[Bluerose]

How shocking is this?

YouTube - Black or White something to think about

[Fr_Chuck]

I wish it was, sadly it is not

[DoulaLC]

Raises many questions... what have the children's experiences been like? What is the family life like? What are their neighborhoods like?. etc.. I wonder what the results would be if the children were white children? Hispanic children? Asian children? Would they choose the dolls that look like them or would they choose ones that are different? Are they perceived to be "nice" because they are different... which may make them more appealing simply for that reason.

[Bluerose]

Some really good questions there. I hope someone addresses them too.

[LORRS]

Was well shocked and up set, so sad! No matter what colour we it dose not define who we are or what we are.

[jillianleab]

I'd like to know more about the children's backgrounds, and see the results (as Doula mentioned) if the same thing was done with children of other races and backgrounds.

Sadly, it's not really surprising; there is still a lot of racism in this country, and children pick up on it. Some children are told by their families they aren't as good because they are dark. I remember an episode of Dr. Phil or Oprah or something where they talked about black mothers hoping and praying that their child would be born lighter-skinned, and being disappointed when their children were dark. There were some people who talked about discrimination from their own families because they were darker than their siblings. How are you supposed to feel good about yourself if your own family treats you like you are worth less than your lighter-skinned relatives?

The results of the original test isn't surprising at all, given the time in our history and how rampant racism was in our country at that time. Horrible, but not shocking.

I also wonder about the way the questions were asked, though. The children are asked to identify one as "bad" one as "good"; they weren't given the option to say both are "good" or both are "bad". Sure it still speaks volumes that most picked the white doll as "good", but I wonder what the results would have been if they had been able to say both are good.

I hope someone does this again in another 50 years.