I appreciate a company that strives to teach girls about what it means to have integrity, character, compassion, and courage. For that reason, I appreciate you. Nonetheless, as the mother of three little girls ages six, seven, and eight, I find myself disappointed with other messages your might be – inadvertently – teaching young girls.
We were introduced to your company through the Samantha movie. We enjoyed it so much that we went looking for the books and soon we were hooked. Your books are welcomed guests in our home. Our favorite ones are the stories based on historical characters, they have encouraged conversations with my oldest daughter about slavery, child labor, or the Great Depression. As we make our way through the Josefina books, I find my daughter enjoying stories of a culture that is part of her heritage since I’m originally from Mexico. So for Christmas, she hopes to get a Josefina doll.
You can imagine that when the new Saige movie came out, we were excited to enjoy another great story from American Girl. And Saige is starting 4th grade, which means she is around nine years old, just a year older than my American Girl fan. Yet quickly we realized that Saige doesn’t look like any 4th grader we know.
Saige’s outfits are beautiful, perfectly coordinated with accessories, hairstyle, and a lot of makeup. Did she attend a prestigious private school for gifted children that come from wealthy families? Because not only are her looks unlike any other 4th grader I have seen, Saige has the talent of an artist genius. Her friends, who prefer music over art, are also talented beyond what a typical 4th grader is able to accomplish vocally or musically.
As if girls didn’t have enough influence from the media telling them to grow up and look a certain way. I was sad that the American Girl movie encouraged the same messages.
Shortly after watching Saige, we visited Minnesota and decided to stop by your store at the Mall of America. I didn’t realize before walking in the store that American Girl had created its own culture. I am not saying there is anything wrong with getting a profit out of your business, and I know your products’ quality is such that someday my daughter might pass on her dolls to her granddaughters.
I have to be honest with you, because as an adoptive mom, and having been inside a Ukrainian orphanage, having seen homeless girls in Mexico, and knowing of people living in poverty barely managing to survive, I was disgusted with the glamor surrounding… the dolls. Outfits, accessories, restaurants, even a hair salon for dolls! If only my daughter would have had the life of your dolls the first four years of her life.
So I visited your website because I thought surely although the cost is high, you are using the money for good, and devoting your resources and influence to make a difference in the lives of young girls around the world. I was sure you support organizations that strive to clothe homeless girls, provide scholarships for girls that otherwise could never afford an education, sponsor events where at risk girls can come and find a place of refuge, where they can be mentored and encouraged in their gifts and talents. But I couldn’t find information that showed me how you are making a difference outside of selling your products and providing employment.
At American Girl, we celebrate girls and all that they can be. That’s why we develop products and experiences that help girls grow up in a wholesome way, while encouraging them to enjoy girlhood through fun and enchanting play.
The thing is, your products are expensive. I know the quality is top notch, but I hope you realize that only so many parents can afford your dolls for their children. Or maybe, like me, other parents are wondering if the prize of the doll is not only too high when it comes to cost, but also in how it encourages a lifestyle and culture that focuses too much on the outside, rather than on the values and qualities that really matter in life. The values and qualities that your historical book characters tried to exemplify.
American Girl company, I want to support your idea of “girlhood,” yet you need to embrace it too. I find through your recent movies and storylines that the characters are not regular little girls, but privileged girls that dress and act much older than they are. I don’t want my little girls to grow up faster than they need to. I want them to enjoy their childhood, yes, their girlhood.
Teach girls they don’t have to be extraordinary, they simply have to be willing to do their part. Show them that 4th grade girls wear a t-shirts, shorts, tennis shoes, and their hair is pulled back in messy ponytails. Be real. You have an audience of young girls that are easily influenced by the media, so show them how to shine in their own skin, not based on their looks or what they can or cannot do, but simply in who they are. And they are beautiful.
