Amidst memes and protests, American Girl Dolls continue to be relevant to the public

By Faith Jarrell

Elm Staff Writer

Ever since Pleasant Company released American Girl dolls in May 1986, the brand continues has captured the attention of the public.

According to the company’s website, founder Pleasant Rowland created American Girls as a means to inspire children to “make their own positive mark on the world.”

Since then, the company expanded, creating 17 historical dolls as well as “Bitty Baby,” the brand’s baby doll line, “Just Like You” dolls, which came in a range of features to reflect what young girls looked like, and a “Girl of the Year” collection, which released yearly and focused on the stories of contemporary girls.

The newest historical characters, revealed on Feb. 22, 2023, caused a stir both online and with American Girl doll fans.

Isabel and Nicki Hoffman are twins from 1999 — the closest the historical dolls are to the modern day. Prior to the release of the Hoffman twins, the most modern doll was Courtney Moore, who is from 1986.

Many people argue that the Hoffman twins should not be considered historical dolls,  despite 1999 being over 24 years ago.

“If you were born in the 90’s you are now considered HISTORICAL! According to American Girl’s latest historical dolls who are TWINS from 1999,” Twitter user @veryharryhill said.

“Didn’t mean to hurt so many feelings today,” the official American Girl Twitter, @AmericanGirl, said in reply.

Jamie Cygielman, the general manager of American Girl, offered an explanation to the idea behind these new dolls.

“Given the prevalent wave of 90s trends and pop culture nostalgia, we’re excited to celebrate like it’s 1999 with our newest historical duo Isabel and Nicki,” Cygielman said in Mattel a press release. “From the start, The American Girls Collection has been central to our mission in helping build girls of strong character through inspiring stories and products that show them how the past is full of lessons that can be applied to the present.”

Each doll retails at $115 a piece without their matching accessories, and $151 with them.

This is not the first time in recent memory that American Girls are in the public eye; 2022 saw a resurgence in the popularity for the brand thanks in part to social media. According to Glamour, as of June 2022, the #AmericanGirlDoll hashtag on TikTok has over 315 million views.

Additionally, there is a wealth of Instagram meme accounts dedicated to American Girls, with @hellicity_merriman and @juuliealbright — both plays on the names of historical dolls — sitting at 193,000 and 66,000 followers, respectively.

The accounts provide social commentary on contemporary political and social happenings, taking on a glib tone that contrasts the sweet look of their doll mascots.

“Cancel them loans, Joseph,” Instagram user @klit.klittredge said in response to Joe Biden’s plan for the student debt crisis, superimposing the text over a photo of a photo of a Just Like You doll from the American Girl magazine. According to the caption, the post garnered over 180,000 likes on Twitter and 6,000 likes on Instagram.

In the past year, thousands of similar posts went viral, with some influencing real-life political events.

On June 24, 2022, @hellicity_merriman posted a photo from a protest of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “American Girl? Wish I wasn’t,” the sign said alongside a drawing of Great Depression-era doll Kit Kittredge.

Whether it is because of Gen Z’s enduring nostalgia for childhood or the historical connections created by the brand, American Girl dolls continue to stay relevant, prompting Twitter discourse and sparking viral memes.

Photo caption:While American Girl dolls are primarily sold online and through mail-in catalogues, the company has a number of brick-and-mortar stores across America, including locations in New York City, Chicago, and Orlando.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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