| American Girls? | | Print | |
| Written by Amelia Maijala | |||||||||||
 I just bought my 5-year-old daughter a 90 freakin’ dollar doll. I don’t regret it either. Please understand that I am not a mom who spends lavishly on my children. Most of our clothes come from garage sales or thrift stores. Nor am I a suburban social climber. I don’t even drive a Suburban. I have a 1997 Subaru station wagon with 170,000 miles and a slightly smashed bumper. But I bought a $90 doll for a five year old. I did so because my daughter loves being a girl in the fullest sense of the word. She can run as fast or faster than any boy in her class – but she’ll do it in a dress and fake pearls. She wants to be a veterinarian and a mom. Or a doctor and a mom. Or an artist and a mom. Or maybe a veterinarian/doctor/artist and a mom. She is easily influenced by whatever I put in front of her that day. So I won’t be putting a Bratz doll in front of her. Five year olds shouldn’t salivate over dolls who sport tight pants, bared bellies and 50 dollar hooker makeup. My daughter knows that she is beautiful just as she is: a little girl with pudgy cheeks, no waist, bruised shins and a big smile (that will need orthodontia one day). So I also won’t be putting another Barbie doll in front of her either. We have found a few at garage sales and I have never been very comfortable with my decision to cave in and let her play with them. According to research by the University Central Hospital of Helsinki, if Barbie were an actual human, she would be an anatomical freak. Her measurements would be 36-18-33 and she wouldn’t have enough body fat on her to menstruate. And I don’t even want to discuss the Disney Princesses and all of their inept fathers, dead mothers and never ending obsession with finding the right man and living happily ever after. (Yet I admit those ladies are in our house too.) I need role models, real and pretend, that help little girls appreciate being little girls. Even better if they come with mothers. Barbie and the Bratz dolls don’t seem to have any parents at all and Disney seems to kill off most of the moms before the main characters’ stories even begin. I am a real mom with a real daughter and I need all the maternal role models I can find who will help me show her what it looks like to grow up and make hard but satisfying choices about education, career, love life, friends, faith and family. Okay, yes, American culture isn’t all bad. Being female here is much easier than in, say, Saudi Arabia. This country has many wonderful things to offer her – maybe even the presidency one day. But in order to get my daughter to that point, I must make some hard choices for her and show her how to steer clear of 15 year old teen idols who nearly bare it all for Vanity Fair and “girl” magazines that stress “Four Moves to a Strong and Sexy Body” and “The Secret to Being a Great Kisser ” (Cosmo Girl Aug. 2008 edition). The editors of Cosmo Girl may argue that their magazine isn’t geared toward five year old girls, but I would argue that it shouldn’t be read by any girl who wants to believe that she is beautiful enough and worthy enough just as she is. So I found Kit the American Girl Dol. It is hard not to find Kit. Aggressive marketing of the American Girl movie and the doll have made it nearly impossible not to be aware of the spunky little girl with a big heart who helps her family survive during the Great Depression. But Kit is marketed as, and looks just like, a little girl. She is not a tarted up rock star wannabe or an airy fairy princess looking to lead an enchanted, problem-free life. Kit also has a mom who is alive and kicking and is struggling with the choices she has to make for herself and her family. The irony isn’t lost on me that this Depression-era doll which arrived at our house last week costs $90 in real money to purchase. Even her buffalo nickel costs extra. But the high cost of the doll sparked a great, real-world talk with my daughter about the value of money and the responsibility that comes with such an expensive gift. We talked about giving up a few good things to get one really great thing. After a little bit of time and a lot of thought, we mutually agreed that Kit would be a joint birthday gift from me and her dad and both sets of grandparents. My daughter decided that Kit was worth it. I agree completely.
