American Girl Births Homeless Doll
The doll house for upper-middle class girls has jumped into the marketing-homelessness-is-profitable bandwagon. American Girl, the store that promotes dolls for $95, is now selling a doll who happens to be homeless.
Designers across the country seem to think homelessness sells. Critics think this is just a marketing ploy. Others think this is exploitive. While, some feel bringing up the issue of homelessness within mainstream marketing actually helps the cause.
What truly helps the cause of resolving homelessness is simple… housing.
So what’s an appropriate approach to raising the issue of homelessness? Putting up Barney’s clothing displays mimicking homelessness? Birthing American Girl dolls that happen to be homeless? Certainly, traditional advocacy efforts to encourage this country to address homelessness is not sufficient. Just look at the increasing numbers of homelessness across this nation. At least homeless displays and dolls get the country’s attention.
I get a feeling, however, that the NY Post leans toward American Girl selling homeless dolls as demeaning:
Barbie she's not. Meet Gwen Thompson, the newest addition to the American Girl canon of dolls -- the wildly suc cessful, extremely expensive brand of faux children that are sold out of a four-story town house in the heart of Fifth Avenue.
Little children as young as 4 are addicted to these pricey little monsters. It's like middle-American crack. You have an African-American doll, an American Indian doll. A Jewish one. A doll who "lived" during the Great Depression, and one from the Roaring '20s.
And while you were snoozing, the creators of American Girl, which is sold by Mattel, got bold. They engaged in all-out political indoctrination. Snuck into the collection is a doll that comes with a biography that is weird and potentially offensive enough to keep Mom running to the Maalox. Gwen, you see, is harboring a terrible secret.
She is homeless. A homeless doll.
In the history books that come with every American Girl doll -- bringing to life these little monsters until impressionable little ones believe they are actual people -- you learn that Gwen's father walked out on the family. Her mother lost her job.
As the little kiddies learn to read about this doll as if she's a human being, one learns that, as fall turned into winter, Gwen's mom lost her grip. Mother and daughter started bedding down in a car.
Designers across the country seem to think homelessness sells. Critics think this is just a marketing ploy. Others think this is exploitive. While, some feel bringing up the issue of homelessness within mainstream marketing actually helps the cause.
What truly helps the cause of resolving homelessness is simple… housing.
So what’s an appropriate approach to raising the issue of homelessness? Putting up Barney’s clothing displays mimicking homelessness? Birthing American Girl dolls that happen to be homeless? Certainly, traditional advocacy efforts to encourage this country to address homelessness is not sufficient. Just look at the increasing numbers of homelessness across this nation. At least homeless displays and dolls get the country’s attention.
I get a feeling, however, that the NY Post leans toward American Girl selling homeless dolls as demeaning:
Barbie she's not. Meet Gwen Thompson, the newest addition to the American Girl canon of dolls -- the wildly suc cessful, extremely expensive brand of faux children that are sold out of a four-story town house in the heart of Fifth Avenue.
Little children as young as 4 are addicted to these pricey little monsters. It's like middle-American crack. You have an African-American doll, an American Indian doll. A Jewish one. A doll who "lived" during the Great Depression, and one from the Roaring '20s.
And while you were snoozing, the creators of American Girl, which is sold by Mattel, got bold. They engaged in all-out political indoctrination. Snuck into the collection is a doll that comes with a biography that is weird and potentially offensive enough to keep Mom running to the Maalox. Gwen, you see, is harboring a terrible secret.
She is homeless. A homeless doll.
In the history books that come with every American Girl doll -- bringing to life these little monsters until impressionable little ones believe they are actual people -- you learn that Gwen's father walked out on the family. Her mother lost her job.
As the little kiddies learn to read about this doll as if she's a human being, one learns that, as fall turned into winter, Gwen's mom lost her grip. Mother and daughter started bedding down in a car.
posted by LA's Homeless Blog at
8:09 AM
2 Comments:
The doll is rather offensive. I enjoyed reading this blog, although was hoping you would make a "follow me" link for bloggers like you have for the other networking areas.
Also was wondering how this blog is from an "inside perspective" of homelessness when it is not actually a blog made by a homeless person? This seems to be a blog on issues pertaining to homelessness?
i've read the books and thought it was cue, she was homeless but there was a happy ending her and her mother found a home. I don't think its offenseive I think that it could help because after i read my daughters book i became more aware of this issue
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