YOUR FAVORITE MTV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

These Queens Of Africa Dolls Are Outselling Barbie In Nigeria

If there's one thing we learned last year from Lammilly "The Normal Barbie," it's that the world is ready for more alternative beauty ideals in their dolls. In Nigeria, one parent has discovered that and come up with a solution on his own. Taofick Okaya was specifically dismayed by the lack of variation for dolls of color. So, he decided to create a line of dolls his daughter would better identify with.

Okoya's Queens of Africa dolls come in a wide range of skin tones, hair styles, and eye colors, and the traditional garments of the women of the Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa tribes of Nigeria are represented.

Slice By Cake

queens-of-africa-dolls

“What is really frustrating is the generalization that Africans all have to look a certain way or be a certain color. That is stereotyping," Okoya recently told ELLE. "There are slim Africans, plus-size Africans, dark Africans, fair skinned Africans, flat-nose Africans, and pointed-nose Africans. The responsibility to represent Africa in a doll or product is not an easy task. Our diversity is one of our greatest attributes.”

Best of all, aside from the affordable price tag (the dolls range from $6.75 to $18.18), is the news that Okoya's dolls are currently outselling Mattel dolls in Nigeria.

Currently, they're completely sold out at one online carrier, Slice By C.A.K.E., but if you're interested, you should probably bookmark the page because, as the site notes, the dolls get restocked every few weeks.

Latest News