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American Girl - Blog Posts
This is one of my favorite pieces I’ve done because it is so nostalgic for me! I used to make AG stop motions and draw AG dolls all the time as a kid, they were such a big part of my childhood and I made some of my favorite memories with them! ♥️
American Girl Magazine, March 1999
Oh my god I hate Mattel so much.
They took the American Girl brand and gave it a lobotomy.
I was going to make a very very very very bad joke about one of the 90s girls getting an eating disorder after watching Britney Spears, BUT DECIDED AGAINST IT because eating disorders are something you don’t joke about, BUT. HERE’S THE THING.
Here’s the thing. Being a tween-to-teen-age girl in the late 90s early 2000s was BULLSHIT. You had 16-year-old Britney Spears singing “Hit me baby one more time” in her Lolita schoolgirl miniskirt and crop top showing off her perfectly flat abs, and then you went to school and had abstinence-only sex ed mandated by the evangelical right wing who gave out purity rings and told you that only sluts had sex before marriage. And then there was the issue of being a fat girl trying to find jeans that met her school’s dress code the days of low-rise jeans and belly button rings.
I ended up adoring Linkin Park because their music gave voice to the rage that I had inside of me because of all that. I wore men’s pants from Hot Topic not only because I thought they were cool, but they actually fucking fit and they covered my ass crack. I wore black because I didn’t fit in to the ultra-skinny, ultra cool kid Abercrombie aesthetic. And THAT is what growing up in the 90s and coming of age in the 2000s was like.
“Nicki Hoffman is a nine going on ten year old girl living in Seattle, Washington just before the year 2000 (the turn of the millennium). She is six minutes older than her fraternal twin sister, Isabel, but one inch shorter. Nicki prefers grunge, ska music, rock, alternative, and skating; she is the “grunge” to Isabel’s glitter. She does not like eating raw fish and sushi; her father teases that they can’s spell “finicky” without Nicki. She likes sour candy–the more sour, the better. She’s known to be shy, to the point Isabel points this out; she initially doesn’t have other friends than Isabel. She’s very anxious about the Y2K problem and the risks and worries that have been circulating, so Isabel and her create a list to take her mind off her worries of things to do before New Year’s.Her favorite color is purple, her favorite animal is a dog (she adopts her puppy, Blossom, as a Hanukkah gift), her favorite band is No Doubt, and her favorite show is The Powerpuff Girls (her favorite character being Blossom). She likes to snack on Wild Berry Pop tarts. She does not like her middle name, Pearl.The family is interfaith and celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. “
It’s a sterilized and dumbed-down version of growing up in the 90s, one where they only real problem facing girls is the y2k bug. It’s about the aesthetic but not the experience. Honestly the girls of today deserve to see that their moms had it difficult, too, and that the pressure to grow up incredibly quickly and be beautiful and flawless and instantly become a woman is nothing new, now it’s just on TikTok instead of MTV.
It’s the trap of nostalgia. Just because you were younger and not as aware of the issues going on in the world doesn’t mean the world was better.
Fun fact: back in 2012, on this very blog, I made a post about American Girl dolls I’d like to see. One included a Black girl growing up during the civil rights movement and listening to Motown music. So yes, I’d love to take credit for Melody. But her actual creation goes back to a tweet someone made that I can’t find a link to right now. AG and the civil rights/motown era is SUCH a natural match, it’s kind of baffling it took until 2016 for Melody to finally come out. Being that she was a part of the “BeForever” line, it’s beyond infuriating that she only got two books.
THE GOOD NEWS IS BeForever was kind of a disaster for AG and they’ve done away with the brand. Claudie was released with Meet Claudie and her next book is Travels with Claudie so she definitely looks like she’s returning to the six book format. I doubt that the other girls released under the BeForever line (Nanea, Maryellen and Courtney) will get their full six books, which makes me so angry. I mean, given that Nanea is kind of specific to JUST pearl harbor, I can sooort of understand her having just two (even though I DEFINITELY think she should have gotten six. Hawaiian history and culture deserve a full six books). Given that Courtney is in the 80s, and a lot of what was controversial in the 80s is still controversial today, I can see how AG would be very very very hesitant to seriously dig into 80s history and politics, although six books in which Ronald Reagan and The Moral Majority are the bad guys would fucking rule. But for Maryellen and Melody it is bullshit of the highest order that they only got 2 books, especially when you consider that Maryellen’s big story is super bland bullshit about her struggling to stand out in her big family and not so much about confronting the sexist and racist cultural bullshit of the 50s. BUT she gets massive bonus points for covering the Salk vaccine (a major turning-point in history that doesn’t get NEARLY the amount of love and attention it deserves) and for having an amazing collection.
Melody being only two books is unforgivable. COMPLETELY UNFORGIVABLE. You cannot fit the enormity of civil rights and Motown and the 60s in general into just two books. All that being said, however, the two books they gave her seem to do a massive job with the tiny bit of space they were given. First of all, the advisory board for Melody is STACKED. Secondly, the trailer for Melody: Love Has to Win is the shit of Ron DeSantis’s nightmares:
A LITTLE BLACK GIRL REFUSING THE SAY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND SAYING THAT AMERICA IS UNJUST?! That’s the sound of millions of pearls being clutched all across the nation. I’m honestly shocked Moms for Liberty weren’t burning Melody’s books in the streets. I am hereby a Melody stan now and forever. I still SINCERELY hope she gets a re-release with her full six books and a much bigger collection. Because for real Melody may be my new favorite doll (although that could change depending on what kind of collection Claudie gets).
Soooooooo
I’m making my official recommendation for the girl of the year 2025 (I know 2024 just started but I’m down a rabbit hole right now)
So a lot of us are upset about the fact that there’s a continual of variety in all of the lines that American Girls produces (other than World by us, which is currently one sale and I think that says something)
I know we mostly focus on race but I personally would also like to see so more disability representation (they don’t even have a walking stick or cane available)
So, my suggestion is an Albino girl of African descent with a beautiful Afro who is blind. She could have an interest in anything (I like the idea that she’s a writer) but maybe give her a story about how she stands against the ableism, racism and hairism of the world. There are still little girls who get sent home from school because of their natural hair.
I personally think this would be a beautiful chance to share educate kids of all walks of life about the challenges all types of people face.
Anyway. I was thinking about it.
(Unrelated but I’m about to snatch up an Evette and I’m so excited cause I love her design so much and am so excited to read her story)
Hope to make new friends 🥰🌹
These new American Girl shoes look like if Jotaro was a Barbie
My big sis was really into it! So as long as I can remember there were always AG books in the house. I became extremely obsessed when I was 6, and then my mom got me Felicity for Christmas that year. My sister was mostly over it by the time she was 15. But for me, at age almost 20, the obsession has never died and I'm looking for the next doll on my list: Maryellen.
American Girl fans of Tumblr, what was your very first exposure to the brand?
Mine was finding a Meet Kaya book in my primary school's library.
reblogging this for my recently reignited love of the Historical Characters of American Girls! Love these books!
kirsten, josefina, addy, kit and julie's family and friends! :D
Love this!!