Pleasant Rowland developed American Girl dolls to teach children about history. The dolls each had a name and a story, and each had a series of books that pout children into a different era of history so they could see it through the eyes of a concrete character about their age. Even then, few could afford the dolls, but the books brought history alive for many kids. Gradually, people became aware that the American Dolls were a way to get a doll that looked like their daughter, and for some, that became more important than the historical stories.
Then Mattel bought the company. The lineup of dolls expanded, became more diverse, and the prices rose. Certain decisions by the company made people angry. The most recent change might infer that the company has completely abandoned the original purpose of teaching history to children. Weird History takes us through the history of American Girl dolls and why are they way they are today.
Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Why American Girl Dolls Are So Controversial
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1 comment:
Really enjoyed this. You go girls! I remember how expensive they were and then along comes Mattel to make it even worse. Blechh. But. These days, no matter how hard you try, how good your intentions are, you're pretty much doomed to a certain level of failure because you will never please eveybody, and there's plenty of twits to prove this.
Not American Girl's job to put dolls into the hands of the homeless or oppressed. But into a family trying to teach their children meaningful history? Totally different. It's not immediate, but it's one way to effect positive change in the future and that's how things really work.
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