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Comments (6)
Delphine
said:
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I'm just now looking seriously at American Girl for girl2004 and girl2006. If I buy one I really have to buy two since the little one will swipe it and there will be chaos. I'm not sure yet but that's what I'm thinking right now. Cold feet from sticker shock times two! Like you, I think it will be worth it but can't bring myself to do it. A doll is not only a play toy but a keepsake. I'm already working on their doll quilts & pillow cases but won't even buy the dolls before September!! All those summer expenses stand in the way!! lolz keep us posted if she still plays with dolly after a few weeks. |
Deanna
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I'm so conflicted. I need to share my A.G. experience. I also bought Kit and a few weeks later my older daughter had cut her hair, and all those wonderful little trinkets that accompanied the doll were scattered throughout the house. That's how the dolls roll around here: naked, all the Barbies (I caved too!) have glasses drawn around their eyes with ball-point pen, over half have their hair chopped off, looking like a character from Girl Interupted... And as a working mom, I can't spend every day guarding the dolls from this lifestyle. Plus I like that she plays hard with them. I thought her making the Barbies into four eyes was really cool! I can't entrust the babysitters with doll guarding; I've learned that they simply don't care - even after they get my "you're the TOY CURATOR" motivational speech -- because they didn't personally spend the $90 and they won't be around when the doll converts to a keepsake. I don't give that speech anymore plus I'd rather the caregivers focus on my kids' safety and not the dolls'. SO... I gave up on Kit being pristine and still broke down and bought JULIE ALBRIGHT. Hello!? Did anyone else have an out-of-box, hit-you-in-the-face-level nostalgiac overload with this??? I was instantly transported to 2nd grade at my best friend's house where they had the Albright-type mod furniture and when I saw Julie's drinking cups and pitcher, I swear I could smell the identical plastic cups from which I drank Koolaid and Tang. And did you get a load of the litle Jiffy Pop?? Good lord I could hear the back and forth sounds of Jiffy Pop being scraped against the burners and smell the inevitable burnt kernels. My best friend wore Julie's multicolor turtleneck. The macrame hat...the guaze shirt? I mean, I was reeling. For a good ten minutes I didn't know if was a 42-year-old mom of four or back in Brownies!! I handed Julie over to be loved and played with, having an internal debate about whether I should just buy one for myself; this abruptly stopped when I pictured my future self proudly displaying dolls behind glass ... The fact that I went back for more after what happened to Kit either makes American Girl the most brilliant marketers on the planet or me a sucker who still craves the endorphin rush of a new doll, that is, in addition, up to my high, grown-up aesthetic and quality standards. Both. I suppose I will find Julie naked on the steps after the rain, and all the pieces from the Julie Albright collection (like the little BICENTENIAL QUARTER!! omg!) in the bottom of our Rubbermaid toy boxes. I said, strictly, "No drawing on face, and no cutting hair!" I can hope. |
Amelia
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Deanne, While I was reading your comment, I had to laugh. I remember informing my mother that I was about to cut the hair of my all-time favorite doll. "You know that hair isn't going to grow back," she said. "Yeah...Duh," I said - in my head. Thirty years later, I still have the doll and I still like the haircut. 'Nuff said? Maybe your daughter is just putting her own personal stamp on her stuff? She sounds kinda creative to me. (I really like her glasses idea.) And yes, I would freak out too if my daughter "defaced" an expensive doll - you have a point. Now that you have set the rules on the care of the new doll, it is her job to obey them. But I also think you have a daughter who knows what she likes and doesn't give in to conventional ideas of what is attractive. Just my two cents. And worth about as much. |
Deanna
said:
| I fully agree. She is uber-creative. I suppose that's why I bought her more dolls. Barbies with glasses - you gotta love it. |
Megan
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You're so right! Don't even get me started on Brats dolls! I hate feeling like I'm playing into the hands of coportate marketing executives who want my children to think that they "can't live without" a $90 doll and it's $50 metal bed, but I still love American Girl dolls. The books are fabulous and incorporate important lessons from history which is more than I can say for Junie B. Jones or other equally loved fictional characters. Besides, my oldest daughter understands the cost of her "Nellie" and it has become a treasure to her. |
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