| Description |
1 online resource (xi, 204 pages) : illustrations |
| Contents |
Dedication; Acknowledgments; Contents; List of Figures; Chapter 1: Introduction: Unpacking America's Doll; Overview; In the Business of Little Girls; Notes; Chapter 2: Branding the American Girl: The Making of Cultural Icons; Company Mission; The Original Dolls: Kirsten, Molly, and Samantha; Purchase by Mattel; Historical Doll Development; Brand Expansion: Contemporary Girlhood; Experiences and Retail; Studying American Girl; Notes; Chapter 3: Situating American Girl: Tools of Socialization in a Changing Culture; Children's Literature as a Tool of Socialization |
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Dolls as Tools of SocializationThe Marketing of American Girl in a Changing Culture; Values Inscribed on the Body of the Doll; Selling the American Girl Doll in a Neoliberal Economy; Backlash and Family Values; A Girl Power Doll; Unpacking American Girl Narratives; Notes; Chapter 4: "Baby Doll, You Made the World a Little Bit Better by Speaking Out for What You Believe In": Narratives of Femininity and Political Action in the BeForever Collection; Rejecting the Devaluation of the Private Sphere: Significance of Family Work; Rejecting the Private: Using Voice in the Public |
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The Work of Community Building and Protest in the BeForever CollectionConstructing the Ideal American Girl Consumer; Constructions of Normative Femininity in the BeForever Collection; Mothers and Girls' Reception of Gender Representation in the BeForever Collection; Contradictions in Girlhood; Notes; Chapter 5: From "This Where Freedom Supposed to Be At" to "She Knew She Would Never Stop Speaking Out for What Was Right": Racial Logics and African American Identity in American Girl; Representing Race; Racialized Dolls; Colorblind Accessories |
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Love, Pain, and African American Doll Play in American GirlConstructing Racial Identity in the American Girl BeForever Collection; Notes; Chapter 6: "This Is My Home": Representing Race, Ethnicity, and the American Experience in American Girl; Whose Stories Get Told? Race, Ethnicity, and the American Experience in American Girl; Noticing/Not-Noticing Native American Experiences; Noticing/Not-Noticing Ethnic Others; Contradictory Logics of Race and Ethnicity in the American Girl BeForever Collection; Notes; Chapter 7: Conclusion: Constructing American Girlhood; Notes; Bibliography |
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General BibliographyAmerican Girl Books; American Girl Curricular Guides; Index |
| Summary |
This critical account of the American Girl brand explores what its books and dolls communicate to girls about femininity, racial identity, ethnicity, and what it means to be an American. Emilie Zaslow begins by tracing the development of American Girl and situates the company's growth and popularity in a social history of girl power media culture. She then weaves analyses of the collection's narrative and material representations with qualitative research on mothers and girls. Examining the dolls with both a critical eye and a fan's curiosity, Zaslow raises questions about the values espoused by this iconic American brand |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Online resource; title from PDF title page (ProQuest Ebook Central platform, viewed June 5, 2023) |
| Subject |
American Girl (Firm)
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| SUBJECT |
American Girl (Firm) fast |
| Subject |
Dolls -- Social aspects -- United States
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Girls -- United States -- Social conditions
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TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Technical & Manufacturing Industries & Trades.
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Girls -- Social conditions
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United States
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| Genre/Form |
Electronic book
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9781137566492 |
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1137566493 |
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