American Girl's Hidden Scandals

[@JuanWonton]

When I was a young Black girl, I was in love with Addy and her story. I was in third grade when I was introduced to American Girls, and the fact they had a Black girl, a Black girl who made the hard choice to become separated from the rest of her family for a chance of freedom, after her brother and father had been sold to separate slave owners was absolutely amazing. I went to a pretty much all white school, and everyone there tiptoed around racism, and here was a book story that said "Here's a girl that went through what no one wants to talk about. She lost her family, she decided to be brave and run, and even in freedom she faces racism. But she learns how to read, and she finds Black friends, and has a Black teacher, and her father comes back and Addy teaches him how to read! And he teaches Addy how to love the earth again! Her brother comes back after fighting in the war for the freedom of other Black people, and he lost his arm, but he's still her brother. Her family reunites with her baby sister and her aunt, who they had to leave down south, and there's hope for a brighter tomorrow!" Anyways, Addy's story is important, and more people should actually read it, instead of going "Oh, they made a book about slavery. That's in poor taste." Like... pick it up. It's a story about hope.

[@ambriaashley3383]

Addy's story was really important to me growing up. Though I could never afford the dolls, I read the books. It's only now as an adult that I wish there was ANOTHER historical AG story about a Black girl. Maybe one to do with the Harlem Renaissance. I know now that they would never do this bc the Addy dolls did not sell well 😭 Anyway, while Addy's story is important, I fear it fed into the narrative that the only important, historical things Black American people were involved with were slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to us than that. It's a story, but not the only one. I would've loved for me or my friends to learn about a hidden part of Black history, like how the multitudes of white dolls educated me on other parts of culture or history that I did not know.

[@JuanWonton]

@@ambriaashley3383 I definitely wish there were more too, and like you said, it did make it seem like the only things to happen to Black people in America was slavery and Civil Rights, even with the now included Melody. They HAD a Black girl named Cecile (I'm 85% sure), she came with a white counterpart and they were both from NOLA. I'm not sure why they stopped selling them

[@kenzij]

As a kid (little black girl) I liked the stories of all of the brown girls more, iirc Josefina was my favorite, because they felt more interesting. However I was far more interested in the clothes of the other girls and borrowed their books from the library more often. All that is to say that I didn't remember almost any of that about Addy, and it does sound like people should give it more of a chance.

[@ItsRealForUs28]

@@ambriaashley3383 Actually, there are LOUD rumors in the AG doll community saying that a black Harlem Renaissance doll will be coming out this fall. I hope so!

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

@@JuanWonton they did have a black girl called cecile, i had her book! she got discontinued very quickly after release, but her books are still being sold as far as im aware

[@KolkoCat]

Almost all the American girls stories went into so many heavy topics. I sobbed when Kirsten’s best friend died of cholera in the books. I remember one of the kids stapling his fingers in the Samantha movie, Emily going through the bombing of her city, Kit worrying about being evicted and seeing that in the movie really shoved the reality of homelessness in everyone’s faces…

[@veronicadean4767]

I remember watching the premier of Emily’s movie on tv!

[@haybale287]

Don't forget the Challenger explosion

[@fransfaith]

In the Samantha movie, A boy got his hand caught in a sewing machine in the shoe factory. That scene scared me as a kid. I didn't touch my sewing machine for years after that scene. All the historical books had heavy topics. Especially Addy and Kristen.

[@sophie427]

@@fransfaithI also was super effected by that scene ! I’m glad I didn’t imagine it. Still have not been able to get over my fear of sewing machines today.

[@therearenocowshere]

I was a Nellie main personally and damn did she have it rough in the movie trying to work to support her little siblings and not allowed to go to school. Plus her doll was so pretty and unique for the time with the freckles and strawberry blonde hair in the cute little bob 😅

[@playroompals1125]

Don't forget the Logan scandal. Logan has the Kaya face mold, he's the only doll besides Kaya to have this mold. Kaya is the only Native American doll and her mold is special because it doesn't show teeth as showing teeth in her culture is a sign of aggression. So American Girl took this special Kaya mold made with her specific culture in mind and they slap in on a white dude, and not only that the only guy doll at the time. To me that just smacks of disrespect to Kaya and the whole people group she represents.

[@ashleynorton]

I completely missed this! Awful, but not surprising

[@TuesdaysArt]

This feels especially off considering how you can't even make a custom doll with the Kaya mold. Giving Logan the mold ruins the OOAK aspect to it and makes things really awkward.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

plus it implies that a face made specifically for a native american girl is more "masculine"

[@EndYouTubeShorts_]

Was this after Mattel bought American Girl? They don't really care about this. They don't do research so they wouldn't have known it would make people mad. Although it's a very small detail to get so mad over, they should have just made a new face mold.

[@EndYouTubeShorts_]

@@TuesdaysArt What's OOAK?

[@kilignear]

Former AG employee here, I loved this video!!! I started there during 2017 so I was very personally invested in the Gabby-Tenney discourse, lmao. I wasn't around for the late-2016 rumours BUT I heard there was tons of discourse online at the time because of Tenney leaks, so I feel confident that she was GOTY and they had to pivot at the last minute because people were pissed. The fandom can really be a wonderful, progressive place devoted to positive change!!! AG definitely has a diversity problem, but I think part of it does legitimately have to do with sales. I worked in a very diverse city but the dolls of colour always stayed on the shelves WAY longer. A memory that's pissed me off for years is when a woman saw the Z doll on display and said she was beautiful, which she is! But then she saw the real-life young model on Z's book, her reaction was "oh no this doll can't be asian, she's too pretty. She's definitely white." I also had a lot of parents ask me to pick a doll that looks like their child but then say I picked one with skin that's too dark. I think it's part of a larger societal problem with where generational wealth lies and the association of American Girl with upper-class white families, as well as just a subconscious response of either 1) white kids defaulting to what they themselves look like, or 2) non-white kids being trained to not like their own features? Like, Luciana was the coolest doll they've maybe ever had but I still had to actively convince people to buy her. *I'm not giving AG a pass though*, it was just frustrating to see even their meaningful attempts fall flat. I'm still really pissed that they put out an empty BLM statement in June 2020 about being committed to diversity while having more than half a year to rework GOTY 2021 but still just going with Kira, their most bland blonde GOTY to date (IMO). We all know they did it with Gabriela last minute, couldn't they muster up SOMETHING to make Kira less boring? I'm still annoyed by how nothing she was... Anyway thank you for talking about the Gabby incident, non-doll people need to KNOW

[@EndYouTubeShorts_]

I literally forgot who Kira was. Blah blah blah -Australia?! That thing the lady said about Z was weird. Some people in every group are plain and some are pretty. Basic science.

[@ErieRosewood]

yup, Poc dolls always sell the worst. it's such a difficult conversation to have because obviously we want these companies responsible for their diversity, but they're just going where the money is. if there's no money in poc dolls, why make poc dolls? it sucks genuinely. like how mga ships their black dolls separate from their non-black dolls. it was a scandal because some store wouldn't sell Sasha but they'd be fully stocked of everyone else. it's just because store managers wouldn't order any sashes because they didn't sell. representation in the toy industry is a very messy subject mostly due to capitalism and personal bias of customers, not always because the company's are racist. it sucks and I hate it and I hope one day it isn't like this.

