Toys for boys are often restricted to trucks and action figures, until now.
Thanks to graduate college student Jennifer Pierre, boys now have Melanites, the first line of boy dolls of color with multicultural backgrounds. Pierre’s company, which hopes to launch from Kickstarter funds, will provide pieces that create positive reinforcement for boys who play with dolls without societal bias. Pierre says she created the line to “bring social awareness to boys of color and allow a feeling of empowerment.”
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“I created Melanites to intercept the glass ceiling placed on young boys’ mind about what they can be when they grow up and how they are supposed to express themselves without the pressures of hyper-masculinity,” writes Pierre.
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The full line of Melanites dolls comes in four characters: Jaylen (the thinker), Aiden (the doer), Sid (the mkaer) and Marquis (the performer) each have a range of skin tones, hair types and facial features. They’re four completely cool toys that every little boy should have.
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