Husband Getting Props After Creating Custom Dark-Skinned Barbie for Wife
Marcus and Lisette Titre-Montgomery have been married for two years and are both game developers. (Photo: Facebook/Lisette Titre-Montgomery)
A man in Oakland, California scored some serious points with his game-developer wife when he gave her a customized gift for her birthday.
Marcus Montgomery, also a game developer, was all set to buy his wife Lisette Titre-Montgomery the new Game Developer Barbie when she vetoed the idea. The problem? The Montgomeries are African American, and although the doll was decked out in the right outfit, it wasn’t available in a dark skin tone.
The original doll. (Photo: Facebook/MarcusMontgomery)
That’s when her adoring husband decided to get creative. He bought a Fashionista Barbie with a darker skin color and performed some handiwork on the doll, swapping its outfit with that of the Game Developer Barbie before carefully putting it back in its packaging and gifting it to his unsuspecting wife.
The Fashionista doll. (Photo: Facebook/MarcusMontgomery)
“I love my husband because he’s thoughtful and generous,” Lisette told ABC News. “The thought of him struggling to put those tiny clothes on that little Barbie with those big hands cracks me up. It makes me love the gift even more.”
He posted the final product on his Facebook page, writing, “As many of you know, my wife is a hard working game developer. And when she heard there was a Game Developer Barbie out she went to buy one. They only came in one skin tone. So she didn’t buy one.
I fixed the problem.
#wearegamedevs
#husbandpoints
#diversityingames“
Montgomery’s final doll. (Photo: Facebook/MarcusMontgomery)
The internet is praising Marcus Montgomery’s quick-thinking gesture, but he feels it’s just par for the course. “My ultimate goal was to make my wife smile. It was her birthday,” he said. "She works hard and, like all of us, she feels unrecognized at times.”
Marcus even launched a website, We Are Game Devs, to highlight diversity in the game-developing community. "I think it’s important to see faces that you might not normally see and hopefully find some inspiration from them,” he told ABC News.
Still, he doesn’t have any ill feelings toward Mattel, which manufacturers Barbie. On the contrary, he’s impressed that the toy company decided to recognize the couple’s field. “To Mattel’s credit, they’re doing exceptional work in the fact that Game Developer Barbie was considered career of the year. It’s amazing to me,” he said. “The campaign is an inspiration to young girls.”
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