# American Girl is a bleeping racket **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 24, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188 "2009-04-24T05:16:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/81 "2009-04-24T20:44:06Z")
One correction to the OP. AG dolls are not a bleeping racket. One year for Christmas I gave my family a game that took batteries. Every time you pushed a button, it would make a loud noise. If you won or lost, lights would flash and a series of sounds would annunciate. Now that was a bleeping racket! ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/82 "2009-04-24T22:02:50Z")
My first thought upon reading the thread title: “Oh, I dunno, I kinda like that [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNgt7U9QrFQ).” :smack: My younger sister begged my mom for the Josefina doll when she was in third grade or so, and my mom or my grandma or someone got it for her for Christmas. She liked the doll, but I think she was more into the books and the story behind it. At any rate, she never asked for or received another doll; shortly after she discovered Beanie Babies and those were truly her drug of choice. Up until I was laid off, I worked at an office in Manhattan on 6th Avenue and 52nd Street. Walking around that area, you would frequently see _huge_ groups of girls who were headed to or had just finished with some event at the American Girl store, all armed with an AG bag in hand and doll tucked under arm. Brr. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/83 "2009-04-24T22:14:42Z")
Just a clue, kids do not ever forget promises like these. Ever. My dad is still regretting promises he made to me 40 years ago that he thought I would forget. As if. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/84 "2009-04-24T22:16:48Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > …Mom? > > I’m not still bitter that I never once got a Barbie for Christmas no matter how desperately I begged and pleaded. Nope. Not bitter. NOT BITTER AT ALL. She has a friend with a million Barbies. I am certain that she will get Barbies from friends at birthday parties so I am unconcerned. But hey, if you are STILL bitter about not having the implanted need of Madison Avenue marketers fulfilled, that’s a testimony to the power of their wizardry. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/85 "2009-04-24T22:18:28Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Yep, it’s now the Natick Collection. They just finished a big expansion, with a Nordstrom, a Nieman Marcus, and, believe it or not, condos. Who wants to live at a shopping mall? > > And the new name sounds a bit silly to me. It’ll probably be a huge success. Wow didn’t that place have 3 of 4 feet in the grave in the mid 90s when I lived in brookline and commuted past it to framingham? and wasn’t it “the first mall in america” or something? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/86 "2009-04-24T22:19:56Z")
My wife is young enough to have a big American Girl collection. She looks forward to sharing her collection with our daughter. I had tons of GI Joes and Transformers. Ultimately all of this stuff is about teaching our children to be greedy little monsters. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesy\_goodness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Cheesy\_goodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesy_goodness)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/87 "2009-04-24T22:44:55Z")
> [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > I remember paying a premium for Rao’s pasta sauce last week at the grocery store. I don’t care how much it costs. I loves me some Rao’s. I’d totally take a Rao’s marinara bath. ---
**Author:** ![Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/88 "2009-04-25T00:08:33Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Yes, you cult members have your totems. 😛 > > Madison is the home of the factory, and I swear it really is a fucking cult. Sometimes it seems half the women in town can debate which is the best doll, _by name_, and yes, the adult women are at least as captivated by these things as the girls. > > A few years ago Mattel bought out the company, so the marketing schemes have skyrocketed and the actual doll quality has plummeted, so some people tell me. I wouldn’t know, I’m not even sure that I’ve ever seen one. > > I hear a lot of women say that they they have a lot of trouble finding dolls and doll clothing that doesn’t teach their daughters to dress like sluts. Apparently, ‘whore’ is the ‘in’ look these days. Maybe that’s part of the attraction of these dolls – wholesomeness. And they used to have these one day sales. I think people had to even buy tickets. And the lines to get in would still go on forever and ever and ever… Don’t know if that’s true since Mattel bought the line. I know someone who bought every single doll for their daughters. They had them in cases and even had showings of them, inviting the whole town. Of course, these girls are grown now and having American Girls of their own… ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/89 "2009-04-25T00:10:45Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Wow didn’t that place have 3 of 4 feet in the grave in the mid 90s when I lived in brookline and commuted past it to framingham? and wasn’t it “the first mall in america” or something? I don’t know, that was before my time here. In recent years, I’ve been there during the Christmas season when you couldn’t find a parking space for love nor money. On the other hand, I think their parent company just declared bankruptcy. I’ve been to at least two other malls that claimed to be the first. