- Yvonne Chaka Chaka has revealed she twice passed the offer to be the first African woman to have a Barbie Doll made in her likeness. Did she stand up against a symbol of Eurocentric beauty?
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It is deemed a great honour by most to have a Barbie Doll made in their image, however, popular South African musician Yvonne Chaka Chaka declined that “honour” twice.
The doll was made as part of 60th Anniversary Barbie Shero campaign, an effort to inspire girls to be heroes. According to the campaign, Sheroes are given the Barbie brand’s highest honour, a one-of-a-kind doll made in their likeness in celebration of their roles in expanding the possibilities for girls everywhere.
Yvonne was approached as one of the few African women to grace the campaign with a Barbie modeled in her likeness.
According to Sunday World, Yvonne Chaka Chaka confirmed that she was approached by the company and loved the idea. However, she was not happy with the final product as the doll looked nothing like her.
“They showed me the doll and I told them I’m not up for it if the said dolls will look nothing like me. This is simply because I was promised something that will look exactly like me. I respect myself that much,” reports Sunday World.
Sunday World reported that doll looked slimmer and did not resemble her facial features. The attempt to portray a slimmer model is seen as reinforcement of Eurocentric beauty ideals which focus on slim models.
Meanwhle, the doll has been given South African singer Lira. Lira became the first African to have a Barbie doll made in her honour. From the twitter post, the doll is a splitting image of Lira.
She could not contain her excitement as she shared the amazing news with her fans.
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