Event Title
Someone like You; Someone like Me: Race, Body Image, and Accessibility in American Girl Dolls
Location
Davis 217
Start Date
30-4-2015 2:45 PM
End Date
30-4-2015 3:55 PM
Project Type
Presentation
Description
When discussing the significant influence dolls bear on the way young girls grow to understand their bodies, their identities, and their place in a larger social structure, Barbie dominates dozens of studies. Though equally popular, the American Girl brand falls on the margins of discussion. Presumably, American Girl achieves what Barbie does not: the presentation of non-sexualized female bodies, as well as racial diversity in an industry which provides limited choices to girls who look to dolls as a conduit for their creativity and imagination. This study explores the important connections between race, body image, and accessibility in American Girl dolls as a method of discerning whether or not the brand is truly as progressive as it seems. In order to do so, content analysis, close visual culture analysis of American Girl dolls, products, and marketing, and interviews conducted among Colby students are highly emphasized within the context of the importance of consumer awareness. The study will conclude that despite providing an alternative, healthier option for girls in the toy market, American Girl is still a limited, problematic, and largely inaccessible brand.
Faculty Sponsor
Laine Thielstrom
CLAS Field of Study
Natural Sciences
Event Website
http://www.colby.edu/clas
ID
1393
Someone like You; Someone like Me: Race, Body Image, and Accessibility in American Girl Dolls
Davis 217
When discussing the significant influence dolls bear on the way young girls grow to understand their bodies, their identities, and their place in a larger social structure, Barbie dominates dozens of studies. Though equally popular, the American Girl brand falls on the margins of discussion. Presumably, American Girl achieves what Barbie does not: the presentation of non-sexualized female bodies, as well as racial diversity in an industry which provides limited choices to girls who look to dolls as a conduit for their creativity and imagination. This study explores the important connections between race, body image, and accessibility in American Girl dolls as a method of discerning whether or not the brand is truly as progressive as it seems. In order to do so, content analysis, close visual culture analysis of American Girl dolls, products, and marketing, and interviews conducted among Colby students are highly emphasized within the context of the importance of consumer awareness. The study will conclude that despite providing an alternative, healthier option for girls in the toy market, American Girl is still a limited, problematic, and largely inaccessible brand.
https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2015/program/406