An excellent article Llana. I actually loathe Barbie dolls, for all the reasons you have covered. I read recently about dolls that came in wheelchairs, one that had Down Syndrome, and I did think it was a step in the right direction.

One of my close colleagues is from the Philippines, and she grew up thinking that she had to stay out of the sun to keep her skin fair. She was absolutely beautiful, having Spanish, German, and Asian genes.

Like you, my background is Celtic, so fair skin, fortunately sans freckles, prevails.

Lovely to meet you.