There are certainly more questions than answers, especially for black people who see themselves reflected in the dolls' appearance, and even more so for black children. There is little doubt that deeper issues are at play here than mere stress relief.
In a surprising turn of events, there have been numerous circulating videos that have emerged from the trend within Chinese social networks, where dolls that look like a black human baby are being mutilated, stretched, hit, boiled, burnt, stepped on, etc., in the name of stress relief.
There are certainly more questions than answers, especially for black people who can readily be identified with the appearance of the dolls, and even worse, black children. There is no doubt that there are deeper issues at play here than mere stress relief.
Today, China is ranked in the top ten of the countries with the best education systems worldwide, meaning that to a great extent, the Chinese population is educated, at least about the diversity of the human race, and fundamentally, the equality of all people and their inviolable dignity insofar as they are human persons.
Given that at least 1.5 billion black people globally share this appearance, inflicting cruelty on their replicas is a powerful expression of suppressed animosity. The mass production, wide circulation, and the courageous public sharing and re-sharing of mutilated dolls on social media make this intentionality unmistakable.
The intention here is not a ragebaiting generalisation; it is rather to expose a genuine structural and cultural problem, given the participation and approval of such acts by thousands of people within the same ethno-cultural group.
Considering that such toys are replicas of human babies, regardless of colour or race, it does not appeal to any good conscience that, as vulnerable as human babies are, they can be treated that way.
This trend evidences a dangerous state of mind in society where people think that torturing human babies is a stress relief. According to reports by international media, there has also been a trend of videos of actual torture and abuse of children in some African countries by nationals of the said country, which have leaked onto the global social media platforms. It is hurting to see children being treated that way. There are probably worse things happening in the same trend as fans of cruelty, or “sadists,” can hardly have limits.
Notwithstanding, race/racism cannot be ruled out of the discussion. Quoted in the BBC was an opinion that: “The black Natasha doll can be treated that way because it does not look like a human baby, as normal babies are not like that.” This provides a perspective beyond the doll, revealing what the said people think about black people.
What can be the worst thing to happen than when young people’s sense of compassion dies and is replaced by cruelty? As young people spend more time on the internet, we cannot pretend that such exposure does not in any way impact their values, and most importantly, their deeper sense of being human. There is already too much violence and cruelty in the world; we must work to end these new shoots.
Scientifically, there is no consensus that human-like fidget toys for stress relief have any actual positive impact on the well-being or coping with stress or frustration of those who use them. There would be better solutions than such a borderline sensational, hurting and divisive trend. So far, black people have already had a fair share of global cruelty spanning from the slavery years, the current political wars, and discrimination in many parts of the world; it is not a good thing to see a replica of us being tortured, boiled, smacked, stretched, etc.
For young Africans today, especially as many see the dream of success beyond home borders or the African continent, it is important to be aware of how the world out there is being oriented to regard you. The best aspiration is that our countries fix the problems so that young people do not need to sacrifice living where they are not respected or treated with dignity just to make a living. We can only say we are developed when our people migrate out of freedom, and not out of desperation.
To end with, it is delusional to deny that racism exists. It is also naïve to avoid speaking against it and demanding to be treated with dignity. Our education systems ought to anticipate these global circumstances in good time, as young people are prepared for the competitive global stage alongside their peers from all over the world.
Shimbo Pastory is an advocate for positive social transformation and a student at the Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.