***
Edited to add: I did hear back from American Girl company, I was impressed with their prompt response after sending them a link to this post via twitter; they sent a link to the charities and organizations they support. It made me hopeful, but they do not make clear what is their monetary involvement, or simply donation of their products or volunteers. Check out their charities.
Now if they could change their message to young girls and their culture of “have.” American Girl stepped away from portraying typical American girls. Let’s show that an ordinary girl, with ordinary talents, can accomplish extraordinary things by living a life of selflessness, kindness, generosity, and a willing heart.
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So glad you heard back from them 🙂 And for the record, I can’t stand toys that the average joe can’t afford!
They need to make that information easy to find on their website, the navigation is confusing. Once they sent me the link, I realized where I needed to go to find it, so they need to work on that. Some of the orgs they support, they encourage their employees to volunteer, which is great, but it makes me wonder how much they are actually involved. Loved to see Special Olympics there. All that said, they are still toys for kids that have money or parents that make the sacrifice to get the “status” toy. I am still disappointed with the movies, the portrayal of girls, and the message they send. And still bothered by the “rich girl” culture, yes, their audience is not the average girl.
Ellen,
Is this a level of social consciousness you look for in ALL toys for all your kids? Because it’s really not something that it would have ever occurred to me to consider when selecting a birthday gift for my kid. Where and for what causes the employees are encouraged to volunteer with is, well, if I was to list 1,000 things to consider when buying a toy, it wouldn’t’ve made the list.
Because it’s, um, curious that you chose to buy your kid a beautiful, super-duper expensive doll only to be horrified by the super-duper expensive doll clothes, doll hairdressers, etc?
It’s terrible that your adopted daughter didn’t get her hair brushed in a grim orphanage — but also 100% unrelated to the fact that American Girl Stores offers expensive hairdos for dolls in the in-store doll salon.
I don’t know about you, but I never wanted an “ordinary” doll that wore ordinary clothes and lived an ordinary life — because I was an ordinary girl, wearing ordinary clothes living an ordinary life. It was way more fun to play with escapist toys — to be a Princess or a firefighter or a fairy.
You’re not obligated to buy your kids American Girl dolls. There are a million other doll companies out there!
And, if you feel so strongly about the “plight” of disabled orphans abroad, why not skip the $100+ doll and make a donation to an orphan-focused charity instead?
Sandra,
I looked into AG because they do a great job to get their mission statement out there and known. I guess I am the type of person that when I notice a discrepancy, I look into it, maybe it is a personality thing.
No, I have not bought an American Girl doll at full prize, we bought one used. So it was not super-duper expensive, but rather the same cost as a doll you would buy a Walmart 🙂
Like I said in this post, our first exposure to American Girl were the original books and stories, these centered around pretty average/typical girls from the past. That is the reason why the movie Sage was shocking. These are girls that are supposed to be the same age as my oldest…really? I believe that powerful stories, stories worth telling, stories that stay with you, are stories that we can relate to.
Yes, I do believe that girls don’t have to be extraordinary, they simply have to be willing to do their part. I believe in real. I believe that girls can shine in their own skin, not based on their looks or what they can or cannot do, but simply in who they are. And they are beautiful.
And you are right, watching a doll get her hair done at the AG store really has nothing to do with orphans or adoption. AG is a business, and a very successful one. But for me, as an adoptive mother, having seen so many kids in my daughter’s orphanage with so little, almost starving, I don’t think I will ever be able to not think about those faces while I watch the dolls get treated to a spa. So perhaps it is more about life experiences? Perhaps you don’t have my life experiences, so these are not thoughts that crossed your mind. But they do mine, because of what I have seen, heard, and smelled.
And yes, we do help families that are in the process of adoption, we’ve been there, so we know how hard it is to raise money for adoption. We also try to continue to be a support as the families arrive home and try to include a new member in their family. It can be brutal, but so worth it!