[@PIB2000]

@@ErieRosewood It's not even just an AG thing. The diversity problem runs through the entire doll industry. It seems so stupid if it's a relatability thing because they literally sell male dolls, despite boys not even being the target audience. If a child can attach themselves to a doll of opposite gender, why not one of a different skin color?

[@ashimochi]

I love Luciana, she is of Chilean descent and we have a great observatory in the north, plus her whole astronaut theming was so cool. If I ever buy an AG it will be Luciana no matter how hard I have to look for her She is darker than the average Chilean so I see the apparent dissonance, but for someone that probably has ancestry in the more desertic north she matches well the common phenotype there

[@Lucy-fn9rj]

i used to work at a toy store and we had the exact same problem. i worked there for 3 years and we had a pretty good number of POC dolls in stock, but they just didn’t sell. there was one white baby doll that we were constantly sold out of, meanwhile i think we sold 2 black dolls the entire time i worked there. we also sold those diverse barbies that are different races, styles, body types, etc. the black barbies sold pretty well… but only the ones with cool/ unique hairstyles. if the styling was similar to a white barbie, people bought the white barbie. the asian and latina barbies didn’t have the unique hair and so they didn’t sell until most of the white barbies were gone, even though the city we were in had a high latino population. i had to fix the barbie section all the time because the PoC barbies kept getting pushed to the back of the hangers. interestingly, we never had this problem with baby books. most didn’t have human main characters or any main character at all, but for few that did, race didn’t seem to impact which one people were buying. my theory is that board books are educational, but dolls are aspirational. i don’t think any of our customers did this on purpose, but subconsciously, i think they were much more comfortable teaching their kids that PoC exist than having their kids idolize PoC dolls

[@neonmoonie]

I do think American Girl has done much better this year. The goty doll for 2022 is Corrine Tan who who is a Chinese-American girl and her books cover the topics of post-covid racism towards Asian communities. Corrine even has a brand new facemold so she doesnt look like any doll from before. She's also getting a movie later this year. I do fully agree though, Gabriella was a big fuck up and I hope their future dolls are more diverse and well thought.

[@bunnyfrosting1744]

Wow her name is beautiful!

[@hernandez4856]

@@bunnyfrosting1744 no it’s not

[@klear19634]

Its still not good since its still riddled with asian stereotypes. An asian girl with colorful highlights, a white dad, etc. And this is the only asian doll on their market and its tied to racism. Thats her whole story, the skiing is an after thought, racism. And american girl doll really doesnt explain it well, never have in my opinion. Its annoying for poc kids to keep having representation that is routed in trauma. Not only that, american girl dolls r all manufactured in china and yet they never have done a chinese american girl doll correct

[@boojersey13]

@@klear19634 I dunno, I think it's an important topic to breach among children anyway and it's better than bad representation. They're owned by Mattel now, so the fact they're trying at all this years means they're finally getting the picture a little about the expectations for the American Girl brand.

[@klear19634]

@@boojersey13 i think ur missing the point. Its still poorly handled. How can u have a book full of stereotypes and then teach a message about stereotypes being bad? Not only that but the delivery is poor. U can introduce children to racism but it should be done with a level of respect. Its not there in this doll

[@khazermashkes2316]

I didn’t wake up this morning thinking that I wanted to hear a law student explain the nuances of capitalism and privilege using American Girl dolls, but I definitely needed it

[@araaraurydice]

Jj kjkjj jkkkkknq

[@annab.3550]

These babies were too expensive for my family growing up, but my friend had,, dozens? That could be an exaggeration but she had SO many all piled up and didn't even remember all their names. When I was slightly older a family friend bought me a gift certificate to build-a-bear and so they became my obsession.

[@somedude172]

my cousin had 2 or 3, but she also had ALL their accessories, going to her house felt like going to a museum lmao... a year after she got obsessed, they released a girl of the year that had my exact name, interests, and looked like me so her mom felt like she had to buy me one lmao. i was thrilled but then i never played with her, most of her life has been lived in a trash bag lmao

[@desireesmith862]

I remember wanting only one American Girl so bad in second grade but my family just wasn’t willing to spend that kind of money on a doll. And I knew girls who had several. I just couldn’t imagine it. Still can’t.

[@TuesdaysArt]

I somehow had a Samantha Doll with the book and mini doll but the actual doll has spent most of her life in a box because she felt too expensive to play with like an actual doll lol

[@bri6032]

my friend had an american girl closet & an entire room of bratz. i had nothing lmao

[@somedude172]

@@TuesdaysArt same reason i never played with mine, i was so scared to mess her up! but then i still ended up having a mental breakdown because i felt guilty i never played with her after they spent so much money on her, poor kids cant win lmao

[@katiepatrick6506]

My favorite character was 100% Kit. I have no idea what drew me to her so much, but she sparked a life long hunt for a roll top desk like hers. I was googling like crazy hunting for one I could convince my parents to buy. Now at 23 I just inherited one that originally belonged to my family from the same time Kit was from. Life has a funny way of working out sometimes

[@EndYouTubeShorts_]

Ooh, I think my cousin still has Kit.

[@bbasbestos]

I never had her doll but I had a DS game based on her! It was a puzzle game i’m pretty sure

[@icarusbinns3156]

I actually really disliked Kit. Molly was my favorite. Tied with Josephina and Kirsten. I miss Kristy. She was the lookalike doll Mom got me. It took awhile to get the right eye color!

[@boojersey13]

She was my favorite because she looked like me and I dealt a lot with being shat on for my short hair as a kid, like I HAT E D my hair but I was so excited to donate it that I didn't think about how I'd look or how I'd be treated as the only AFAB student with short hair at my Christian school lol

[@mothmadi_]

Kit was my favorite for the longest time! I loved that desks look

[@clarityvee]

I loved AG growing up, Marisol, the girl of the year for 2005 was my girl, because she looked like me. She even lived in the same area as me. I know she’s not perfect, but growing up as a Mexican girl in a mostly white area, it felt nice to see a girl like me, and I didn’t have to wish to be a pretty blonde girl for once. I remember I was even reading her book in a waiting room, and someone asked if it was me on the cover. I think I donated her years ago since I grew too old to “play” with her, but a part of me misses her lol.

[@BalletGal2010]

Marisol was my first doll and since I'm white I can't relate to her looks or culture or anything like that. As a kid I just knew she was a dancer who moved and had to switch dance studios and I was also a dancer who moved and had to switch dance studios. Now that I'm older though I will say I wish her collection focused less on the ballet part of her story and more on the folklorico part (since that was the dance style she actually originally trained in and loved)

[@s-e-e-k-i-n-g]

I have a Marisol too! I don't share anything in common with her but I just fell in love with her at first sight and begged my parents. I thought she was so cool, I wanted to be just like her. When I think about how much she meant to me as a kid, it makes me very happy to think of how many other kids out there have that experience. With more diversity in the girls of the year, there could have been so many more kids seeing a girl who they look up to as a role model, even if they don't look like them. I think there's this societal conditioning that whiteness is "the default", so having diverse role models I think can help fight that, especially at a young age.

