In this video, the So In Style designer, Stacey McBride — who is black — explains that she wanted the dolls to have skin tones, make-up and facial features that were "true to girls in my community." Courtney, the cheerleader doll, has a fuller nose and fuller lips than regular Barbie. Trichelle, the doll "into art and journalism," has curly hair; Kara who loves math and music, has a "darker" skin tone, which McBride says is "almost my complexion," with pride.

Grace and Courtney
Kara and Kiana
Trichelle and Janessa

(The dolls seen above are prototypes; Kianna's hair will be more like Afro-puffs when the dolls are released.)

It's true that these dolls are a great alternative to blonde, blue-eyed Barbie. When I was a kid, I had Christie, who was Barbie's black friend, whose only difference was her skin color — she was basically Barbie, done in brown. But the new So In Style dolls still have some worrying Barbie traits — impossibly slender, long legs; tiny waists. And though a couple of the dolls have curls, others have long, light brown locks. Hair can be a complicated subject for black women, and it would be sad for any little girl to feel as if her texture wasn't desirable or represented.

But, is it a positive step forward? Definitely. Writes Hill:

The dolls come in pairs of big and little sisters to encourage mentoring relationships.… They may not be mirror-perfect, but they come closer to the fantasy than my childhood playthings. I would want these dolls for my daughter.

Toward An ‘Authentic' Black Barbie [The Root]

[Images via Toys R Us]

• Iran has consented to review the 8 year prison sentence, but judiciary officials deny that Saberi is on hunger strike. • Yesterday hundreds gathered in Philadelphia to march for gay rights. It is reportedly the first national rally for equality held outside Washington, DC. •  Ugh: Swiss authorities are investigating the appearance of a condom in a 7-year-old's Happy Meal. • New research has found that men with mental health problems are at an increased risk of passing their issues on to their sons. • A British mother was nearly killed while birthing her abnormally large son. Her child weighed 13 pounds, 10 ounces, which is almost double the average birth weight. • A recent study has found that the brothers of women who are fertile late in life tend to live longer, but their wives (sisters-in-law to the older mothers) do not. • Researchers have found that African-American women face a much greater risk of dying from breast cancer than white women, regardless of socio-economic status, the age at which they are diagnosed, the type of cancer, or type of treatment. • This fascinating report compares the leisure habits of different countries. Findings include: men in Italy have 80 minutes more of down time per day than women, and the French spend more time sleeping and eating than any other country included in the study. Fuckers. • Doctors have found new ways to identify autism in infants, which they hope will lead to better treatment of the disorder. • A new study from the Children's Hospital in Boston indicates that kids who watch adult-targeted TV are more likely to be sexually active at a younger age than those who stick to Saturday morning cartoons. • A woman in Dubai has been convicted of accidentally killing her fetus in a traffic accident and has been ordered to pay blood money to compensate for the (possibly) resulting stillbirth. • The Sleepy Eye Police Department is investigating the theft of Snoopy's nose. • Bear trapping is big business in China, where bears are held captive in order to collect their valuable bile. The bears are often held in cages no bigger than their own bodies. •  Following the case of the 8-year-old girl who was married to a man 40 years her senior, Saudi Arabia has begun to consider banning marriage for girls under the age of 18. • A 17-year-old girl who dialed 911 when her father had a seizure was berated by the cop who answered the call because she began swearing. Click here to hear the full tape. • Silvio Berlusconi has demanded an apology from his wife, Veronica Lario, for her recent comments about their possible divorce. •

Researchers studying the connection between body-image and self-esteem among adolescents have discovered that young African-American males "have a unique resilience to the 'toxic' stream of media images emphasizing the importance of personal appearance" reports CNN (via Reuters). Lucky boys! But why the discrepancy? (And can we get some of whatever they're taking? -Ed.) Dr. Eliana Miller Perrin of UNC School of Medicine, the lead researcher on the study, wonders if black male adolescents escape the fate of their lighter-skinned (and female) counterparts because images in the media don't target them, adding that it's hard to say for sure because their demographic is — no shit! — a historically understudied one. Perhaps, however, Dr. Miller Perrin should check out the clip above, which — despite its title — seems to leave little doubt about this group's abundance of self-esteem.

Body Satisfaction Reflects Self-Esteem For Most Teens [CNN]