Remember your American Girl dolls? Read this from the Omaha World-Herald.
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Rainbow Rowell: Helping charity in lap of doll luxury
BY RAINBOW ROWELL
WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST
Don't buy your daughter an American Girl doll for Christmas.
I say this not because the American Girl company supports Girls Inc. - and not because Girls Inc. is pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality. (That's not exactly true anyway.)
Don't buy your daughter an American Girl doll because it will cost you $87. At least.
American Girl toys are unbelievably decadent - $28 for a doll dress, $118 for a doll bed, $62 for a Windsor writing chair . . . Didn't this sort of thing lead to the fall of the Roman Empire?
A conservative group is asking people to boycott American Girl because the company is raising money for Girls Inc. - but the Girls Inc. connection seems like the only good reason to buy an American Girl doll.
You might as well kick some money toward something useful while you are dropping $70 on lawn furniture for a doll.
If I'm coming down hard on American Girl, it's because I'm exactly the sort of person who would buy this stuff. I'm coming down hard on deliciously beautiful dollhouse furniture the way a drug addict comes down hard from crack.
It's easy to see why little girls - and especially their mothers - fall for the American Girls.
Each of the company's signature dolls stars in her own historically correct books. Kit, for example, grew up in Cincinnati during the Depression. In "Meet Kit," her dad loses his job, and Kit learns the true meaning of "waste not, want not."
Your daughter can learn this lesson, too, if you spend $87 on Kit, $54 on her daybed (not including chenille bedding) and $70 on her rolltop desk and swivel chair.
Probably the least expensive item in the American Girl catalog is a Livestrong-style "I Can" wristband that symbolizes the American Girl philosophy - to be yourself, to follow your dreams, etc. The wristband costs just a dollar, and 70 cents goes to Girls Inc.
That's 70 cents too much for the Mississippi-based American Family Association. The group has asked its members to stop shopping at American Girl. The AFA calls Girls Inc. a "pro-abortion, pro-lesbian advocacy group."
Which is sort-of-but-not-really true.
It is true that Girls Inc. asserts in its Girls' Bill of Rights that "Girls have the right to accept and appreciate their bodies."
Officially, Girls Inc. "supports a woman's freedom of choice."
That doesn't mean that Girls Inc. encourages girls to have abortions. When it comes to sexuality - which is just part of Girls Inc. programming- the chief message is abstinence.
It's "will power, won't power," said Roberta Wilhelm, executive director of Omaha's Girls Inc.
Last year, teens at the Omaha center spent every Wednesday in abstinence class.
Yes, they also learn about contraceptives and abortion, Wilhelm said, but "we think that our programs prevent abortions and prevent pregnancy."
As to whether Girls Inc. supports lesbians, you can read the official stance at www.girlsinc.org. Basically, if a girl comes out, the people at Girls Inc. are going to be nice to her. They won't try to change her mind.
Girls Inc. is pro-girl, Wilhelm said. "I wouldn't consider that to be a pro-lesbian statement any more than I would consider that to be a pro-albino statement."
Most of the girls helped by Girls Inc. don't have much money.
If you're buying an American Girl doll, you can afford to give your daughter everything she needs and more. (Possibly with the help of a major credit card.)
Why begrudge American Girl's decision to help other girls who can afford so little?
# # #
Rainbow Rowell: Helping charity in lap of doll luxury
BY RAINBOW ROWELL
WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST
Don't buy your daughter an American Girl doll for Christmas.
I say this not because the American Girl company supports Girls Inc. - and not because Girls Inc. is pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality. (That's not exactly true anyway.)
Don't buy your daughter an American Girl doll because it will cost you $87. At least.
American Girl toys are unbelievably decadent - $28 for a doll dress, $118 for a doll bed, $62 for a Windsor writing chair . . . Didn't this sort of thing lead to the fall of the Roman Empire?
A conservative group is asking people to boycott American Girl because the company is raising money for Girls Inc. - but the Girls Inc. connection seems like the only good reason to buy an American Girl doll.
You might as well kick some money toward something useful while you are dropping $70 on lawn furniture for a doll.
If I'm coming down hard on American Girl, it's because I'm exactly the sort of person who would buy this stuff. I'm coming down hard on deliciously beautiful dollhouse furniture the way a drug addict comes down hard from crack.
It's easy to see why little girls - and especially their mothers - fall for the American Girls.
Each of the company's signature dolls stars in her own historically correct books. Kit, for example, grew up in Cincinnati during the Depression. In "Meet Kit," her dad loses his job, and Kit learns the true meaning of "waste not, want not."
Your daughter can learn this lesson, too, if you spend $87 on Kit, $54 on her daybed (not including chenille bedding) and $70 on her rolltop desk and swivel chair.
Probably the least expensive item in the American Girl catalog is a Livestrong-style "I Can" wristband that symbolizes the American Girl philosophy - to be yourself, to follow your dreams, etc. The wristband costs just a dollar, and 70 cents goes to Girls Inc.
That's 70 cents too much for the Mississippi-based American Family Association. The group has asked its members to stop shopping at American Girl. The AFA calls Girls Inc. a "pro-abortion, pro-lesbian advocacy group."
Which is sort-of-but-not-really true.
It is true that Girls Inc. asserts in its Girls' Bill of Rights that "Girls have the right to accept and appreciate their bodies."
Officially, Girls Inc. "supports a woman's freedom of choice."
That doesn't mean that Girls Inc. encourages girls to have abortions. When it comes to sexuality - which is just part of Girls Inc. programming- the chief message is abstinence.
It's "will power, won't power," said Roberta Wilhelm, executive director of Omaha's Girls Inc.
Last year, teens at the Omaha center spent every Wednesday in abstinence class.
Yes, they also learn about contraceptives and abortion, Wilhelm said, but "we think that our programs prevent abortions and prevent pregnancy."
As to whether Girls Inc. supports lesbians, you can read the official stance at www.girlsinc.org. Basically, if a girl comes out, the people at Girls Inc. are going to be nice to her. They won't try to change her mind.
Girls Inc. is pro-girl, Wilhelm said. "I wouldn't consider that to be a pro-lesbian statement any more than I would consider that to be a pro-albino statement."
Most of the girls helped by Girls Inc. don't have much money.
If you're buying an American Girl doll, you can afford to give your daughter everything she needs and more. (Possibly with the help of a major credit card.)
Why begrudge American Girl's decision to help other girls who can afford so little?