[@psychedelicpayroll5412]

My friend had Josefina, destroyed her head and had to get it replaced. She would wash and flat iron her hair.

[@magmc1328]

Marisol was my doll as well.. I use to walk around with the ag catalog and stare at her. I remember my mom asking me why I didnt want a white doll that looked like me. And I told her because this doll was the most beautiful doll I ever saw.i had her though all the bad parts of my childhood like abuse and my grandma dying. She kept me company when I felt the most alone as a kid. I gave her to my little cousin when I was 14 and I miss her too.

[@marisolbecerra06]

I never had the doll but it's a little shocking to know there's a doll out there that I actually share a name with, wild

[@pinkolivetree8873]

I wasn’t into American girl dolls for long, but my first experience was with Kanani, a Hawaiian doll of the year. I just remember being so thrilled that a doll had hair super long like mine, past the waist even as like a 6 yr old, that I instantly connected. I wish every girl had an experience like that where they could just relate and connect to a doll who made them feel seen

[@AverageEggmonEnthusiast]

I had a Kanani doll too! I was fascinated by Hawaii at the time so I was happy to have her but unfortunately I completely ruined her hair since I never really brushed it properly 😅

[@jennapipes6337]

I loved Kanani! I still have her in my grandmas basement.

[@juliabutler4132]

I swear to god I also remember Taylor Swift having a blue guitar but when I just looked it up, I think it's because the "teardrops on my guitar" cover had that same turquoise blue color and I just associated it so much with "Taylor Swift" and "guitar".....that's my only reasoning for how this blue guitar association started.

[@ashleynorton]

yeah I think the teardrops on my guitar cover got me too!

[@alabamaslammer3921]

@Kevin maybe kevin

[@islapaige8227]

I vividly remember Taylor having a darker blue guitar that didn’t look like the one shown. Did we all make it up? 😂

[@puffitale]

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees had a deep teal blue guitar in the One Night Only concert special in 1997. That’s what I think of when I think of ‘blue guitar.’ Anyway, Taylor played a blue guitar with koi fish painted on it on the Speak Now tour. But to be honest, the 2 guitars I associate with Taylor is the Crystal guitar of the Our Song video and the Hawaiian Koa guitar she favoured in her early career for acoustic performances. She’s gravitated towards black acoustic guitars in recent years, but it feels too generic to just be ‘Taylor’s guitar.’ Anyway, when Tenney debuted, with the turquoise guitar, she gave me major Taylor vibes, but I fully acknowledge that I think Taylor was more of a mainstream figurehead of the country music loving, guitar, possible horse girl subculture than for it to be a Taylor clone. I’m from a rural town in Australia, and growing up in the 90s, we had girls like Tenney where I grew up.

[@misspinkpunkykat]

There was also one where there was a homeless girl. None of the profits of sales of her went to help homeless children so people complained.

[@ashleynorton]

Yes wild! It didn’t really fit with this video but Cheyenne Lin covered that whole debacle

[@neb.9489]

Omg I remember that! It was Chrissa’s friend Gwen!

[@ashlynalingh]

Also the 2020 girl of the year Joss actually is deaf and wears a hearing aid, I grew up being partially deaf with lots of surgeries and I think it’s really cool that she has a hearing aid. Granted if you want to get any other doll a hearing aid you would have to send them to the doll hospital to have a hearing aid put on which I kind of think is really silly.

[@ashimochi]

I think Joss comes with two aids in case the first one gets lost!

[@kellyebrown3758]

You don't have to send dolls to the doll hospital to get a hearing aid. The stores can do that the same as they can pierce the dolls' ears.

[@ashlynalingh]

@@kellyebrown3758 that only works if there is a store near you, I live in Kansas and there used to be a store an hour away from me but that was closed a couple of years ago so now the closest store is in Chicago or Texas and driving is expensive and long so it isn’t always applicable for people to just go to the American girl doll store.

[@Razzberry_dollz]

@@ashlynalinghyou can select the option when you order online

[@ashlynalingh]

@@Razzberry_dollz I know you can when you make a create your own but for the truly me’s it isn’t an option after you add it to your bag, it says you can get their ears pierced or and other accessories but not the hearing aid.

[@livywoodward8666]

I have a "just like me" doll from maybe 2010. I adored her. We had matching pajamas and I used to save up to buy her outfits. I'm from the UK and heard about them through a friend who is of Indian heritage. Her Dad bought her a "just like me" doll while travelling in the States because he'd never seen a doll that looked like his daughter.

[@thesebastiansession]

Growing up a Type One Diabetic was REALLY hard, mostly because of the lack of representation for me. I didn’t have anyone that I could relate to in media, but AG had a T1D kit and my favorite doll could share the experiences I had. That kit had everything I used irl. One of my best childhood memories 😔

[@fullmetalfroge]

i'm type one diabetic too!! and when i was first diagnosed i got the ag diabetes kit, i don't play with dolls anymore but my little sister has my collection now and we both think it's really cool that ag has that as an option for kids who have diabetes to have it more normalized

[@thesebastiansession]

@@fullmetalfroge It's truly amazing what a small toy can do for so many kids :)

[@spicedch4i]

Did you ever read the babysitters club books as a kid? One of the characters in that had diabetes and I've heard that a lot of people liked that since it was the one of the only times they'd seen a diabetic character in media. In the Netflix show (which is a really cute show) it's also talked about.

[@thesebastiansession]

@@spicedch4i I haven't read it, but I think I might now. Thank you for telling me!

[@kellyebrown3758]

@@thesebastiansession It's Stacey that has diabetes. It's really cool because she talks about the process of getting diagnosed and the struggles of getting things under control throughout the entire series.

[@hopel1332]

The first disabled American Girl doll (goty) was McKenna. They say in the movie that she has dyslexia. I am also pretty sure it says she has a learning disability in the book but I don’t remember, but I know in the movie for sure they say she has dyslexia. It was a pretty big part of her storyline too since the movie was based on her struggle with dyslexia and managing gymnastics.

[@oliviasommerville4733]

Yep! I have the book, not the doll lol. She definitely has dyslexia, but I don’t know if she had another learning disability.

[@hopel1332]

@@oliviasommerville4733 Thank you for letting me know! I wasn’t sure if they mentioned her dyslexia in the book directly or just said she had a learning disability but didn’t mention which one so good to know that they did directly mention it in the book 👍

[@wintersprite]

I don’t remember them mentioning dyslexia in either the book or the movie. It talks about the “4th Grade Slump” and that some kids around that time have trouble with reading comprehension. It does leave it up to the reader that it could be dyslexia, however I don’t remember them specifically saying she has that.

