Boy, everyone sure is riled up over this. The so-called "flap" that is mentioned in the headline, of course, was created by the journalist herself. It seems like very little research was actually done for this story - hence the stir. Far be it from me to defend a big company, but in the big picture world of toys -- American Girl (owned by Mattel, but not created by Mattel) is one of the few (or only?) companies that is trying to broaden the horizons of girls. Anyone who watched the movie, "Chrissa Standing Strong" knows that Gwen and her homelessness is depicted very sensitively as is the main theme of the movie about the problem of bullying. If the story of Gwen and Chrissa means a few less mean girls in the world, then the the AG people have done their job successfully. If a little girl wants a Gwen doll, then that is a sweet little girl who is learning not to judge and stigmatize. If Mattel wants to donate to the problem of homelessness, great. It seems as though they already have and hopefully will continue to in even greater quantities.
What an injustice to the homeless: Let's profit off your plight. And to add insult to injury, let's make fathers the scapegoat, by implying that it the dad that caused all of this.
As a full-time stay-at-home dad with 5 kids, I just lined the kitty litter box with the new American Doll catalog.
If they wanted to raise awareness for social issues why not name her "Angel" and say that she likes to accompany her father on the weekends to a soup kitchen where she helps feed the less fortunate and play with homeless kids. And with every purchase of Angel, Mattel will donate a portion to organizations dedicated to helping homeless children.
Hey, Mattel. Make a difference, instead of making fools of yourself. I guess nothing sells better than controversy. All I can picture is some homeless girl fogging up the window outside your Chicago storefront wondering what $95 tastes like.
Hi. THis is coming from a teens point of view. When I was younger American Girl dolls used to have something in them that you looked up too. That you wanted to be when you grew up. They all had a trait like bravery, kindess, saving the earth, or a special talent. A homeless girl has none of these. What are we supposed to look up too in a homeless girl. I am just saying. It is repulsive out of all the things they could have chosen this girl too be they chose a homeless girl.
I think this is so incredibly sad, that an established company such as American Doll would treat a real issue such as a homeless child with such flagrant disregard and with nothing but capitalist intentions is outrageous. I don't care how much they say they donate to homeless charities; lets not forget the price point is such that it could feed a homeless family alone. If they are going to market a doll as a homeless child at the very least they have a moral obligation to donate some of the proceeds to programs for homeless children specifically; otherwise it is taking a real problem and turning into a object to generate profit...shame on you American Doll!
Well, American Girl is not trying to bring out the issue of homelessness like most clueless people who are not familiar with American Girl think. Become familiar with the book before judgment. Who can really take this selfish article seriously? American Girl is trying to bring out the issue of bullying, regardless of a person's background, whether that person is rich, poor, Indian, or new to a school. This article is trying to turn the whole point of the campaign around. They are donating to an anti-bullying association because that is what the story is educating children on and trying to help children understand how negative it is. Do your research before you make ignorant accusations. I understand they are expensive, but authentic dolls are hard to come by. Nowadays people want quality for nothing. At least buy the books. Those are more important than the dolls. This article is a waste of time.
Someone said they could "make a homeless doll with a burlap sack filled dirt". So is that how we portray a homeless child? Yes, the price of the doll is expensive, but may that's why they designed the doll (because this that is often the way people picture homeless people). A lot of comments are saying that Gwen doesn't "look" homeless". Well how does homelessness look? I also want to ask if there is outrage that Addy Walker was a slave?
I have an American Girl doll. I got her when I was a kid and I also grew up loving the stories that the dolls are based on. I am 25 now and I think the lessons learned from those dolls and their adventures helped me become a better person. I still think that the American Girl Company is a very reputable one in general. However, I quite agree that Gwen is somewhat controversial. The problem I have with her, because if I had a daughter right now I don't think I would let her have Gwen, is because it is glorifying the idea of being homeless, as many said above. It is unfortunate, but what is more unfortunate is that there are too many people who qualify as "being" homeless that take advantage of the government programs such as welfare aid, and they teach their children that it is alright to do so, instead of doing well in school and going to college. This should not be looked at as a "liberal agenda." At my graduation I learned that only 1% of the world has a college degree and that is sad. We need to remember that we need to put more efforts as a nation to eliminate homelessness, and give people the drive to better themselves to break the cycle. Granted, everyone's story is different and not everyone chooses to be homeless, but this doll is definitely not the best way to go. I personally think that the doll that should represent this time in our history is one with a story about a girl who comes from a family of poor farmers or something and dreams of getting a scholarship and is able to get her dream job and help her family, because she sees that another family member has gone to school and became successful. That is a better tool for young girls to have as personal inspiration. And I would not pay $150 for a doll's cardboard box and shopping cart, even if I was a millionaire. That is just ridiculous, no matter how good the intentions are!
