International Doll Salon, Moscow, Russia

Black dolls have been designed to resemble dark-skinned persons varying from stereotypical to more accurate portrayals. Rag dolls made by American slaves served as playthings for slave children. Golliwogg was a children's book rag doll character in the late 19th century which was widely reproduced as a toy. The doll has very black skin, eyes rimmed in white, clown lips, and frizzy hair, and has been described as an anti-black caricature. Early mass-produced black dolls were typically dark versions of their white counterparts. The earliest American black dolls with realistic African facial features were made in the 1960s.
Fashion dolls are primarily designed to be dressed to reflect fashion trends and are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women. The earliest fashion dolls were French bisque dolls from the mid-19th century. Contemporary fashion dolls are typically made of vinyl. Barbie from the American toy company Mattel dominated the market from her inception in 1959. Bratz was the first doll to challenge Barbie's dominance, reaching forty percent of the market in 2006.
Plastic action figures, often representing superheroes, are particularly popular among boys. Fashion dolls and action figures are often part of a media franchise which may include films, TV, video games and other related merchandise. Bobblehead dolls are collectible plastic dolls with heads connected to the body by a spring or hook in such a way that the head bobbles. They often portray baseball players or other athletes.
With the introduction of computers and the Internet, virtual and online dolls appeared. These are often similar to traditional paper dolls and enable users to design virtual dolls and drag and drop clothes onto dolls or images of actual people to play dress up. These include KiSS, Stardoll and Dollz.