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April 07, 2006
American Girl Dolls . . . Not Quite a Rainbow
Article by Anita Creamer
Sacramento Bee Columnist
Midori Owata was an American Girl girl.
When she was 9, she fell in love with American Girl's historical dolls representing different eras in American history, each with a set of entertaining books that showed slices of the past through the eyes of a spunky female character.
A few years back, Iwata even modeled in two local American Girl fashion shows. And with her parents and twin brother, Sean, she toured historical displays in Williamsburg, VA and Washington D.C., purporting to show the lives of American Girl dolls from colonial and Victorian times.
At 17, the Christian Brothers senior from Elk Grove is much too old now for American Girl. But she's thinking of majoring in history in college - that's how strongly American Girl influenced her.
Still, she says: "I wanted to see an American Girl doll with an Asian American story. I felt like only half of me" - the half she inherited from her mother, who is white - "was represented through their dolls."
"I hope they come up with an Asian American doll before I have kids, so my daughters can have what I didn't."
That hope is echoed by Asian American parents and activists alike, who have launched a campaign to pressure the American Girl company into producing a historical doll that showcases America's Asian history.
Real American girls, after all, come from a rainbow of cultures, all of which have contributed to what America is today.
With its characteristic emphasis both on diversity and independent female role models, American Girl - which is owned by Mattel - added Addy, an African American doll from the Civil War era, to its historical collection in 1993. Josefina, a Mexican American doll from the early 1800s. appeared in 1997, followed by Kaya, an American Indian doll from the 1700s, in 2002.
The company, which also produces a line of contemporary dolls, promotes its eight historical dolls with the phrase "Every Story Has a Star."
The point, of course, isn't just to let girls of various ethnic backgrounds know their culture matters: It's to educate children of all races that in a multicultural society, we can learn from one another.
But where's the Chinese American doll with the story line set in San Francisco at the turn of the century? Or the Japanese American doll? Or the Vietnamese American doll?
"It's absolutely necessary," says Christina Fa, a Sacramento activist and pediatrician. "I hold the American Girl company to a higher standard. They claim to be a different kind of doll company. But what about Asian American history?"
There's a unique power in seeing yourself - your face, your culture, your people - represented in a positive way in pop culture, even in toys. It's a simple enough equation: when you're included, you count. When you're not, you don't.
White Americans take that for granted, because they can. Americans of other ethnicities cannot.
"Part of the reason I do what I do is that I grew up with a dearth of media images and toys," says Fa. "It can potentially shatter you to the core. This isn't just about dolls. It's deeper. This is a reflection of American culture."
When your history includes being excluded from the mainstream - and in too many instances having that exclusion enshrined in law - you come to realize that diversity isn't a buzzword. It's a necessity.
Even when it comes to dolls.
"We certainly understand how passionate people are about wanting historical dolls added to our collection," says Julie Parks, spokeswoman for Wisconsin-based American Girl, which sold 11 million in dolls last year. "We get hundreds of requests every year for characters representing different backgrounds and cultures and races. It's a laundry list, and it's difficult to please everyone."
Yet every other major racial group is already represented in American Girl's premier showcase, its collection of historical dolls and books. You can understand why some parents find the exclusion striking.
Allison Branscombe can laugh about it now. When her daughter, Lianne Remen, was only 3, the girl came to her one day with deep concern.
"I need a new mommy who looks like me," her daughter tod her.
Lianne, now 12, and her sister, Julie, 9, were both adopted as babies from Jiangxi province in China.
"I was crushed," says Branscombe. "But that was about her developing sense of ethnicity and racial identity."
Branscombe edits the newsletter for the Northern California chapter of Families with Children from China, a nonprofit that supports adoptive families and encourages them to honor their children's heritage.
As a new mother, she learned the importance of including her children's ethnic background in family life - because race matters. And children notice race even if adults pretend not to.
"I'd like to think we're more open-minded and aware of racial and ethnic stereotypes," says Branscombe. "But there are still subtle things."
Dolls, for example. Along with the usual assortment of blond Barbies, Branscombe and her husband, Bob Remen, made sure their daughters had Asian American dolls specially ordered from niche companies. Little else has been available.
The Remen girls never played much with American Girl dolls; Julie only recently received a doll from the contemporary line. Still, Julie and Lianne know about the unique subculture of the historical dolls, because what little girl doesn't?
"The historical dolls have their own stories, and they teach good things," says Lianne, a sixth-grader at Leonardo da Vinci School. "But it bothers me that none of these dolls looks Chinese. They sort of show off Caucasian culture and not anything different."
So when a fellow FCC newsletter editor from Kentucky forwarded Branscombe a copy of the e-mail she's sent to American Girl protesting the lack of Asian American historical dolls, Branscombe fired off an e-mail of her own. And she made sure that FCC chapters throughout the country as well as Asian American organizations in Northern California were aware of the budding campaign.
"I think it's wonderful," says Fa. "Rest assured, Asian American moms and girls and dads are concerned about this issue too. People are upset, and they're very adamant about advocating for this."
Branscombe says she received an immediate reply from American Girl in early February, acknowledging receipt of her e-mail and saying a longer reply would be forthcoming.
"I haven't gotten any other response," she says.
American Girl is hardly any stranger to controversy. Last year, for example, many parents protested when the company introduced a Mexican American doll in its contemporary collection whose story included what many saw as demeaning references to her neighborhood.
Yet American Girl's Parks says the company has seen no recent outporing of requests for an Asian American historical doll. An equal amount of letters come from people requesting Jewish dolls, she says.
For now, she says, the company's marketing strategy is focused on a "Best Friends" line of companion dolls for existing historical characters. But she points out that parents can custom order "Just Like You" dolls with a selection of skin tones and facial features. And she says the company has had good response to its first biracial doll - a contemporary doll named Jess, described as having a Japanese American mother and Irish American father.
That's the doll featured on the cover of the current American Girl catalog.
In Elk Grove, surrounded by her collection of American Girl books and memorabilia, Midori Iwata carefully examines the catalog's cover.
"She looks almost Native American or Hispanic." says she.
But she's supposed to be Asian American.
"That's crazy," she says.
Her family was pleased when American Girl initially opened the door to diversity in its historical dolls.
"We thought, "We can't wait until they come out with one representing Asian American culture," says Midori's father, Chris Iwata, Sacramento City College's dean of humanities. "And we're still waiting."
Published March 24, 2006
Posted by dollcloset at April 7, 2006 12:18 AM