[@hopel1332]

@@wintersprite I guess so, I rewatched the movie and they only mention "reading comprehension" which I implied as a learning disability aka dyslexia. welp would've been nice if they had actually mentioned it by name. :/

[@poundkake13]

Not me, a 6ft3in carpenter, passing my time during my workday by learning about AG doll controversies.

[@LilyLewis771]

The Taylor Swift one is new to me, but I've heard about the Luciana scandal before. Honestly, I think both cases are pretty weak, especially when it comes to the clothes argument- in 2018 you couldn't go anywhere without seeing galaxy print and holo clothes, and purple streak hair is also like Tumblr girl 101 fashion. Same with the 'Taylor Swift' doll allegation; that's just what the popular fashion was, so of course both a really popular musician and a Girl of the Year doll were wearing it. I was obsessed with AG as a kid, I loved the historical dolls so much and would get a lot of their books. Samantha was my favorite too, I loved her clothes so much (still am obsessed with Victorian/Edwardian fashion). I've finally fulfilled my childhood dream and got a Samantha doll recently off eBay, currently working to fix her up. It makes me really sad how many of the historical dolls have been discontinued/archived, I loved them so much as a kid and I think they're just... better? They're more diverse than the GOTY collection, educational, and just something different from a lot of other dolls. With Addy having a harsh backstory... it's true but I think that kids should be able to learn about that, a lot of the historical dolls deal with overcoming historical challenges- immigration, poverty, war, etc. Honestly I also wish they'd gone harder for Molly- and bring up more about WWII in Europe- but you can't complain that her story didn't go hard enough and say that Addy's was too hard at the same time. But with how much schools like to gloss over and lie about terrible periods in history like slavery, I'm glad we had a company that was trying to bring up some of these issues to kids.

[@ashimochi]

The thing with Addy is that education-wise she was great, but you know, it does feel kind of weird for your only black doll option at the time to be a runaway slave lmao

[@bocolatebhipbookie]

@@ashimochi true but i still see the purpose in having a doll with such a background. we cannot forget the past and addy was a strong role model.

[@ashimochi]

@@bocolatebhipbookie yeah, Addy is a high point of the historical line, no arguing in that

[@Author.Noelle.Alexandria]

@@ashimochi What would you have suggested they do instead? Black girl. In America. Historical. If we’re honest, there isn’t exactly a lot of positivity to be had. Black people didn’t come here by choice. They were banned from many places, even banned from the state of Oregon for a while. They couldn’t go to white schools, couldn’t use the same drinking fountains, couldn’t marry white people until only about 60 years ago. When has the black experience in America been positive enough that a black child wasn’t a second class citizen? Contemporary times, yes, but something historical? Melody is historical by today’s time since the mid-60’s is 60 years ago, but when Addy came out in 1993, the mid-60’s was only 30 years before. Right now we would hardly call a doll from the 1990’s grunge era “historical.” So the 1960’s wouldn’t have worked as historical in the 1990s. That’s not a problem with the company using slavery. That’s a problem with this country itself, and should underscore that the treatment of black people in this country has been extremely fucked up that there weren’t good times to be a black child in America. Calling NOW a good time to be a black child is hard.

[@ashimochi]

@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria I never mentioned having a personal issue with the company using slavery, like I said, I even consider Addy to be one of the best ones out of the historical line. American girl like the title suggests is an America centric line, obviously there wasn't many nice things to say about the life of a black person in the US years ago, and I'm glad they went all in with Addy. My issue is that they took them too long to make another black doll, at least outside of the historical line, and when they released Gabby it was so half assed it was somewhat insulting, like it was said in the video, most dolls from the line are white blonde girls with somewhat unoriginal interests, and the first black girl of the year is just a truly me with different clothing! But before that if you wanted a pre established black doll, Addy was your only option, isn't thar weird? Glad they fixed their mistake with Luciana

[@theostracized]

I’ll never forget when the dolls went from $95 to $105 🤠

[@jofosho2]

All while the quality went down 🤡

[@beanceline]

wait the dolls are *how much???*

[@theostracized]

@@beanceline They're $115 each now. When I was collecting in 2012 they were only $95

[@tedddybear]

Accounting for inflation, the dolls are actaully cheaper to purchase now than when they were first released ($68, the OG price, in 1986 is $190 now)

[@MsPoseidon13]

I 100% agree the whole Gabriella incident was horrible from American girl lol like that was really outta pocket, the first black girl of the year doll and your going to reuse a truly me doll. The first girl of the year to be 100% a recycled truly me doll, they could have given her different eyes, different hair, but no they redressed their old truly me doll in a new outfit and sold her. I remember people looking at her body tag and seeing like 2013 on it and stuff like she was litterally recycled. And personally I was pretty upset about that because I was so excited to hear about the first black girl of the year and then what we got was a slap in the face. They pretty much said "a black girl of the year doll isn't worth the development, budget, unique designs that we give to our white dolls" it was very disrespectful.

[@BankruptMonkey]

Pleasant Company really cared about representation and learning and hope with the doll's stories, and Mattel just threw that away when they bought the company and made it American Girl, especially meaningful good representation.

[@lilhonor5425]

There’s rumors we are supposed to be getting a black 1920s historical doll this year or next year. I hope they continue to diversify their lines. I do think the new World By Us line is a good move as well.

[@spencerpetunia8268]

Okay a 1920s doll would be very fun!

[@writteninthestars02]

Miss Claudie Wells is HERE and she is adorable!😁

[@addyrovirosa1800]

I miss American Girl from like 2016 and before then. The furniture was good quality, the clothes and accessories were more historically accurate, and the dolls had their original books. I hated when beforever came out and they changed all the historical characters.

[@kwallacetube681]

I worked at an AG store during all these controversies. Oh the stories! Trying to draw any attention to Gabi from Tenney was impossible.

[@ashleynorton]

Tea!!

[@aprirot]

i love serious AG analyses like this, as an avid AG fan for 14 years (got my first doll at 5). so glad you covered this!! important to note the controversies with logan specifically as well--using the kaya mold for another doll, especially a white boy doll at that.

[@MissSirenita]

The historical dolls, I was obsessed with 3: Josefina, Addy, and Kit. Josefina was my all time favorite though. She was Mexican and all that stuff. I was young and was like only living in the US for a few years. As a Latina Immigrant with fairly dark ish skin experiencing so much racism at the time, it was comforting. Edit: I did not have any of these dolls. It was just a sign of hope for me

[@oliviasommerville4733]

I loved Kit!! I had all her books, which I reread many times. I liked that she faced very real problems, growing up during the Great Depression, and also that she wanted to be a writer. I never got to read about Josefina, but she sounds interesting too.

[@Butterfly-ql4pg]

I went through a whole AG phase as a preteen. I ultimately accumulated 4 dolls, Rebecca, Lanie (the Girl of the Year 2010), Marie-Grace (a historical character they don't have anymore), and a Just Like You doll I named Peyton. I'm happy to have them, but looking back I do feel bad for forcing my parents to get me overpriced dolls for Christmas 😅

[@annac.6863]

I absolutely loved them growing up. I had Felicity, Caroline, Rebecca, Marie-Grace, and Samantha 😅 I really loved them, and the stories they came with- especially Felicity. Always my favourite.

