of Indian series and the Indian Bridal ones?
Personally, even knowing that they're not intended that way, I tend to read a lot of the non-ethnically-defined dark-skinned versions of typically light-skinned heads as South Asian.
Hi jSarie!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the list. Oh, gosh, yes, the Integrity dolls are gorgeous.
I have a link to some of the Expressions of India dolls under Leo Company (with Mattel). On the next line is a link to a Barbie-Ken 2-doll set and another set with Barbie and Skipper (a-dorable Skipper).
I do that, too. LOL. I reassign race and ethnicity to fit my needs.
I came across some interesting articles as I compiled this list - took me longer because I wondered if I should include them or not. One was about "white skin in Asia" and some Yahoo answers that left my head tilted in puzzlement. I had not realized that color line problems happened in cultures outside the Americas, North and South.
Ah, good to learn new stuff though, hmmm?
I have the 1996 India by Mattel and the Princess of India. Princess of India is especially gorgeous, but her scarf/veil headwear is sewed on, which means I'd never get that back on her correctly, if I thought about redressing her. Her hair is also static-y and fly-away, and it's hard to tuck it back in underneath her headwear. Both of these dolls are stored away for right now.
ReplyDeleteHi Barb the Evil Genius!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on those lovely dolls!
I used to have the 1982 and the 1996 India Barbies by Mattel. Sold them both. Taste change.
I would LOVE the Dhoom Barbie and Ken. They are both gorgeous. Diwali and your Princess of India are also stunning dolls, but I have other dolls that fill my interest in that look (Princess of the Nile for example). I'm on the fence about the India 2012 though. Hmmm ...
Flyaway hair? My sympathy. A Girl's Mission Mai was giving me grief when I photographed her. I despair about her hair, lol. And I am usually doll-hair lazy ;-)