Teaching History or Consumption?

Financial Times recently ran an article about American Girls' addition of a homeless American girl. When Pleasant Rowland started American Girl, her idea was to use dolls and books to teach young girls about their counterparts in American history. The story lines were created to teach about history and what girls did. The dolls and books were a reaction to Mattel’s Barbie and Rowland’s belief that Barbie did not reflect reality. Mattel needs to take a lesson from the creator of American Girl and return the toy and books to their original theme.

American Girl of Today teaches our young girls to over consume. The company emphasizes over accessorizing imitations of the "reality" we see on television and in the media. The latest attempt by Mattel in its creation of a homeless American Girl doll with accessories and the ability to spend the afternoon at the salon really takes the cake. Why can’t Mattel encourage young girls to read the books and donate the $95 cost of the doll to a homeless shelter? Why must the toy mogul push sales of a doll with accessories to teach lessons about becoming “compassionate and loving people?”


Mattel’s American Girl has become an 18 inch vinyl Barbie and has lost touch with reality and its historical routes. As a former faithful supporter of American Girl, I look to new products to teach young girls and am working diligently to make sure those types of products are available.