[@EyeofZai]

i had Sage and Isabelle. my cousin has them now, hope they’re being loved

[@zachanikwano]

Hi dropping by to say I love your jaina solo pfp lol

[@8lavenderrose8]

I had Elizabeth

[@kat3ph0bic61]

I had a peyton too! She had blonde hair and bangs, and green eyes

[@forgottenboy9778]

My favorite character by far was Molly. My mom tried getting me into Julie since Julie was the same age as her at the time, but Molly was my favorite. Little white girl with brown hair, glasses, and came from the same nationality that I was?? She was my favorite. I’m just happy now that they are trying to give more diversity. Claudie, Kava, Joss, and Corrine are both really big steps for the company. For those who don’t know, Claudie is the 1920 historical doll, and she is a black girl, Kava is the 2023 Girl of the Year who is southern Asian and has ADHD with a focus on Musical Theater, Corrine is the 2022 girl of the year who likes skiing and is Asian, and Joss is the 2020 girl of the year who has an interest in surfing and is deaf.

[@Haunted_Plush]

I remember my mom giving me her old Molly for Christmas when I was about 8, and I got Grace a year or two after. I wanted that big-ass bistro thing so bad but it was like $300 or something... I remember reading a lot of the books for girls I didn't have, and browsing the catalog each month when it came in the mail.

[@artemis3424]

Me too!!! I only had a Molly doll but I had so many of the books and the catalogs were my favorite thing ever.

[@Haunted_Plush]

@@artemis3424 I guess the only constant in life is wanting the cool stuff that you absolutely can't afford

[@10101funday]

I am pissed to this day that Courtney is another blue eyed and blonde eyed girl. She looks like MarryEllen and she is also looks like Kirsten. They could easily make Courtney black. The 80s were HUGE for black culture. They also got rid of Cecile and you can't buy any of Addys collection anymore. The only black historical doll you can buy with accessories is Meolody.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

literally when i first saw courtney i lowkey thought she was maryellen w her hair down or smth 😭

[@EndYouTubeShorts_]

Nooooo! Not Addy!

[@spicedch4i]

same!!! I wasn't even very engaged or uo to date with AG when I first saw Courtney but I was so disappointed and confused about why they made another blonde white girl. It felt like such a missed opportunity.

[@ErieRosewood]

I'd like to point out that they shelve most of their historical dolls after a while. now, we wouldn't have the problem of most of the black dolls being shelved if there were more non-white dolls to begin with, but that's a different issue.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

@@ErieRosewood yeah, at this point the only black historical doll u can buy is melody bc addys doll isnt available and cecile is fully retired, and there haven't been ANY asian dolls since ivy

[@raccoon.pies.]

When I went through my American Girl phase, I was a blonde haired white girl and saw literally rows of dolls that looked exactly like me, but also dolls that looked like my friends at school. I remember picking up books about little girls who lived centuries away from me and looked nothing like me yet I felt like they were also just like me and had similar thoughts and feelings. My older sister passed down her books on Kaya and I eventually became obsessed with Rebecca Rubin and eventually started calling my grandma "bubby" like she called hers. I liked that I was able to learn about these different cultures and time periods and demographics as a kid and tried my best to describe what a Menorah was as a 9 year old to my mom because I had just learned what it was from the book I read. Of course I'm not saying there isn't more room for diversity, however I appreciated being able to have that exposure and it be in an easy to digest way.

[@em84c]

Yea as a child I was never really drawn to dolls that looked like me. My favourite Barbies were the Dolls of the World series.

[@abbyl4621]

I am all here for American girl doll lore. There's so many controversies but I remember thinking they were so cool as a kid

[@haileys5224]

As a poor kid, I had this reaction of “That’s dumb why would you spend that much money on a doll Barbies are better anyways” But looking back I feel like it was an instinctual way to protect myself from the FOMO. I developed a reverse-elitist attitude where fancy expensive things were a scam and it’s dumb to waste your money on that stuff. People who bought designer clothes were bad at shopping, and uncreative. Only people who are out of touch feel compelled to buy organic. The rest of us know it’s a waste of money. Why would a person buy that when they could have DIY’d it, they must lack skills. It’s obviously judgmental and Lacks nuance but I find my childhood mentality sorta funny. Like I wasn’t about to feel ashamed so I made my own type of ideals.

[@everyonesucks00]

same!!! me and my family constantly had this mentality towards anything deemed “fancy” or “expensive”

[@ianseff5627]

I still sometimes don't understand why would anyone spend so much money on something that isn't vital and then I remember that not everyone is as miserable as I am. I guess it's also in our culture as I'm from a developing country and I still secretly wish I could have the toys we couldn't afford as a child

[@royami8627]

on Maryellen, while her disability isn't brought up a bunch, one of her stories revolves around her raising money for polio vaccines, so her having polio does impact her stories.

[@samtheflutegirl1373]

I do feel the need to point out that getting two books was typical of the Girl of the Year dolls so Gabriella getting a third book at all was unusual. I remember I was surprised when the GotY dolls started getting three books. In contrast the historical dolls have six books each so Tenny being released with 4 while Gabriella had 2 would be what I would expect for a new line doll vs. a GotY doll.

[@andymcnamar2339]

i remember saving up my allowances for a year to buy an american girl doll. i ended up getting the 'just like me' doll (which is what i think it was called at the time) instead of the historical dolls, which i kind of regret in retrospect.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

SAME i got a just like me doll too and i regret it 😭

[@ajmalaika1287]

It's ALL ALLEGED but I'm not surprised. My brother and I made it a game when watching ads on tv to look out for the "token" dolls. They'd always be at the back of the display, or only in the last wide shot at the end to show the line-up. And they'd always seem to be lower stock in the shops compared to the others like Taylor vs Sharpay or Gabriella from HSM GRANTED THERE HAS BEEN progressing, Back in my day all the dolls had caucasian hair.

[@natk4017]

Tell me, why would a company mass produce dolls that only represent roughly 13% (really only ~7% when you factor in gender, which still leaves out that not every black female buys children's dolls) of the general population. It literally makes no sense from a business perspective.