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/90 "2009-04-25T03:32:20Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > She has a friend with a million Barbies. I am certain that she will get Barbies from friends at birthday parties so I am unconcerned. But hey, if you are STILL bitter about not having the implanted need of Madison Avenue marketers fulfilled, that’s a testimony to the power of their wizardry. No, I am not what you just said. Rather, I am mock bitter about not having received something that as a child I desperately wanted for many years. However, I eventually managed to get over it. I hope that you manage to get over the stick that has apparently been rammed far up your sphincter as well. ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/91 "2009-04-25T04:04:39Z")
> [@mariposalabrown](#): > > When I was obsessed with the books, there was only Kirsten, Samantha and Molly. I know! Tell that to people standing in line at the hair salon at American Girl Place, and they’d look at you like you had two heads. At age 9, I would have stabbed a puppy if it would have gotten me a Samantha doll. (Kirsten’s stories were my favorites, but Samantha had the prettiest stuff.) Twenty years later, I still put an American Girl doll on the list of things through which, in failing to buy them for me, my parents proved they never loved me. (Also on list: pony, backyard playhouse, Power Wheels, Glo Worm.) My mom and I went to American Girl Place in New York a few years ago, and it was an interesting experience for two adults who were familiar with the concept but hadn’t gotten up close and personal with the American Girl behemoth. We decided that we’d find real estate next door or across the street and start a sports bar where dads could wait, dignity intact. ---
**Author:** ![mariposalabrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@mariposalabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mariposalabrown)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/92 "2009-04-25T05:09:49Z")
[quote=“Juniper200, post:91, topic:494188”] I know! Tell that to people standing in line at the hair salon at American Girl Place, and they’d look at you like you had two heads. At age 9, I would have stabbed a puppy if it would have gotten me a Samantha doll. (Kirsten’s stories were my favorites, but Samantha had the prettiest stuff.) Twenty years later, I still put an American Girl doll on the list of things through which, in failing to buy them for me, my parents proved they never loved me. (Also on list: pony, backyard playhouse, Power Wheels, Glo Worm.) QUOTE] Oh man, on my list of why my mom is the meanest mom is the Barbie three story place with the elevator (which Holly down the street had, and that damn elevator was a bitch to make work). My Barbies had to live in Castle Greyskull, which they were way too tall for, but you do what you gotta do. I was spoiled, but hundred dollar dolls in 1989 was unheard of. Whodidn’t have a Glo-worm, though? Your parents really WERE the meanest parents! When my boyfriend’s best friend’s wife had twins, we bought them Glo-worms for their first birthday, and they loved the hell out of them. They also play a soft lullaby now! Back to pit topic- I disagree with this, because really. What are you gonna do? Daughter is so happy, I imagine that is the best thing you could hope for. Happy AND appreciative? That’s a great little girl. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/93 "2009-04-25T09:27:55Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > You know, as much as American Girls are a bit of a racket not to mention a force of nature as far as marketing goes, they are a heck of lot more wholesome in my opinion than similar things marketed to girls with equal intensity like being a “Disney Princess.” Do NOT get me started on Disney Princesses. Just don’t. American Girl dolls at least have realistic proportions, with perhaps slightly larger eyes than normal. I remember getting Barbies and related dolls. I don’t remember particularly wanting them, but my parents got them for me in a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to get me to act more like a girl. My daughter LOVED Barbies with all her heart, but she liked just about any other heavily marketed girly toy, too. Generally, we’d let her have ONE Popple or her favorite Rainbow Brite character, and a couple of books from the product line. We sure couldn’t have afforded more items from each line. It seemed like the manufacturers were coming out with new lines every third month or so. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/94 "2009-04-25T18:48:12Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > She has a friend with a million Barbies. I am certain that she will get Barbies from friends at birthday parties so I am unconcerned. But hey, if you are STILL bitter about not having the implanted need of Madison Avenue marketers fulfilled, that’s a testimony to the power of their wizardry. So what WILL you get your daughter-a stick with a wig on it? ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/95 "2009-04-25T19:41:23Z")
