I have to say, my daughter is a very avid fan of American Girl, and for a number of years we have always gone after the latest Girl of the Year. However, in the most recent years, I am noticing a pattern of lazy doll design, and I think I am frustrated enough to skip the 2015 Girl of the Year (GOTY), Grace Thomas.
Call me crazy, but, aside from slapping a new backstory onto the doll, it is essentially the same doll that American Girl has sold us a dozen times. I know, I know, Barbie and Monster High do the same basic thing, but, most 12″ fashion dolls tend to cap out around $25, whereas American Girl was charging $120 for the 2014 Girl of the Year, Isabelle (I believe Grace here went down to $115 – the first doll price drop in years). Basically, Grace is just the 2012 GOTY, McKenna, with darker hair and bangs – or, if you prefer, the 2009 GOTY, Chrissa, with longer hair and bangs.
Lets look at the chart of all the previous Girl of the Year dolls, so you can share in my disappointment with me (image swiped from livingadollslife.blogspot.com ):
The 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2014 Girl of the Year (Lindsey, Kailey, Nikki, Mia, Lanie, Saige, and Isabelle) have had the Classic face mold, which is the most widely used face mold in the American Girl line up. After that, the next most popular mold is the Josephina mold, which was used for the 2005, 2009, 2012, and 2014 Girl of the Year (Marisol, Chrissa, and McKenna). The remaining two dolls, 2006 and 2011 (Jess and Kanani), use the Jess face mold, which was first introduced and used on the 2006 Girl of the Year doll, Jess. Call me crazy, but I’m ready to see something very different from American Girl. Even a brown haired doll with brown eyes would at least be something a little different at this point.
I’d also like to point out the the 2013 GOTY, Saige, and the 2007 GOTY, Nikki, are pretty identical. Redish-brownish hair, freckles, both Western in theme and crazy about horses. Don’t let the photo fool you, Nikki dolls came with a braid just like Saige’s. There was very little that you could call different between these dolls and their general backgrounds. I’m not sure if this is because Nikki sold well or because the design team didn’t bother to look at previous stories, but it was not their finest moment and they seem to be repeating that same kind of rehashing with Grace’s appearance.
Next, I feel disappointed in Grace Thomas’s story. Some of the GOTY tales are hit or miss, and too many of them focus on girly girl activities like horses, dancing, gymnastics, ice skating, etc. Things that you expect to see a young girl take part in. Other girls have had more interesting interests though: Kailey was a surfer girl, Jess was an explorer, Chrissa was a swimmer with a very bad bullying problem. These were are all stories that I was excited to show my daughter. Tough girls doing things that a lot of girls wouldn’t consider trying because it’s not a girly thing to do.
Grace, though, takes the cake in gender stereotypes – literally! She’s a girl that loves to cook. WOW! That’s so original! Why don’t we drown her in pink and give her a baby and a kitchen to clean so that she can continue being a figure that does not encourage girls to break the mold… Grace also runs her own business, as much as a child can at least, but that is not a redeeming quality for the story. I know there are millions of women who do love to cook, but why can’t Grace have a brother who loves to cook and she runs the business end of things? Or why can’t she make skateboards or be a karate champion or an aspiring engineer who builds cool gadgets? Why does it have to be a girl obsessed with France and cooking, like a 1950s stereotype? I want my daughter to think outside of the kitchen! Girls will never do that without having plenty of role models, and I would like my girl to say “hey, Grace is doing ‘boy’ things and maybe I want to try that too!”
I’d also like to see a an economically disadvantaged Girl of the Year. Most of the girls have been upper middle class kids whose parents have the means to spend hundreds a month to indulge their children’s interests. In fact, most of the GOTY dolls have a story that defines the girl based on a very expensive, luxury activity. But what about the huge portion of girls who cannot afford such things on a regular basis? What do they do? How do they define themselves without a key activity like horseback riding or being on a costly team? Maybe it’s time to see a backstory that teaches the highly privileged girls of the world that they are very fortunate, and not everyone has the opportunities that they do (because, lets face it, any little girl who owns at least one doll that cost over $100 is a very fortunate child, indeed). And I want to see that life through the Girl of the Year’s eyes, not as a side story for their buddy or someone else they’re trying to help in an almost piteous way. What does it feel like to have to accept hand-me-downs from a friend or to shop at a thrift store? We may see a GOTY donate or fundraise to do good, or even befriend the poor kid to show how nice they are, but being on the receiving end of charity is a whole other ballgame that I would like to see explored. Hmm, that might actually be an award winning book right there.
American Girl, I love you in general, but I’m afraid I have to give Grace Thomas a big thumbs down for design and background story. I hope in 2016 the company will bring us something different and give collectors and kids a doll that they can really admire. For me, Grace is not it in the least…
Trying to Mom 