[@Emilythematerialgurl]

Lol as a kid i always went this dumb to waste money on one we were poor so if asked for somethign that expensive my parents would laugh go yeah you can go room and imagine one of your toys you already have as it and play with it two i always went and tried find someone who looked like me dark brunette durning winter but when summer hits lightens up turn light brunette with the red coming out and making my hair almost strawberry brunette with very pale i mean pale as can be skin with blue diamonds eyes but didnt really find one so i wanted like a doll with diversity more than my classmates who had one i wanted an Indian girl or Brazilian girl couldnt find nethire made me mad go whatever its not like ill have enough buy one anyways which is still true to this day being 20

[@Emilythematerialgurl]

@@FurbyMolly love your name i have a giunea pig baby as well lol

[@jknapp98]

I understand that American girl is far from a perfect company however I wish we could also take a moment to appreciate all of the wonderful things that they have done for different children, too. Most toy companies don't have "hospitals" where you can send your doll when they get an injury. They also offer hearing aids, casts, wheelchairs, I even saw a video of a little girl receiving a doll with a prosthetic leg just like hers. If you have a child going through chemo American girl will make a doll without hair and send you a wig. I have to give it to them they have gone above and beyond to make little girls feel like they can have something or someone to relate to. I think the cancel culture is damaging. I feel like them offering dolls with hearing aids is something more worth talking about then a doll that looks too much like Taylor Swift. I'm not excusing the things that they've done that aren't perfect but I will say that it's only reasonable and a company that's been around that long is bound to make a few mistakes. I loved my American girl doll when I was a kid and I will probably end up buying one for my daughter when she is old enough to take interest.

[@Author.Noelle.Alexandria]

Agreed. I think the standard set for them is so high that they can’t even meet it anymore, yet it’s very obvious that they TRY. Other doll lines like Generation Us, the Target version, can be said to be more equal, but that’s not hard when the standard is only mediocre. It can be hard to impossible to consistently hit a high bar every time, but at least the effort is being made. While criticizing shortcomings is fine, it’s really important to praise what’s right and the efforts made. When a company is only criticized, like any individual person, they will stop listening altogether.

[@HarpsiFizz]

It's true. Seems like any time some entity tries to do good and be progressive, there are a group of people who complain that it's actually the most bigoted thing ever. I'm not talking about blatant pandering stuff. I'm talking about things like Lamily, Dream Daddy... I had more in mind, but I'm forgetting them right now. Anyway, it's counter-productive in a lot of cases. It makes companies think "they'll just call us racist/sexist if we try to do representation, so why bother?"

[@wintersprite]

Gabriela’s meet outfit was actually offered for free to anyone who had bought 46 within the past two years of Gabby’s release. I was able to get the meet outfit for free. Z was actually closer to Truly Me 30. The original Z used in the AG stop motion videos was a TM 30. I have Jess and my mom has TM 30.

[@seaelm]

I really enjoy hearing you talk about scandals. I think you have a nice mix of being great at researching for, writing, and presenting video essays along with your law student knowledge that really draws me in to videos like this. I'd love to see more videos about scandals/scams because of this!

[@tessapowell3156]

I never know how much I wanted to know about the topics you cover until I watch your videos. I love your channel!

[@emilyvandusen796]

Tenny is also Caroline, an old historical girl that was discontinued. The exact same mold. Caroline was my favorite and I was sad when she got discontinued and even more so when they used her exact same design to market 2 new dolls.

[@cthulhucult3230]

That's just the most popular face mold they have. Most of the dolls have that face shape. I definitely did see people talking about using Tenney's wig as a replacement for Caroline in like 2017.

[@ringwraith10]

Honestly, the whole doll industry is so messy, especially when it comes to stealing people's likenesses. The LOL OMG doll line has taken this to a WHOLE new level. Almost all of those dolls are clearly based on a celebrity, but without permission.

[@ravenclawtimelord5050]

I had a Nellie doll that my mom got used off eBay and like one official AG outfit, all the rest was the Target off brand- I forgot about all the lore until this video and it think it was exactly what I needed to watch

[@abbysc417]

I also had Nellie!

[@taterbug3358]

I came across your video randomly and hadn’t thought about AG or AGD in two decades. I’m a black woman and had all of the Addy books, as well as all the historical collections stories available at time (circa mid-90s). You are absolutely right about being a black child and having confusing feelings about Addy/the Addy doll. I remember feeling elated to see a girl who looked like me on the cover of a book, given her own story and doll. But I also distinctly remember feeling cheated. I didn’t understand why Samantha got to wear pretty ribbons and dresses or why Molly got to be sporty, fun and adventurous while Addy was an enslaved/previously enslaved person. I think the lack of representation was why my interest in AGD was short lived as a kid. Great video btw! Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

[@Author.Noelle.Alexandria]

Genuine question here-what would have been a better option for Addy? Samantha was a rich white girl in an era where rich black people were so scarce that a rich black child would have been treated like shit and spat upon and still second-class. Molly was a white kid in an era where the Tuskegee airmen may as well have not existed because racism was just as rampant as ever, but normalized. It’s not an issue with the doll or the company, but of American history itself. They were many times when it was great to be a white child in the US, but when could the same be said for being a black child? Or even an Asian child? Native American children are lucky in that they had centuries of good childhoods, at least, before Europeans came along. So I’m really curious what would have been a better option in the early 90’s, keeping in mind that the 1960’s was as recent to that time as the 1990’s is to us.

[@taterbug3358]

@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria IS this a genuine question? Hm, I've seen you ask this to at least one other person in the comments while giving them a history lesson on what Black people experience/have experienced in the country and explaining away the lack of representation within AGD. Interesting. But sure, let's play your game of "what else could a Black doll possibly be except a slave?" .. Other historical Black options AGD could've went with: a Harlem Renaissance era doll, a civil rights activist doll, a doll based on one of the hundreds of known Black women in STEM in the 1900's such as Katherine Johnson or Mae Jemison who was the first Black woman in space in 1992. Hell, a 90's themed Black doll would've made sense at the time. There's no shortage of Black excellence and representation throughout history in this country that could've been the inspiration for AGD dolls.

[@taterbug3358]

@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria Also, there's nothing wrong with Addy. Addy's story is Addy's story. Chattal slavery was a horrible, horrible thing, but it happened. Addy's story will always be a reminder that millions of Black children suffered in America, and that shouldn't be taken away. My complaint was that it was the ONLY representation for Black children interested in AGD at the time that I was a kid.

[@LolaSebastian]

omg you truly are hitting the greatest hits of my childhood

[@clueless_dollz]

Z and Jess actually have very different wigs. Z’s is long black and straight, while Jess’s is medium length, wavy, and has red tones. They share a mold because that is the face mold American girl uses most often for Asian characters.

[@SunflowerSpectre]

whoa I'm catching this video hot off the presses! excited to watch!

[@dogallergies8783]

Love this vid, as someone who quit the ag collecting community in 2017 it was because of the Gabby and Tenny dolls. I got my first ag doll, just like me #46 in 2012 after Gabby Douglas won all around that Olympics. I named her Gabby, she was my most favorite ag doll and the only one I kept. I knew lots of girls who named their dolls after gymnasts because the girl of the year for 2012 was a gymnast named McKenna. Every year I would watch the today show reveal of the girl of the year and in 2017 I was appalled. The dolls name mold and features were all the same.😳 if 8 year old could come up with the same gabby American girl, then same on the designers at ag.😬

[@annabellelee4535]

I don't get it, what does a make believe poet and dancer named Gabriela McBride have to do with a real life gymnast named Gabrielle Douglas?