> [@mariposalabrown](#): > > Oh man, on my list of why my mom is the meanest mom is the Barbie three story place with the elevator (which Holly down the street had, and that damn elevator was a bitch to make work). My Barbies had to live in Castle Greyskull, which they were way too tall for, but you do what you gotta do. I was spoiled, but hundred dollar dolls in 1989 was unheard of. Whodidn’t have a Glo-worm, though? Your parents really WERE the meanest parents! When my boyfriend’s best friend’s wife had twins, we bought them Glo-worms for their first birthday, and they loved the hell out of them. They also play a soft lullaby now! I HAD THAT BARBIE HOUSE! I used to have my prettiest Barbie lock herself and the elevator on the third floor and refuse to let any of the other dolls in. They stayed outside, begging her to come out or let them in, and pushing food under the door so she wouldn’t starve to death. As an adult, I told mom how she’d Ruined My Childhood by not getting me an American Girl. She said she’d been willing to go for it, but dad had put the kibosh on the plan. He was probably right in the end. While I would have treasured the doll, I almost certainly never would have played with it. I don’t know why they wouldn’t get me a Glo-Worm. Maybe mom thought I’d fool around with the light all night instead of going to sleep, though it’s more likely that she never, ever loved me. 🙂 **Note:** My childhood was not ruined by a lack of toys. My childhood was not, in fact, ruined at all, and my parents actually love me very much. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/96 "2009-04-25T20:04:31Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Wow didn’t that place have 3 of 4 feet in the grave in the mid 90s when I lived in brookline and commuted past it to framingham? and wasn’t it “the first mall in america” or something? Thank you, **Robot Arm** , in a previous post, for giving it to me straight. The Natick Collection. I’m feeling a bit sick right now. I’m not sure, **not\_alice** , if it was ever not quite dead yet, but certainly there was a time when it was much, much smaller and not so high end. Well, for instance when it was first built, which I, sadly, do remember. I vaguely recall a time, probably in the last recession, where there were many empty storefronts. I don’t believe it was the first mall in America, though. You might be thinking of the Jordan Marsh “mall” (not enclosed, more like a plaza with covered walkways and all the stores connected) that was near it on the same Rt 9 strip, but over the line into Framingham. That was the first something, I believe. Haven’t been back to Natick since my dad passed away, so I’m not sure what’s there now. Again, sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/97 "2009-04-25T21:16:02Z")
Man, I am so glad to have missed out on AG - I was an adult when they came out, and didn’t have kids. To the best of my knowledge, none of the legion of nieces ever expressed the slightest interest. But it turns out there is no escaping it after all… A few years ago, the museum where I work hosted an AG show. I’ve heard all the horror stories, and was grateful that the boss swore never again. Now we have a new boss, and she has an eight year old daughter. She thinks nothing could be better than hosting the AG show! How fabulous for kids, and just imagine all the money we’ll make! The rest of us are fervently praying to the gods of our choice that we will not be granted annual show. My Retail Ops manager, 30, unmarried, and male, is likely to quit, and I’ll have to hide the razor blades from our volunteer coordinator, who was around the last time. Me, I got Barbies, which I did not want. As a result my brother and I made up Barbie’s Torture Chamber, and Barbie, Sacrifice to the Alligator God play set. What I really wanted was a Major Matt Mason set, with a Moon Rover. I don;t think I would have been the ideal marketing target for American Girl. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/98 "2009-04-25T21:31:33Z")
> [@Salem](#): > > Thank you, **Robot Arm** , in a previous post, for giving it to me straight. The Natick Collection. I’m feeling a bit sick right now. Take heart, **Salem**. There’s a Lego store there, too, so it’s not all bad. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/99 "2009-04-25T22:44:32Z")
When these first came out, I couldn’t believe Molly. That was the way that I looked and dressed in the late Forties when I started school. I thought about sending one to my mother (who loves dolls) just so that it would be there to stare at her all the time. Where the hell are the Asian-American girls? ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188/100 "2009-04-25T22:47:33Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > When these first came out, I couldn’t believe Molly. That was the way that I looked and dressed in the late Forties when I started school. I thought about sending one to my mother (who loves dolls) just so that it would be there to stare at her all the time. > > Where the hell are the Asian-American girls? They don’t have cool outfits. \*\*I know this is totally not true having attended a Chinese wedding with multiple changes in wedding gowns all of which were beautiful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-girl-is-a-bleeping-racket/494188.md?page=6)