aroundtheriverssbend: magicmoon65: breezeinmonochromenight: star-linedsoul: razzleberryjam: ironwoma

aroundtheriverssbend:magicmoon65:breezeinmonochromenight:star-linedsoul:razzleberryjam:ironwoman359:chaos-in-the-making:smugkoalas:allthefandomss:that-catholic-shinobi:gahdamnpunk:American Girl stories were the best tbhDude, read the books, she and her mom freed themselves in Book 1. We don’t disrespect American Girl in this house Don’t you dare disrespect Addy, or any of my girls for that matter. American Girl used to be legit. Good stories, good dolls, good movies. Felicity’s story was set in the beginnings of the American Revolution, and addressed the conflict that she faced when her loved ones were split between patriots and loyalists. It also covered the effects of animal abuse, and forgiving those who are unforgivable. Samantha’s stories centered around the growth of industrial America, women’s suffrage, child abuse, and corruption in places of power. Also, it emphasises how dramatically adoption into a caring family can turn a life around. Kit’s story is one of my favorites. Her family is hit hard by the Great Depression, and they begin taking in boarders and raise chickens to help make ends meet. Her books include themes of poverty, police brutality, homelessness, prejudice, and the importance of unity in difficult times. Molly’s father, a doctor, is drafted during the Second World War. Throughout her story, friends of hers suffer the loss of their husbands, sons, and brothers overseas. Her mother leaves the traditional housewife position and works full-time to help with the war effort. They also take in an English refugee child, who learns to open up after a life of traumatic experience. American Girl stories have always featured the very harsh realities of America through the years. But they’re always presented honestly, yet in ways that kids can understand. They just go to show that you don’t have to live in a perfect time to be a real American girl. Dont you fucking dare disrespect the American Girls in my house. ESPECIALLY Addy!! That was my first REAL contact with the horrors of slavery, as I read about her father being whipped and sold and her mother escaping with her to freedom, but also how freedom was still a struggle.A slave doll. Please. Read the books. Don’t forget Kirsten, the Swedish immigrant who had to deal with balancing her own culture and learning the english language and customs of her classmates, or Kaya (full name Kaya'aton'my, or She Who Arranges Rocks) , the brave but careless girl from the Nez Perce tribe, or Josefina, the Mexican girl learning to be a healer.And then there are the later dolls, that kids younger than me would have grown up with (I was just outgrowing American Girl as these came out), like Rebecca, the Jewish girl who dreams of becoming an actress in the budding film industry, or Julie, who fights against her school’s gender policy surrounding sports in the 70s, or Nanea, the Hawaiian girl whose father worked at Pearl Harbor.These books, these characters, are fantastic pictures into life for girls in America throughout the years, they pull no punches with the horrors that these girls had to face in their different time periods, and in many cases I learned more history from these series than social studies at school. And that’s without even mentioning the “girl of the year” series where characters are created in the modern world to help girls deal with issues like friend problems, moving, or bullying. We do NOT disrespect American Girl in this house.American Girl is probably going to be the only exposure young girls are going to get to history from a female perspective. This is actually kind of important considering that in history classes we dont really get that exposure. We dont hear about what women felt and endured during these time periods cause schools are too busy teaching us about what happened from the male perspective, which is not unimportant, but we need both. Girls need both.These books were such a crucial part of my childhood and shaped my love of history, which still ensures today. These books can be a young girl’s first lessons in diversity and cultural awareness (hopefully burying that insensitive “we’re all Americans” tripe) and looking at history from more perspectives than just that taught in school. They also are an example of how women have ALWAYS been part of history, which some people would rather us not believe.I think Kit and Kaya were the newest American Girls when I started “aging out” of the books, but hearing about some of these kinda makes me want to revisit them!I wasn’t gonna say anything, but you know what? Nah.OP (of the tweet thread) was either a actively trying to start shit or is just a huge fucking moron. Probably both.I’d like to point out that the company that makes American Girl dolls actually doesn’t skimp when doing their research and they don’t make the dolls with the intent to be offensive in any way:I didn’t know that about Kaya! That’s AWESOME. As someone who worked in the American Girl section of Chapters in Canada, these stories are so very deep and thorough, and the research they do is incredible. They actually had several people work on the design of Addy’s hair to be more accurate to the texture of natural hair. And while they have other dolls in the other branches of their brand, Addy’s hair still remains unique to her alone. Josefina’s story is about the loss of her mother while she dealt with foreigners and learning to become a healer. She was never in the store I worked at, so I don’t remember much of her story, but I remember a coworker being incredibly happy that it existed!! Cecile was sold alongside Marie-Grace as a pair, and their story revolves around self confidence, having friends, and learning to pursue your passions in life. They were both retired before I began working there, so I also did not learn their stories as well as I’d have liked to. The Truly Me line has a variety of dolls with different face moods, eye colours, skin colours, hair colours & textures. You can get them hearing aids, there are bald dolls. There are sets like the diabetes care kit, crutches, arm crutches, wheelchairs, and probably so many more since I left my position in 2017. The Girl of the Year line features many different stories about girls in our present world, featuring girls in STEM, finding passion in arts, dealing with bullying, overcoming adversity and odds stacked against you. There are now boy dolls that has started allowing young boys to grow their interest when they may not have prior to their existence. This brand means so much to me and to so many others, both young and old. They have given the world its history from a girl’s point of view, and its empowering young minds around the globe, and trust me when I say that. I’ve met collectors from Australia, England, and India, and that’s only a short list off the top of my head. We do not disrespect American Girl in this household -- source link

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