[@astralecliptic]

This is interesting, I had no idea there'd been so much controversy over the GotY dolls. I was a history nerd kid, so I really loved (most of) the old books and dolls when I was a kid in the early 2000s; I even read all the nonfiction "World" books. It upset me when they were bought by Mattel, since Mattel started getting rid of the historical dolls, and their books became less serious, so I ended up drifting away from AG. Recently though, I've been cleaning up my old Felicity and thinking about rereading the old books and seeing if they're as good as I remember (when I was 7 or 8) or not...

[@FrenkTheJoy]

Not only that, the quality of the items got worse after Mattel purchased them. The American Girl Store near here closed last year, but when it was open I'd pop in every now and then just out of curiosity, and it was really disappointing. Clothes that in the old days would've closed with actual buttons were all cheap velcro (the kind that doesn't even fasten properly). The playsets and items were all hard plastic and cardboard when in the old days the same thing would've had metal and porcelain on at least part of it. Plus in general Mattel started making way more stuff in stereotypically girly colors - pink, purple, turquoise, teal, sparkles - and that was SO disappointing. It was nice as a kid to have stuff that was in like... normal colors? Like you could get a nice dark purple velour dress for your doll for Christmas instead of cheap turquoise with a sparkly snowflake on it. I don't have a problem with stuff being available in pink, purple, turquoise, but it started to feel like 90% of the products were now those colors. Just a real bummer. In contrast, the LEGO Friends sets, which are clearly made with girls in mind, do have pink, purple, and turquoise, but they also have bricks that come in yellow, white, brown, so it doesn't feel as aggressively girly. The only thing I've seen from American Girl in the last few years that looked cheap where it was okay was the cardboard fireplace that I think is part of Julie's set? Because my mom had a real one of those as a kid. Like, an actual cardboard fireplace. It's not Mattel cheaping out, in real life that's how they looked.

[@mslaurengracee]

Felicity's book were one of my favorites! I'm collecting all of the story collections and reading them as I go because they're gorgeous :) I have heard a lot of controversy with the mention of the merriman family slave and the representation of that. Its so unfortunate and I was too young to notice but it's hard to enjoy books and know that they have some harmful rep (Felicity and Samantha's book had some classicm that was taken out completely) in between

[@jaymondallie]

I had 4 dolls as a child, Kit and Ruthie, Ivy Ling & Kanani. I now have 45 dolls. I loved your video! Don’t see a lot of American girl topics here on the platform.

[@Heyheyhaleyd]

When I was a young girl I loved American Girl dolls and I still do now. I never cared for having a doll that looked like me, because I was a chubby kid with blonde/brown hair and blue eyes. I thought those features were boring and I always wanted to diversify my dolls to have each of them to look completely different from each other.

[@AGglittersparkle]

American Girl has been a lifelong obsession for me too, glad to see others enjoying it the way I do 🥰

[@lockheart619]

I hated plastic dolls and always preferred stuffed animas when I was a wee child. By default I didn't care for the American Girl Dolls or get the hype. However, I understand the appeal now watching this video. Interesting analysis! Also I appreciate the rainbow makeup 😍.

[@banjaxrose288]

Gotta say, I am fucking LOVING this surge in American Girl Doll memes, as someone who read the books, watched the movies, and had both the dolls a monthly subscription to the magazine, this is the funniest fucking thing ever

[@ducky19991]

I’m this early on accident but this channel has the best topics

[@ashleynorton]

Thanks B :)

[@Psykells]

It took wayyyy too long for them to make the boy version of the dolls. I remember growing up and always wanting my girls to have guy friends so I used stuffed animals as back ups.

[@Kkmzji]

I remember watching videos during that time where people would show you how to make your doll look more like a boy, with cutting their hair, clothes, etc. it was crazy how long it took them to do it considering everyone wanted it and was diying it

[@reilly4678]

I used to pretend Kit was a boy with long hair

[@isabelkern321]

You used stuffed animals? When my sister and I played the boys were literally just voices from the void LOL

[@keybyss98]

I remember just wanting a boy doll so bad since I’m male and I always liked dolls. It was disappointing to not even see generic boyfriend #3,009 in the line while all my female acquaintances seemed to have had a shit load of choices. I think it was at a point where I even thought about asking for one and just cutting their hair to look something vaguely like me. I even really wanted an American Boy that even had a historical back story like the others, since I loved history and even enjoyed the books in school. I also remember some of the books having that “Eww boys are dumb prudes” vibe that I, obviously, didn’t appreciate as a kid (unless the books didn’t and I was just crazy?), so to see one where the boy was the main star like the girls and was competent would’ve been pretty cool to little me.

[@bocolatebhipbookie]

what's even crazier is how long it took for them to make a girl doll that came with short hair

[@Muerte757]

This has been the most random, informative & entertaining video I have ever watched stoned

[@cass3471]

I’m SO fascinated by this! My mom’s love for the Little House series influenced me towards Kirsten lol. Love your videos 💕

[@pandas4evr123197]

This is the exact kind of niche content I am here for, thank you

[@jbgoz]

Also congrats on being Tiffany Ferg’s small channel shoutout!

[@ashleynorton]

thank you!! I've been watching her for years so it meant a lot

[@ajmalaika1287]

Ohh, excited for this video, Don't know much about American Girl in the UK but I did love driving my Bratz and HSM dolls in my toy Ferraris

[@nguiklian]

I had a ton of hand me down AG books and they are really what got me into reading and history! I also had a just like me doll, tho what i really wanted was a historical doll that was also mixed with multiple nonwhite ethnicities

[@mirandabee2323]

I notice Tenney's blue-ish guitar has that cyan-and-white color scheme I strongly associate with Debut (that is, _Taylor Swift_ the album, her first album, peak country). I also notice that in the set of earrings you show, the ones you claim look more like they're designed for Tenney than for Gabriella, have strong debut era vibes, especially the cyan flowers.

[@observantalien]

i totally forgot about Makennas story. i was tryna figure out why i loved her story/movie so much when i was younger and now looking back it was definitely cus she had a learning disability and i didn’t know i had one too

[@puckkrz01]

I went to space camp in Huntsville when Luciana Vega came out and it was WILD. They promoted that shit so much there was a specific group in space camp dedicated to the American girl dolls. There was a whole display with all the stuff you can buy. I just got back a week ago and they STILL have a display with her decorations, just not for sale.

[@HellsFurby]

Omg I had one of the “custom” ones to look like you or whatever and I never tossed her Bc she wasn’t cheap 😅 NOW SHE IS MISSING so either my mom cleaned out the one important thing stores in her closet or we are about to have a whole Annabelle situation and I don’t wanna deal with all that.

[@macy_mariee]

I made one as well since it was very important growing up black to have a doll that looked like me...but since it was so expensive my mom literally won't let me get rid of it lol i believe its packed somewhere in the garage

[@VioletA400]

I had one that looked like me too. I loved her and took her everywhere for awhile. I think I got rid of her when I was in high school because she’d just been laying around collecting dust for a few years. Honestly kind of wished I kept her. As a side note, I remember seeing the movie “Coraline” and being terrified that my doll would lead me to another world. Especially because my bedroom has a little door similar to the one in the movie😅

[@hv9460]

i love the way you talk about how similar the doll models were. Its like we're at a crime scene or sumn i luv it

[@Discostewie]

As a rising 2L that just finished spring finals but hasnt taken evidence or negotiation All i can say is this video is so interesting for law nerds hahaha good luck on the bar!!!

