Implications of a homeless "American Girl"

There is controversy brewing over the newest American Girl doll.  Meant to be historically accurate and educational, the company (part of Mattel Co.) has produced a string of dolls covering many eras and walks of life.  We have colonial, Civil War-era and pioneer girls.  They've included dolls that are relatable to girls of many races and nationalities including Hispanic, Native American and African American girls.  And now added to the collection: A homeless girl?

I should mention that typically I am in favor of the series as a concept.  I have worked closely with one of its authors who was a wonderful woman with nothing but the sweetest heart and the best of intentions.  The million-dollar franchise, formed in 1986, has proven to be extremely relatable to young girls and each little girl’s story is scripted to represent a certain time period in history to give its readers a history lesson.

So here’s the new character’s story and why I felt that I could write about this as an Unemployment Examiner: Gwen’s father left her family, her mother lost her job and they have been forced to live in their car as they try to make ends meet.  While a depression-era doll has been successful for the company, in the current economic recession I have to ask—Is this in bad taste?

The circumstances of this little girl may be relatable to children whose families are going through tough times.  But homelessness, while something children should be aware of and sensitive towards, isn’t something that they, especially at such a young age, should be worried about for their own families.  I can hear a lot of “Is that going to happen to us?”’s in the future.

The kicker is that chances are that the children who have these dolls in the first place are, on a broad scale, likely not in dire straights.  Still, many people are and these $95 toys are expensive enough to begin without the added expenses to maintain them.

That’s right: $95.  If you want to add a hairbrush, it’s $102.  If you buy her with her companion friend and books, it’s $175.  The company makes a plethora of accompanying books, clothing, stories, accessories and toy furniture for each individual character. 

The American Girl plaza in Manhattan has a doll hospital, a salon and anything else you can think of that will cause you to have to spend every little extra dollar on a doll.   Because once you already bought the $95 doll, what’s another $20 for a doll haircut, right? …Right?

You can’t brush homelessness’ hair, so do children really need a $95 lesson to prove the sorrows of this girl’s life when there are real-life examples all around them?   An April 2009 report by Coalition for the Homeless found that “currently more than 36,000 homeless New Yorkers, including 15,500 children, sleep each night in municipal shelters.”  So when your kids beg you to buy this doll for them and you think for just a second that this may be a great way to teach your child a lesson, just take them for a walk through the city or bring them to a soup kitchen and they’ll see how real it truly is.  Then donate that $95 to someone who really needs it.

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