Barbie is still one of little girls’ favorite toys today. The typical Barbie has long, blond hair, a slim figure (upper body in proportion to the lower body), long, model-like neck and legs to match. As a child, I had plenty of Barbie dolls to choose from, most of them resembled the “typical” Barbie. At that time, the black Barbie was rare and if you owned one, it looked like a dark-skinned original Barbie. The girls who did play with Barbies imitated the dolls in themselves; talking and dressing like her. It is interesting to see that women today, more commonly African American women, are now imitating this iconic doll. The question is: Is it healthy for black culture to attempt to mimic something that most of us cannot relate to?

According to 26-year-old Jerry LaVigne Jr., a popular face on YouTube, there is no purpose in marriage. He believes marriage is not beneficial; it’s just a title and legal way to say you are committed to a person who you were committed to before marriage. Along with the title of being husband and wife, you are now obligated to that person not just mentally and physically but financially also. LaVigne feels that getting married is not a way for a person to love you more because most of the time you have proven your love to that person before marriage. If a couple was having trust issues or any other problems in their relationship, it will not get better if you marry that person, so why marry?

Brandon Avery Smith is the creator of what he calls Kingdom Tones. Only 21 years old, Smith is a very confident up-and-coming musician who hopes that his music will impact the world for the better. He has opened for renowned gospel artists like Fred Hammond, Vicki Winans, Tina Campbell (from Mary Mary) and Michelle Williams, and was on the Jesus Rock tour with Tye Tribbett and 21:03.

From the way we talk to the way we dress, we have been influenced by celebrities, the youth especially. Celebrities have made a huge impact on culture and lifestyles that people live today. Today the most popular and followed genres of entertainment would be hip-hop, pop and sports culture. Constantly we hear about the good but mostly bad choices many athletes, rappers, singers and actors have made. These choices that they make not only affect themselves and their families but the youth that looks up to them.

The 1950’s traditions of women taking the full time job of staying at home to bear the children, cook, and clean the house is no longer established in this day in age. Many women are not depending on a man to support them. The trend of getting a college degree and successfully taking on elite careers has increased over the years, especially in terms of African American women. Even though all of these women have the prosperous life, the majority of them are not sharing the wealth with a family.