So you would rather ignore the truth that there are millions of homeless children. Everyone who is homeless does not choose to be homeless, and I'm sure they don't like living that way. People do not choose to be homeless so that they take advantage of government programs. They can have a home and still receive government assistance. Just because someone is on government assistance doesn't mean that they are depending on it for life, and are teaching that to their children. Often times single mothers receive it while they are in college, and they graduate from college with honors. I don't know what you majored in, but it unfortunate that so many people people looke at people receiving public assistance that way. You don't know their circumstances or what they experienced during their childhood. There are so many people today who would have never thought they would have had to turn to public assistance or be homeless, but due to what's going on in the economy and so many people losing jobs unexpectedly. So take all of this into consideration before you look down on people.
It dosen't really sound like you know what you're talking about, maybe you should read up on Gwen and Chrissa's story before you decide that you are offended by a doll. The doll is not "glorifying" being homeless! In the story she overcomes her situation. Much like a lot of people who are on government assistance for a period of time in their lives, she was able to get back on her feet. I don't see why people are getting so offended by a doll that has a story about a life experience that is very real to a lot of people.
And why do you think college is the answer to everything? You say that less than 1% of people in the world have graduated from college. Well maybe in other countries a college degree dosen't do anything for you like it does here. Are you that closed-minded and imperialistic that you think the rest of the world must be like the US; or does it just make you feel better to go around thinking you are better than 99% of the world's population?
If you want to throw around statistics, how about this: the average amount of time for anyone on welfare in the US is 3 months. I'm not saying there aren't people abusing the system, but the majority of people on assistance are using it to overcome a major obstacle in their lives, getting back on their feet and moving on. I don't think this is something a child should be ashamed of if their family has gone through a rough patch. In this economic climate with the unemployment rate as high as it is there are a lot of families struggling and turning to government aid for the first time ever. I think the doll teaches kids tolerance and empowers them to stand up for their friends whose families may be struggling to make ends meet.
In the 1960's there was a homeless doll that really looked like a homeless little girl...Little Miss No Name was her name. It made a big impression on little girls. It was only sold for one season. It seemed to have either scared the little ones or made them feel like they need to help her. If you read blog of people who had this doll it's interesting to see many of them became some type of human services worker. http://www.whitless.com/littlemissnoname2.htm this is a website where you can see what she looked like. Now that was a homeless doll! I don't know if it's a good thing or not but it made a big impression on my life. I think if a person has an empathetic personality it will make you feel like helping others if you don't already have that in you I think it will just be another doll.
I can't believe all the ignorant remarks on this site - everything from racism to stereotyping. As for the doll, I used to run a large homeless shelter in an area where the demographic population was mostly caucasion. In this shelter we served mainly homeless male veterans. The other prevalent people in the shelter were families with young children. It was a ratio of about 10:1.
Simply put, I think it's appalling that ANY person or company would exploit such persons for personal gain, and not even have the gall to at least give a specified portion of the profit from EACH doll sold to homeless shelters.. I shake my head in disbelief.
For Goodness sake. It's just a doll. Gwen eventually found a home in the movie!!! Her mom was falling on hard times and found a place to live. They showed how Chrissa helped Gwen overcome the bullying for being homeless. Did any of you watch it!!
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GWEN ISN'T HOMELESS!!!!!!!!!!
It was only BRIEFLY mentioned in the book and the movie once or twice. People need to do their research.
As a full-time stay-at-home dad with 5 kids, I just lined the kitty litter box with the new American Doll catalog.
If they wanted to raise awareness for social issues why not name her "Angel" and say that she likes to accompany her father on the weekends to a soup kitchen where she helps feed the less fortunate and play with homeless kids. And with every purchase of Angel, Mattel will donate a portion to organizations dedicated to helping homeless children.
Hey, Mattel. Make a difference, instead of making fools of yourself. I guess nothing sells better than controversy. All I can picture is some homeless girl fogging up the window outside your Chicago storefront wondering what $95 tastes like.
When I was younger American Girl dolls used to have something in them that you looked up too. That you wanted to be when you grew up. They all had a trait like bravery, kindess, saving the earth, or a special talent. A homeless girl has none of these. What are we supposed to look up too in a homeless girl. I am just saying.
It is repulsive out of all the things they could have chosen this girl too be they chose a homeless girl.
And why do you think college is the answer to everything? You say that less than 1% of people in the world have graduated from college. Well maybe in other countries a college degree dosen't do anything for you like it does here. Are you that closed-minded and imperialistic that you think the rest of the world must be like the US; or does it just make you feel better to go around thinking you are better than 99% of the world's population?
If you want to throw around statistics, how about this: the average amount of time for anyone on welfare in the US is 3 months. I'm not saying there aren't people abusing the system, but the majority of people on assistance are using it to overcome a major obstacle in their lives, getting back on their feet and moving on. I don't think this is something a child should be ashamed of if their family has gone through a rough patch. In this economic climate with the unemployment rate as high as it is there are a lot of families struggling and turning to government aid for the first time ever. I think the doll teaches kids tolerance and empowers them to stand up for their friends whose families may be struggling to make ends meet.
Simply put, I think it's appalling that ANY person or company would exploit such persons for personal gain, and not even have the gall to at least give a specified portion of the profit from EACH doll sold to homeless shelters.. I shake my head in disbelief.