The Natasha Doll Controversy, Explained: Has It Crossed Into Real-World Abuse?

A new controversy has surfaced on our feeds. The Natasha doll trend revolves around a baby-shaped squeeze or stress-relief toy that some users, particularly on Chinese social media platforms, film themselves squeezing, slapping, stretching and roughly handling. What makes this so disturbing is that the doll is often dark-skinned, resembling an innocent Black baby. Okayafrica was one of the first platforms to unearth Natasha, showcasing content creators violently manipulating the doll, often to the point of destroying the toy. Even more troubling, video footage highlighted by the outlet suggested that similar abusive behavior may be occurring with real children in...