[@ashleynorton]

hehe thanks. If I can explain it in a KZbin video I can explain it on the bar

[@alysshart7522]

This is all very interesting! I grew up in the 90s and had Molly, a lookalike doll, and a Bitty Baby doll. I didn’t know about the “girl of the year” stuff!

[@michellecrocker2485]

Historical dolls got me into history. Everyone tell AG to bring back the historical girls

[@mckaylaburnstad101]

I could truly watch you talk about ANYTHING …. Can’t wait for the next h20 viddy!

[@redvelvetraine]

I remember seeing Marisol in this American girl history book or something when I was like 8, and I was so excited that there was a doll that looked like me, with my interests, and with a similar style to me. by then she was discontinued so I couldn't get her but she was the one doll in my childhood that I would've done anything to get.

[@thatguy1153]

I’m a 23 year old man, but I’m entirely invested in this story

[@Raindrop2424]

This video is truly fascinating. Being german I had just a vague idea about American girl dolls. Basically what I had seen on tv or American KZbinrs. So it’s interesting to find out more about the whole topic.

[@jillm9165]

omg yes i can’t wait for h2o season 2 vid!! also this was a great video and its really making me want to get back into american girl dolls

[@mikabears]

im screaming over this channel i discovered the clique video first and now AG!? 😭😭 my inner child is LIVING

[@gutenmorgan2063]

13:50 it was stated in McKenna's story she did have a learning disability - it was a major part of her story

[@pocketscarf]

I remember getting the AG magazine catalogs as a kid and pouring over all the dolls I couldn't have, lol. I saved up enough to get one, and I picked Molly. Mainly because she looked more like my kid self than the "just like me" dolls of the time. Were there more interesting characters I could have picked? Maybe. Probably. But I enjoyed her books and the character all the same. Although my grandmother ended up liking Molly the doll waaaay more than I did, and for the last few years of her life, I just... left the doll with her. These days I still have Molly somewhere, and thanks to my grandma, she still looks pristine. Her hair is in a different style than intended, but... I can't bring myself to change it.

[@mombo5975]

I did the same thing I saved up for like forever because I wanted Molly so bad and then they discontinued her the month my mom was driving me to the store on like a road trip cause we live like six hours from it and we’re gonna go with my grandmother so I got Isabelle the girl of the year instead but was so sad

[@MsPoseidon13]

And in addition to the Gabriella debacle, her meet outfit isn't even unique..... they reuse the black made to move barbies outfit. The ones that does yoga poses. There is a black made to move barbie that came out around Gabriellas time and they litterally used the same design down to the color, added "dream" on her shirt and called it good.

[@sarahg.tinder7608]

I love your videos so much. I didn’t know I wanted to hear you talk about American Girl but of course I do

[@marcusr4711]

around 13:30 - i do believe it was explicitly stated that she had dyslexia in the movie. in the movie, mckenna broke her leg during a gymnastics competition and had to focus on school things for a while, which is when she discovered that she had dyslexia. if it wasn’t explicitly stated, then it was heavily implied to the point where i misremember it, lol. there were images of the words flying off the page and an echoey voice when she was reading, which was meant to simulate the experience of reading comprehension difficulties. i haven’t seen this movie in years, but i also watched it 10x more than any other of the movies as a kid, so correct me if any of this doesn’t add up.

[@kristencurtis7031]

Shout out to everyone whose parents couldn't afford an American Girl doll for them.

[@not_jay1]

The Jake Gyllenhaal joke caught me so off guard I spit out my water💀💀

[@belfry.bats.xx.]

i feel like a lot of people forget about cecile, who was another historical character. she was marie-grace's best friend and she was a poc character! but unfortunately they were both retired after a pretty short while, iirc. either way, wonderful video!

[@itslina6500]

new ashley lets fucking go

[@MadameSomnambule]

I remember looking through an American Girl catalogue once as a kid and I always thought the historical dolls were so cool! Hell, I remember wanting the long overcoat that Samantha wears along with the hat because they did sell wearable life sized versions of that back in the early 2000s. I also briefly saw her movie but I only vaguely remember it. I should watch it again some time. Looking at the customization options for the current dolls, the hairstyles to choose from are pretty limited, particularly hair (though I guess you could modify it later to give the doll short bangs if you wanted). There seem to be a couple natural hair options that would fit a girl of color which makes me wonder if anyone's even pulled off coily hair in dolls yet, like teeny tiny curls (I can't remember what texture label it has though, it's been a while since I read about hair texture in poc).

[@rainwhisperer1678]

this is probably so niche but i was big on agig (american girl instagram) when i was in middle school, and every time i see people our age still talking about american girl it warms the coldest parts of my heart. excited to watch this!

[@Dragonofyarn]

Oh my word, any time I see American Girl stuff I get sooooo nostalgic!! I remember watching the movies and reading the books in elementary school. I miss the way the books used to be and that some of the dolls I grew up with are gone 😭 Rebecca, ngl, was probably my favorite.

[@Aster_Risk]

This was such a cool video, and I'm all for you doing more content like this. Seeing you investigate something is a ton of fun.

[@shaliekk]

"Samantha was my girl" YES! I LOVE Samantha! I finally got her as a birthday present last year and it was AWESOME! *ehem* sorry you were saying?

[@Zoopop13]

I remember getting my doll for xmas when I was a kid. My Nana got me so many Molly outfits and the grey suitcase. I was so into the history dolls. My library had an AG club I went to monthly. Good times.

[@averybutdifferent5294]

I remember literally all of this. I got all the catalogs, and that was how I entertained myself as a kid. I never even asked my parents to buy most of the stuff I liked, I just enjoyed looking at the pictures

[@Starr_lit]

Same

[@isabelafn1]

i was So obsessed with american girl as a kid which is kind of insane seeing i never lived in the us but I DID manage to get my hands on a handful of catalogues and they were my most prized possession

[@AFarmerCalledChicken]

I’m so old I didn’t even know about any of the newer ones. I only had Kitt and I had Coconut and the black and white cat. My aunt still has Addy that she got way back in her childhood.

[@corisantucci9487]

that video clip of all the dolls moving scary as hell

[@ashleynorton]

They’ve gotten really into stop motion over the past couple years 😅

[@gracem9254]

I just found your channel a couple months ago but you are literally my favorite youtuber I’ve seen all of your videos

[@ashleynorton]

Aw thank you 🥹

[@emmabelew-ladue8418]

omg the taylor, and justin bieber books… i used to get those at the scholastic book fair

[@Lainie_joy]

Things from a collector's view that you might have not known: Logan used the Kaya mold which is for a native American doll not some white boy and Ag FINALLY made a fully Asian doll she is also getting her own movie and has colored hair with a new face mold

[@snailart14]

Air force barbie is iconic