New Doll Called Super Beauty Aims to Boost African-American Kids’ Self Esteem
By Lizzie Stokes, Staff Writer
August 8, 2018 11:26am
Artist Tiffany Joyce Wider, known as TiffanyJ, displays her Super Beauty book and doll at the 109th National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Convention in San Antonio, Texas. TiffanyJ and her Super Beauty doll were at the convetion to cheer on her local team at the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO). Photo: Tom Reel /Staff Photographer / 2017 SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Photo: Tom Reel /Staff Photographer
Tiffany Joyce Wider was hosting her annual all-girl summer camp in Columbia, South Carolina when one of the campers dubbed her “Super Beauty,” because she had the power to make others feel good about themselves.
As an artist based in South Carolina, that nickname sparked an idea in Wider’s head. Wider, who markets herself as TiffanyJ, imagined a young black super-girl named “Super Beauty,” who could crusade against bullies and inspire self-confidence in others. Super Beauty could be a champion for TiffanyJ’s campers, a group of predominantly African-American girls who often struggle with body-image issues.
Eventually, that character would star in “Super Beauty Saves the Day,” a children’s book released in March written and designed by TiffanyJ about a young black superhero who defeats bullies with acceptance and love. Super Beauty is now coming to life in doll form with the September release of the Super Beauty Doll. The doll can pre-ordered online for $24.99 at iamsuperbeauty.com.
A doe-eyed plush toy modeled after the book’s character, the doll is loaded with 21 encouraging phrases meant to boost self-esteem in young girls. Super Beauty is made in TiffanyJ’s likeness, with black skin, brown eyes and a natural hair puff simular to the one once rocked by the artist. The doll has a spunky superhero outfit with a pink bow to match.
“Sometimes, our little girls get confused because they automatically think black skin is less valuable,” TiffanyJ said. “A lot of time when little girls have natural hair, they feel like they have to have straight hair, or the pretty pig tails … But it’s O.K. to rock a natural puff,” she said.
The doll doesn’t have Barbie-like proportions. It’s plush and short, and the toy’s looks are meant to feel attainable, TiffanyJ said. And though she intends for Super Beauty to be a self-esteem booster for both boys and girls of all races, the doll joins a team of other diverse toy lines devoted to accurately representing young black girls.
Barbie and American Girl have expanded their traditional lines to include a more diverse range of skin tones and colors. In 2016, American Girl added to its popular 10-doll historical collection Melody Ellison, the second black historical character currently on sale.
And Barbie, which first introduced an official black doll in 1980, released a new “Barbie Fashionista Collection” in 2016 that offers dolls in seven different skin tones, four different body types and 24 different hair styles.
“The variety in body type, skin tones and style allows girls to find a doll that speaks to them,” said Evelyn Mazzocco, the senior vice president and global general manager of Mattel’s Barbie, in a statement.
And smaller companies, like Positively Perfect Dolls and The One World Doll Project’s Prettie Girls!, are also contributing to the diverse toy market. Both companies were founded in 2010 offer a range of dolls with a variety of different African-American skin tones and hair styles.
When compared to the other racially diverse dolls on the market, TiffanyJ believes that Super Beauty stands out for its timely focus on self-esteem. After spending time with the young girls she mentors in Columbia, she found they all wrestled with bullying, self-doubt and body image.
And though TiffanyJ did not experience bullying when she was growing up, she did struggle with self-image issues and severe depression. At 12 years old, she attempted suicide.
And though her story is an extreme case, self-esteem issues remain a consistent problem among young girls. According to the 2017 Dove Global Girls Beauty and Confidence Report, over half of the 5,165 girls surveyed reported not having high body esteem.
A survey released last year by the National Center for Education Statistics almost 23 percent of female students from ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school in 2015. In the same study, black children overall reported one of the highest rates of bullying among the different races at almost 25 percent.
Both bullying and self-esteem are confronted by Super Beauty’s book and doll. “A pep talk is just a squeeze away,” TiffanyJ said. One squeeze and the Super Beauty Doll is easing doubts (“Your skin color is amazing. Your hair is flawless.”) and rallying against bullies (“When people make fun of you, it’s OK. They just don’t understand your greatness and power.”)
“I’m kind of envious of little girls now,” said Jordan Maney, the 27-year-old founder of KeepHer, a San Antonio advocacy organization for women of color. She remembers what it was like being a young black girl in a toy store almost three decades ago.
“Growing up, finding the option that looked like me, the dolls that had hair texture like me, was extremely limited,” she said. Having dolls like Super Beauty can affirm young black girls’ experiences, Maney said. “I think having dolls is really good for black girls to see and celebrate themselves, to feel empowered. But also, for other children to realize its OK — it’s beautiful, too.”
TiffanyJ said her Super Beauty brand is “a short-term pregnancy that’s already birthing its purpose.” She wants to continue to help girls see themselves as they really are on all platforms, because that is Super Beauty’s true purpose. “I just want girls to start at an earlier age telling themselves that they are beautiful,” she said.
