I'm an American Girl mom and this is what the doll maker needs to know about real American Girls
I've bonded with my daughters over American Girl's products and the 'girl power' culture. But it all feels like a betrayal now
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}I never thought I'd see the day when American Girl betrays actual American girls.
I am shocked, hurt, confused and justifiably irate — as a mom of daughters, as a once-growing girl and as a former champion of the encouraging and inclusive experience American Girl previously offered and celebrated for girls.
I am sickened. Along with millions of bereft moms, I no longer trust American Girl to support and celebrate our daughters. Encouraging growing girls to opt out of being a girl, aiming to confuse them against all natural biology, is egregious and obscene.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"If you haven't gone through puberty yet, the doctor might offer medicine to delay your body's changes, giving you more time to think about your gender identity... If you don’t have an adult you trust, there are organizations across the country that can help you. Turn to the resources on page 95 for more information." Reading these words in "Smart Girl's Guide: Body Image Book" confirms how stupid the dollmaker must think all of us moms are.
How dare American Girl betray us. How dare they seek to permanently damage our daughters. How dare they aim to separate innocent children from caregivers using fear.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Allow me to offer pro bono editing for the aforementioned passage: "If you haven't gone through puberty yet, understand that it can be a confusing experience... but most everything you will feel is likely normal for this time in your life. Always turn to an adult in your life who you feel comfortable with, for any questions you have — it might be scary to bring up some of the topics that are on your mind, but talking with an adult who you know personally is always the best thing to do. Being a girl can sometimes be complicated and confusing, but it's awesome." (There, I fixed it.)
American Girl products were appropriate, comforting, wholesome, inclusive and generally a last-man-standing representation of family-friendly. I used to trust them.
The most transformative experience of growing up — for all children, girls and boys — is learning to navigate what we've all experienced as "that awkward stage" and to muster faith and confidence in ourselves and our bodies, no matter how different we all might look and feel. For American Girl to usurp parental and caregiver authority in the name of physically damaging children's healthy hormonal development is pure evil.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}American Girl’s woke-cowering, under a warped guise of "inclusivity," has irreversible consequences that extend beyond the child-to-tween years that the doll maker serves. Just ask the growing hundreds of "detransistioners" sharing their devastating personal stories of irreparable psychological and physical damage, thanks to puberty blockers and/or gender reassignment surgery, across Instagram and TikTok now.
Will American Girl offer guidance or funds to the mangled kids who might've taken its words in their body image book to heart? Has American Girl fully vetted the counselors and therapists associated with the "page 95" services they’re directing minors to contact without parental or guardian consent? The company is directing kids to contact STRANGERS who they don't know.
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In a statement released Thursday, the company says, "We value the views and feedback of our customers and acknowledge the perspectives on this issue. The content in this book, geared for kids 10+, was developed in partnership with medical and adolescent care professionals and consistently emphasizes the importance of having conversations and discussing any feelings with parents or trusted adults."
I've sipped lemonade out of tiny cups while laughing with my toddlers in American Girl cafes. I've wandered their expansive aisles with my wide-eyed girls seeking the "perfect matching outfit" for our Samantha Parkington doll. I've bonded with my tween young lady through American Girl’s "The Care and Keeping of You" book as we were launching into a new and unfamiliar time in her life.
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American Girl products were appropriate, comforting, wholesome, inclusive and generally a last-man-standing representation of family-friendly. I used to trust them. I used to trust the "girl power" culture they helped create. Now, I see they were lying to all of us.
American Girl must retract and repair its attack on impressionable growing girls and reverse its ambush on young women. American moms of American girls are waiting.