American Girl Doll Gwen

LucsMama · Senior Member

American Girl Doll Gwen

muffy · Guru

OK - these people apparently dont know JACK SHIT about the american girl concept...

Chrissa is the 2009 doll of the year - she will disappear on December 31. there has been an ongoing theme about her and her life all year - her friends etc.

gwen, is her friend - a minor character brought in at the end.

the focus of this story is about Chrissa and how she is always striving to be a better person (all dolls run along these kinda storylines... being a better person)

the storyline is that Chrissa befriends this girl when noone else will.

The lesson of this is to befriend those who don't seem to have many friends and to accept them if they are different. not to be the bitchy/cliquey "mean girl" type of girl.

YES American Girl dolls are somewhat geared towards people who have a bit of money to spend.

OF COURSE a homeless person is not going to have the means to buy this doll.

but thats not the point! the point is that all girls should be kind and should reach out and be friends with ALL different kinds of girls - even those who are not outgoing at school, who are homeless, who are handicapped, etc. etc. in a way i think they are telling kids not to look down on other children just because they are sad or having a hard time.

the reality is that in pretty much every classroom, in these trying times, there are children in a bad place whose parents lost their jobs and cant buy them nice clothes and toys at the moment to people how have been hit real hard and even lost their home - the message is that all children, even those struggling in these hard times, are good kids and worthy of befriending and helping.

duh!

CheleLyn · Senior Member

I haven't read the other ersponses yet.

Personally, I don't think it's huge deal. Aren't AG dolls supposed to represent girls from different periods and classes throught American history? Why NOT represent a homeless girl...how is it different from the doll representing Nellie--the poor servant girl who moves in to work next door to Samantha? Is it because Nellie's story took place at the turn of the 20th century? Nellie's story isn't really much different IMO than Gwen's except that Gwen's story is relevent NOW.

(BTW...Samantha's books are my FAVORITE smile

)

Cuppycake · Guru

I think the offensive part is supposedly because someone who is homeless would never be able to buy the AG that they identify with. But I think people are missing the point... There are lots of things that I don't ever really want to have to discuss with Hannah, but that I have to... things like slavery and homelessness are on that list. So, I think anytime you can find a tool (in this case, a doll) to help explain it, it's a wonderful thing, and I think that's (understanding and empathy) a better service to someone that's homeless than giving them a doll anyways.

I wonder what homeless people think about it. It kind of makes me wonder if this is the kind of situation where people that haven't ever homeless are getting offended on their behalf worried about being politically correct, when a majority of them don't even care.

CoffeeQueen · Guru

I think it is insane and people are nuts.

So what if the dolls are pricey. So what if the girl was homeless. So what, so what.

It is life and Rich people can become poor and homeless in the drop of a hat. I think even more so it is important to teach those that do not experience it. It is a great way to bring it to light.

People need to get a life.

I agree with what Megan wrote and that people do not get AG.

a_mastermom · Guru

CoffeeQueen wrote:

I think it is insane and people are nuts.

So what if the dolls are pricey. So what if the girl was homeless. So what, so what.

It is life and Rich people can become poor and homeless in the drop of a hat. I think even more so it is important to teach those that do not experience it. It is a great way to bring it to light.

People need to get a life.

I agree with what Megan wrote and that people do not get AG.

Ditto to all of this. It amazes me sometimes what people are concerned with.

3s_a_crowd · Guru

I just think thats what AG dolls cost and so Im not shocked and its just one of their story lines. However I do think maybe a percent from each purchase of the doll should go to a homeless shelter or something.

Corey · Guru

Cuppycake wrote:

I think the offensive part is supposedly because someone who is homeless would never be able to buy the AG that they identify with. But I think people are missing the point... There are lots of things that I don't ever really want to have to discuss with Hannah, but that I have to... things like slavery and homelessness are on that list. So, I think anytime you can find a tool (in this case, a doll) to help explain it, it's a wonderful thing, and I think that's (understanding and empathy) a better service to someone that's homeless than giving them a doll anyways.

I wonder what homeless people think about it. It kind of makes me wonder if this is the kind of situation where people that haven't ever homeless are getting offended on their behalf worried about being politically correct, when a majority of them don't even care.

i would guess that people who are homeless probably have far greater concerns in life, like obtaining food or shelter, than being in an uproar about their inability to afford an american girl doll.

crystal · Guru

Corey wrote:

Cuppycake wrote:

I think the offensive part is supposedly because someone who is homeless would never be able to buy the AG that they identify with. But I think people are missing the point... There are lots of things that I don't ever really want to have to discuss with Hannah, but that I have to... things like slavery and homelessness are on that list. So, I think anytime you can find a tool (in this case, a doll) to help explain it, it's a wonderful thing, and I think that's (understanding and empathy) a better service to someone that's homeless than giving them a doll anyways.

I wonder what homeless people think about it. It kind of makes me wonder if this is the kind of situation where people that haven't ever homeless are getting offended on their behalf worried about being politically correct, when a majority of them don't even care.

i would guess that people who are homeless probably have far greater concerns in life, like obtaining food or shelter, than being in an uproar about their inability to afford an american girl doll.

lmao! you are so right on, corey.

happylib · Guru

I don't see anything wrong with it. From what I can tell, it is not portraying Gwen in a negative way despite her situation. Frankly, I think if these people want to get their panties in a wad about dolls, they should go after the hooker bratz dolls and the other dolls with similar attributes. Teaching our girls to be compassionate wins hands down over teaching them to dress and act like sex kittens and women of the night.

supergrover · Guru

happylib wrote:

I don't see anything wrong with it. From what I can tell, it is not portraying Gwen in a negative way despite her situation. Frankly, I think if these people want to get their panties in a wad about dolls, they should go after the hooker bratz dolls and the other dolls with similar attributes. Teaching our girls to be compassionate wins hands down over teaching them to dress and act like sex kittens and women of the night.

Off topic... I'm pretty sure Bratz is now gone. They violated copyright because the makers were working for barbie at the time they developed Bratz so the rights belonged to Mattel.

We, obviously, don't spend time n the doll aisle. Are the still being sold?

And yeah, I think the drama over a homeless doll is just sickening.

Alicia · Senior Member

supergrover wrote:

happylib wrote:

I don't see anything wrong with it. From what I can tell, it is not portraying Gwen in a negative way despite her situation. Frankly, I think if these people want to get their panties in a wad about dolls, they should go after the hooker bratz dolls and the other dolls with similar attributes. Teaching our girls to be compassionate wins hands down over teaching them to dress and act like sex kittens and women of the night.

Off topic... I'm pretty sure Bratz is now gone. They violated copyright because the makers were working for barbie at the time they developed Bratz so the rights belonged to Mattel.

We, obviously, don't spend time n the doll aisle. Are the still being sold?

And yeah, I think the drama over a homeless doll is just sickening.

I thought I saw a commercial recently for bratz dolls.

Raven is happy with cheap dolls so I don't plan on introducing them(AG dolls) to her. Do kids really get the message with the dolls? Or even care?

-- Edited by Alicia on Tuesday 13th of October 2009 03:21:45 PM