Flap Over "Homeless" American Girl Doll
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American Girl dolls are expensive and extremely popular - among the most sought-after toys among girls from ages four and up.
Each doll comes with its own storyline, and a relatively new doll is causing quite a stir.
"Gwen," which debuted this year, is portrayed as being homeless.
In an accompanying book and movie, "Chrissa Stands Strong," a friend stands up for Gwen against bullying classmates.
"I think (a 'homeless' doll is) a good idea," one mother shopping in an American Girl store told CBS News Correspondent Hattie Kauffman. "It kind of shows awareness to what's going on in the world."
"I think it's really a good idea, because homelessness affects everybody, at different economic levels," Herb Smith, president of the Los Angeles Mission, remarked to Kauffman. "I actually think it's a good teaching tool."
Not so fast, say some homeless advocates, such as one who observed to Kauffman that she finds "the whole concept to be extremely disturbing. It's not a doll I would ever buy for a child."
There are between 7,000 and 10,000 homeless children in L.A. alone, Kauffman notes, and it's doubtful many, if any, could afford Gwen's $95 price tag.
One homeless woman in a shelter Kauffman visited said Gwen touched her heart when she saw the doll in its box.
The women praised the doll, Kauffman reports, until they learned Gwen isn't a fundraising device for the homeless.
"I don't even see why you would make a homeless doll, anyway," one woman said to Kauffman, unless it was being used to raise money to help charities aiding the homeless.
American Girl says the dolls "offer valuable lessons about life," and it is "disheartened that there has been any confusion over our fictional characters." The company adds that, while no proceeds from sales of Gwen and related offerings go directly to help the homeless, it has given almost $500,000 since 2006 to HomeAid, a national nonprofit group that tries to help the homeless find housing.
Another concern of some advocates for the homeless is that the dolls could send the wrong message to kids. Tanya Tull, president of Beyond Shelter, says she's "afraid that they're going to pick up the idea that it's OK, that it's an accepted segment of society that some children are homeless and some children are not."
Gwen is a "limited edition" doll, only slated to be available for a few more months.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Each doll comes with its own storyline, and a relatively new doll is causing quite a stir.
"Gwen," which debuted this year, is portrayed as being homeless.
In an accompanying book and movie, "Chrissa Stands Strong," a friend stands up for Gwen against bullying classmates.
"I think (a 'homeless' doll is) a good idea," one mother shopping in an American Girl store told CBS News Correspondent Hattie Kauffman. "It kind of shows awareness to what's going on in the world."
"I think it's really a good idea, because homelessness affects everybody, at different economic levels," Herb Smith, president of the Los Angeles Mission, remarked to Kauffman. "I actually think it's a good teaching tool."
Not so fast, say some homeless advocates, such as one who observed to Kauffman that she finds "the whole concept to be extremely disturbing. It's not a doll I would ever buy for a child."
There are between 7,000 and 10,000 homeless children in L.A. alone, Kauffman notes, and it's doubtful many, if any, could afford Gwen's $95 price tag.
One homeless woman in a shelter Kauffman visited said Gwen touched her heart when she saw the doll in its box.
The women praised the doll, Kauffman reports, until they learned Gwen isn't a fundraising device for the homeless.
"I don't even see why you would make a homeless doll, anyway," one woman said to Kauffman, unless it was being used to raise money to help charities aiding the homeless.
American Girl says the dolls "offer valuable lessons about life," and it is "disheartened that there has been any confusion over our fictional characters." The company adds that, while no proceeds from sales of Gwen and related offerings go directly to help the homeless, it has given almost $500,000 since 2006 to HomeAid, a national nonprofit group that tries to help the homeless find housing.
Another concern of some advocates for the homeless is that the dolls could send the wrong message to kids. Tanya Tull, president of Beyond Shelter, says she's "afraid that they're going to pick up the idea that it's OK, that it's an accepted segment of society that some children are homeless and some children are not."
Gwen is a "limited edition" doll, only slated to be available for a few more months.
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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.