I’m impressed with your calm letter. I’ve thought many times of talking about AG or writing to them and stop myself b/c my brain implodes. The elitism and waste in their AG brand stores is stunning. I’ve taken the kids there a couple times and spend my visit cringing, then laughing with a friend over how we don’t even spend that much money on our own clothing, let alone for a doll.
My sister and I were walking around the store together, while pushing my daughter in her wheelchair (the one we adopted). We kept saying things like, “Wouldn’t it have been nice if Nina could have had a real winter outfit like that one on the doll.” Or, “Wouldn’t it have been nice if Nina would have had the assurance of a daily meal like those dolls over at the restaurant” The “hair salon” just about made me laugh out loud. Really? And people pay big money to get their doll’s hair done! Once more, we said, “Wouldn’t it had been nice if someone would have combed Nina’s hair at the orphanage!” Instead, her hair was cut short, short, short so as not to bother with combing or lice.
A few years ago, there was a company selling dolls called The Life of Faith Dolls. They were dolls that even came with a Bible. They sold books to go with them also. We have the Elsie Dinsmore doll, and my daughter loves her. They are well made and the clothing is extremely well made. Of course, it is expensive like AG. And the bad thing is that they are out of business, but you can see find them on Ebay.
http://www.babydollbemine.com/lifeoffaith.htm
So there are alternatives if you search.
🙂
I will check them out, thanks!
I’m so glad you wrote this. I always wanted an AG growing up and didn’t have one. (I had a wonderful childhood and somehow survived without one!) When I had a daughter, I was excited to someday get a doll for her, but now I’m totally turned off by the extreme luxury of the AG empire. It’s really a disappointment to me, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get her a doll because of it.
We’re adopting a toddler with a minor-moderate special need from China right now, and I feel similarly to what you described – those dolls are getting better treatment than my future daughter. I don’t feel like that’s okay, and I’m not crazy about the idea of teaching an entire generation of little girls that that’s how life should be.
I have gotten (to store away for a while) several Hearts 4 Hearts dolls for my girls. They’re beautiful and diverse, and part of the proceeds of every doll goes to World Vision. They’re available everywhere – Target, etc. They’re pretty reasonably priced and each girl is working together with her family to help someone in need.
Megan, thank you, I will have to check those dolls out! I think I have seen them before and I thought they were really cute. If I remember correct, there was even one from Mexico!
AG was not always like that. I remember when I got my first AG doll, a bitty baby that was passed down from my grandma’s neighbor’s daughter. I loved her. Three years later I got my first “real” AG doll. Her name was Marisol, she was of Mexican heritage and she lived in an apartment building in a lower class neighborhood. Her passion was dancing, but she certainly wasn’t perfect. In her book, she even states that even though she loved ballet, it was not as easy for her as flamenco was. She was a real girl, not just some overpriviledged genius.
Now, keep in mind, this was atleast seven years ago if not more. I am a high schooler now, but we still end up bombarded with their magazines and I am saddened by the change. AG now seems like a bunch of oversize barbies.
Sadly, it is a business, and the dollars determine the direction they go.
Hey there! I love what you have to say about AG. While I have one, (well over 10 years old now) I now much prefer the ones you can buy in regular stores. I bought one recently for my business (I make doll clothes for AG and Barbie) from Walmart! She’s an 18 inch doll from the Madame Alexander company and they run 30 dollars with each outfit being about 10 dollars! I much prefer these beautiful dolls with real girl clothes and a real person price. Thank you for your beautiful blog and your wise words about this company!
We bought Molly and Kirsten for our 2 oldest daughters about 20 years ago when AG was rather new. There were only 6 at the time. They were expensive, but kept my daughters playing with dolls a bit longer. I made them each an outfit, that Christmas, and a few more…I don’t even think the patterns were out then…and they never had anything else from AG company. Later bought a used one from eBay for a younger daughter, and a bitty baby. S disappointed to read of where the company is going. Did I hear correctly that they were bought out by Mattel? Thanks for writing this.
Yes, they were. I think that is what changed the company.