CULTURE
Growing Up With American Girl
The Impact of American Girl Through a Collection of Women's Stories
By: Joy Mao
American Girl holds a symbolic place in our childhood. The series is known for its empowering and adventurous stories featuring young girls living in important moments in history, such as the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement. The nostalgia of American Girl comes from its ability to influence current culture with that of the past; whether you learned how to braid hair through playing with the dolls or developed a love for writing through Kit Kittredge's story, all who picked up a doll and a book were impacted.
Most importantly, American Girl gave all young women the opportunity to see themselves reflected in a toy character for the first time.
When I was in elementary school, I would go to a monthly American Girl doll club at my local Barnes & Noble. Every month, a new American Girl doll would be showcased and we would read excerpts from her book and do the activities that each doll loved doing. For an hour every month, I was able to step into my own “American Girl doll fantasy.” Though I wasn’t riding horses like Felicity, I could “follow [my] inner star” by drawing and writing, and letting my creativity flow.
Growing up as a female POC, it was a treasure to see figures in American culture that looked like me. My first American Girl Doll was a look-alike from the “My American Girl” (now the “Truly Me”) collection. She had short black hair and black eyes, just like me. Later, I saw myself represented in American Girl through Ivy Ling, the first Asian American girl presented in the series. This year, the “American Girl of the Year” is Corinne Tan, another Asian American Girl. As a young girl at an impressionable age, feeling represented gave me strength and confidence.
Rachel Kessel, a student at Syracuse University, had a similar experience through religion. “My favorite American Girl doll was Rebecca because she was Jewish.” She continued, “Every Hanukkah I would get a new American Girl doll. Anytime I was in New York City, [I would go to the] American girl doll store. When the clock struck 12, the first thing I did was sprint to the computer to see who the new girl of the year was.” Rachel and Rebecca’s relationship influenced Rachel to feel accepted, uplifted, and excited by her religious beliefs.
“I do think American Girl helped me develop a better sense of self and feminism as I grew older. Compared to Barbie or Bratz, American Girl celebrated adolescence and girlhood. I didn't feel like I had to look a certain way with an American Girl doll because I could get one that looked just like me,” she continued. Riley Luchetta, also a student at SU, felt the same way. American Girl gave female characters roles as heroes - something rare in the media. “Unlike a princess movie, where the main female character is always a damsel in distress, American Girl novels always highlight females as strong and independent.”
American Girl has influenced us all in ways both big and small.
Why is this? How does a doll and a book have the power to change young girls' opinions about themselves and their place in the world?
Let’s look behind the pages.
Previous senior and contributing editor at American Girl magazine, Harriet Brown, explained that when she worked there, “the magazine's mission was to educate and entertain girls.” “We tried to give them a sense of community with other girls and help them understand they were not alone. We also wanted to help them have fun and learn a little history, and to develop a sense of pride in themselves as girls,” said Brown.
The historical aspect of American Girl was special; it helped educate girls and made each character unique. Learning about the different cultures as well as the different time periods in history helped broaden horizons for young girls. American Girl also incorporated real girls' stories into their magazine, through the “Paper Doll” section. “One of the things I got to do as an editor there was run the Paper Doll section, where we interviewed real girls about their family history and created historically accurate paper dolls of them and their ancestors. I really loved doing that,” continues Professor Brown.
For many, American Girl wasn’t just a doll brand, it was a spotlight of what embodied a young girl in America, and what it meant to push through adversity. It was inspirational, educational, and exciting. American Girl raised us to love ourselves—a message, an attitude to sustain for life.