August 8, 2018 11:26am
Artist Tiffany Joyce Wider, known as TiffanyJ, displays her Super Beauty book and doll at the 109th National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Convention in San Antonio, Texas. TiffanyJ and her Super Beauty doll were at the convetion to cheer on her local team at the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO). Photo: Tom Reel /Staff Photographer / 2017 SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Photo: Tom Reel /Staff Photographer
Tiffany Joyce Wider was hosting her annual all-girl summer camp in Columbia, South Carolina when one of the campers dubbed her “Super Beauty,” because she had the power to make others feel good about themselves.
As an artist based in South Carolina, that nickname sparked an idea in Wider’s head. Wider, who markets herself as TiffanyJ, imagined a young black super-girl named “Super Beauty,” who could crusade against bullies and inspire self-confidence in others. Super Beauty could be a champion for TiffanyJ’s campers, a group of predominantly African-American girls who often struggle with body-image issues.
Eventually, that character would star in “Super Beauty Saves the Day,” a children’s book released in March written and designed by TiffanyJ about a young black superhero who defeats bullies with acceptance and love. Super Beauty is now coming to life in doll form with the September release of the Super Beauty Doll. The doll can pre-ordered online for $24.99 at iamsuperbeauty.com.
A doe-eyed plush toy modeled after the book’s character, the doll is loaded with 21 encouraging phrases meant to boost self-esteem in young girls. Super Beauty is made in TiffanyJ’s likeness, with black skin, brown eyes and a natural hair puff simular to the one once rocked by the artist. The doll has a spunky superhero outfit with a pink bow to match.
“Sometimes, our little girls get confused because they automatically think black skin is less valuable,” TiffanyJ said. “A lot of time when little girls have natural hair, they feel like they have to have straight hair, or the pretty pig tails … But it’s O.K. to rock a natural puff,” she said.
The doll doesn’t have Barbie-like proportions. It’s plush and short, and the toy’s looks are meant to feel attainable, TiffanyJ said. And though she intends for Super Beauty to be a self-esteem booster for both boys and girls of all races, the doll joins a team of other diverse toy lines devoted to accurately representing young black girls.
Barbie and American Girl have expanded their traditional lines to include a more diverse range of skin tones and colors. In 2016, American Girl added to its popular 10-doll historical collection Melody Ellison, the second black historical character currently on sale.
And Barbie, which first introduced an official black doll in 1980, released a new “Barbie Fashionista Collection” in 2016 that offers dolls in seven different skin tones, four different body types and 24 different hair styles.
“The variety in body type, skin tones and style allows girls to find a doll that speaks to them,” said Evelyn Mazzocco, the senior vice president and global general manager of Mattel’s Barbie, in a statement.
And smaller companies, like Positively Perfect Dolls and The One World Doll Project’s Prettie Girls!, are also contributing to the diverse toy market. Both companies were founded in 2010 offer a range of dolls with a variety of different African-American skin tones and hair styles.
When compared to the other racially diverse dolls on the market, TiffanyJ believes that Super Beauty stands out for its timely focus on self-esteem. After spending time with the young girls she mentors in Columbia, she found they all wrestled with bullying, self-doubt and body image.
And though TiffanyJ did not experience bullying when she was growing up, she did struggle with self-image issues and severe depression. At 12 years old, she attempted suicide.
And though her story is an extreme case, self-esteem issues remain a consistent problem among young girls. According to the 2017 Dove Global Girls Beauty and Confidence Report, over half of the 5,165 girls surveyed reported not having high body esteem.
A survey released last year by the National Center for Education Statistics almost 23 percent of female students from ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school in 2015. In the same study, black children overall reported one of the highest rates of bullying among the different races at almost 25 percent.
Both bullying and self-esteem are confronted by Super Beauty’s book and doll. “A pep talk is just a squeeze away,” TiffanyJ said. One squeeze and the Super Beauty Doll is easing doubts (“Your skin color is amazing. Your hair is flawless.”) and rallying against bullies (“When people make fun of you, it’s OK. They just don’t understand your greatness and power.”)
“I’m kind of envious of little girls now,” said Jordan Maney, the 27-year-old founder of KeepHer, a San Antonio advocacy organization for women of color. She remembers what it was like being a young black girl in a toy store almost three decades ago.
“Growing up, finding the option that looked like me, the dolls that had hair texture like me, was extremely limited,” she said. Having dolls like Super Beauty can affirm young black girls’ experiences, Maney said. “I think having dolls is really good for black girls to see and celebrate themselves, to feel empowered. But also, for other children to realize its OK — it’s beautiful, too.”
TiffanyJ said her Super Beauty brand is “a short-term pregnancy that’s already birthing its purpose.” She wants to continue to help girls see themselves as they really are on all platforms, because that is Super Beauty’s true purpose. “I just want girls to start at an earlier age telling themselves that they are beautiful,” she said.
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