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American Girl Teaching Homelessness for $95
The new American Girl doll is just like any girl in America – struggling with the economic downturn. In fact Gwen Thompson is homeless.
But don’t expect the average American girl to afford her.
If you want to teach your little darlings about the harsh realities of the world, you’ll have to pay $95 for the honor.
According to the official Wiki for Gwen Thompson (thanks Jezebel), the doll that hit shelves a few months ago has been carrying a secret. She’s been living at a shelter with her mom since Dad left and the family fell behind on payments on their house.
Which is a wonderful lesson to teach kids about, especially in this day and age. I’ll even go out and disagree with the New York Post columnist who started the net-wide debate over this girl’s hardscrabble life – it’s not so wrong if your child’s doll tries to “politically indoctrinate.” She thinks AG is trying to tell kids “men are bad and women are hopeless” with Gwen’s story.
I’m as glass is half empty as the next realist, but I’m willing to take feminism out of the equation just this once and allow maybe they’re just showing what life is like for a heaping helping of America’s kids?
And that’s good for the haves – to learn – and good for the have-nots too, the kids who might actually recognize themselves in the faces of a doll for once (see also Snow White and the Seven Barbies).
But I’ve got to wonder why a $95 doll is the medium chosen by toymakers to reach out toward the economically depressed. Do you they really think the homeless girls will be rushing in to scoop them up? Or are they just furthering the divide between rich and poor in this country by reminding the kids who have nothing they can’t even have ownership of their own storyline?
When your doll’s hairbrush (just $7 extra) costs almost as much as minimum wage, you’ve got to wonder who needs the lessons.
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9 Comments
[...] with their new homeless girl doll, American Girl is busy hitting new frontiers – and they’re ready to leave their Minnesota [...]
American Girl Gives Kirsten the Axe | Strollerderby commented on Oct 18 09 at 11:27 amGP commented on Sep 25 09 at 3:23 pmI am trying to find out if any of the sales actually go to help the homeless. That would be cool. Or, if they gave free dolls (maybe not this one, but another style) to homeless kids…Those are the only ways this company can really do this product and look good still.
Sharon McEachern commented on Sep 25 09 at 4:55 pmCommentsI am surprised that people are still buying Mattel toys. Mattel, the world’s largest toymaker, along with its subsidiary Fischer-Price, are responsible for huge toy recalls because of lead-tainted and lead-painted toys. Two years ago more than 2 million Mattel toys were recalled. After this unprecedented number of toy recalls in the U.S. — most from Mattel –Congress passed legislation last year setting strict mandates on lead, lead paint and phthalate levels. The law requires third-party, independent testing of all products for children 12 years old and younger.
But surprise! The federal regulator, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, SECRETLY EXEMPTED MATTEL. It was Mattel’s toys which prompted the legislation in the first place; yet,the giant toymaker got an “OUT.” Mattel does not want independent safety testing of their toys, they’re going to just test their own. Read more about Mattel at:
http://www.ethicsoup.com/2009/09/mattel-secretly-exempt-from-safety-law-toy-testing.html
Bunny commented on Sep 25 09 at 5:16 pmI think this doll kind of sucks, but the New York Post writer is loony. She thinks that mentioning a circumstance of a character’s life is “political indoctrination”? Does she realize that a Barbie doll comes with a message about what life is like, or should be like, too? That nearly everything does? Her objection isn’t to the fact that this doll has a “message” – it’s that anything remotely left-wing makes her stamp her feet and get all foamy around the mouth.
And talk about grasping at straws – she’s upset that at the AG store, they refer to the doll as “she” instead of “it”? Do you know anyone who refers to a beloved doll as “it”? Kids think of their dolls as “he” and “she,” so it’s natural that people selling to kids will as well. Just stupid.
Lucky commented on Sep 26 09 at 4:06 pmMy parents bought me one of these dolls for Christmas for years because they were what I wanted. Every doll teaches lessons about diversity and acceptance. It’s important for girls who can afford these dolls to learn that circumstances don’t dictate personality. Just as this company tried to close the race divide with the Addy doll, and the religion divide with the Rebecca doll, they are now tackling the class divide.
Globals commented on Oct 02 09 at 7:31 pmall good things
Bubbles commented on Oct 03 09 at 6:22 pmDON’T CRITISIZE THEM! ABOUT 10% OF THOSE GIRLS OUT THERE KNOW MATTEL IS BEING SUPER STUPID! PLEASANT COMPANY SHOULD HAVE KEPT THE COMPANY! THEN GIRLS WOULD BE WAY HAPPIER! THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR SHOWS AND NOT HAVE TO HAVE DOLLS “ARCHIVE”!
Rebecca commented on Oct 19 09 at 4:45 amWait, they are getting rid of interesting, traditional dolls like Kirsten and Samantha for “homeless chick” doll? What are the toys they will try and sell with her? Garbage cans and coke bottles? I don’t get it.
Elyse DiPierri commented on Jan 08 10 at 3:33 pmWe had just posted an open letter to Mattel, re: American Girl today (on them retiring Samantha) – Check it out: http://www.glamourcow.com ;)
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