Ok, I have held my tongue long enough... I am going public. I do not like the American Girl franchise. There, I said it. You can all start throwing tomatoes now.
I was first exposed to American Girls a couple of years ago. I saw Ariana's friends with them and thought they were cute, sweet... much better than a Bratz doll or many of the other questionable female images we expose our daughters to.
I never really paid them much thought since none of my girls ever asked about them or wanted them... until we received a random American Girl catalog in the mail one day. As I opened the pages, I must have uttered a few profanities not suitable for my little mommy blog. A singular DOLL cost close to $100!!! Yes... one, zero, zero. And that is just the beginning. Clothes cost $25-$35 per outfit (and a little girl can get a matching outfit for $70-$80!), ear piercing or hair styling for $20, cribs for $75. And, there are way more ridiculous items I am not even mentioning.
As I flipped through the catalog, I was shocked and wondered how the hell this company conned people into thinking it was ok to spend more on these dolls than I spend on my own human needs. How could I possibly spend hundreds of dollars and this marketing bonanza and instill any sense of social responsibility, sense of living simply (or at the very least, not extravagantly!) in my daughters?
But, I seem to be the only person in America that shares these thoughts. People that purchase these girls don't seem to bat an eyelash. I was completely taken aback when a women whom I adore from stalking her blog asked her followers on Twitter about buying an American Girl doll. This woman has the most fantastic blog that shares great ideas for interacting/teaching/playing with your small children. From her blog, "Her impetus for this blog? Sharing with friends and family how she tries to sneak in some sort of learning for her own children in the every day. Nothing super-fancy, expensive, or complicated--just learning through meaningful time and play together." (I am not linking to her blog or naming her because I really do respect her and am just using her as an example, not trying to call her out.) Nothing super-fancy or expensive? Clearly she and I have completely differing views on fancy or expensive- If I spent $30 on clothing for myself, I would consider it fancy, let alone for a molded, plastic Stepford baby.
The next blow came recently when I asked my friend... "Bob" (let's just call him Bob so he won't know I am talking about him) told me he bought his youngest daughter an American Girl for Christmas! Bob!!! Let me paint you a picture... Bob has had the same Birkenstocks for 15 years and has resorted to using duct tape to hold them on his feet. He wears 10 year old corduroys and thrift store t-shirts. So, the concept of him shelling out $100 for anything, let alone something so frivolous for his impressionable little girl, floored me.
I guess that's it. I am alone on this one. My daughters will be off at college some day when the rest of their peers are sitting in their basement playing with the American Girl dolls that their parents forewent a college savings for.
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