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Culture > Entertainment

Her Campus @ Geneseo Gets Americanized: Campus Correspondents as American Girl Dolls

Jessica Bansbach
Victoria Cooke
Hannah Fahy
Madeline Reichler
Sydney Julien
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Geneseo chapter.

Every year, thousands of girls (and hopefully some boys!) dream about receiving an American Girl Doll crafted to look exactly like them. American Girl Dolls have been around since 1986, and their popularity hasn’t slowed down yet! Back in the day, you had to choose from dozens of dolls to find whichever one looked the most like you; however, there’s more than just a few dozen faces and personalities in the world. Now, American Girl offers a purely customizable look-alike doll option!

 

But why limit the fun to the kids? We at Her Campus @ Geneseo were also curious as to what our doll personas would look like. Here are the results (with side by side comparisons, of course).

 

Jessica Bansbach:

 

 

 

Personally, I never owned an American Girl Doll, but you always knew that Christmas was coming when the catalogue mysteriously found its way to your house. Somehow, American Girl Doll knew exactly how the locate the house of every under-age-ten child within its radius and aim one of these magazines right at you like some sort of Christmas secret police force, despite your mother burying it under piles of newspapers and bills in the hopes that you won’t get your grubby hands on it. Tough luck, mama. I wanted one of those Coconut puppies like nobody’s business.

 

Victoria Cooke:

 

 

My doll looks almost exactly like Jessica’s, which is creeping me out. It also looks exactly like my first American Girl “Just Like Me” doll from before they offered a customizable doll option. I guess I’m just too basic to warrant a unique design. I loved American Girl Dolls so much that it made me become a history major, so there’s also that.

 

Me and my American Girl Doll looking like an actual picture from an American Girl catalog:

 

 

 

Madeline Reichler:

 

 

I didn’t design this doll, Tori did. I would never wear such a tacky shirt. I think I might have had an American Girl Doll at some point in my childhood, but it also might have just been a regular baby doll because I don’t think it had any hair. I never developed any emotional attachments to dolls, but I did develop intricate stories involving my lego people and the D.A.R.E. lion plushie I got at school for writing the best essay about saying “no” to drugs.

 

Hannah Fahy:

 

 

I had (have) so many American Girl Dolls. They are all in a box in my closet now. That’s not to say I didn’t love them! My American Girl Dolls gave me hours upon hours of fun for many years! I loved them so much, and I am the type of sentimental person that wants to give them to my future kids one day. They were expensive! I also kept them in really good condition. I do have a “Just Like Me” doll, but it never looked quite like me. I think that if I still played with dolls, this would be on my Christmas list! It’s pretty accurate. The hair color is good, but the skin tone might be a bit darker than my natural alabaster glow. The eyes also aren’t quite as green, but my eyes change color daily anyway! I don’t own that outfit, but it’s definitely something I would wear. I love leggings and boots! I’m not so sure about the headband, but nothing can be perfect. I need to stop writing this and looking at the picture of the doll or I might end up buying it!

 

Sydney Julien:

 

 

I had Samantha, Julie and Mia (the girl of the year in 2008) when I was a kid. Honestly, the Mia doll looks more like me. We’re both figure skaters, and the custom doll options don’t quite capture the auburn undertones in my hair or my alabaster skin. I really loved American Girl Dolls though. I always looked through the catalogue as soon as it got to my house and made sure to tell my mom and grandparents EXACTLY what I wanted…anyone else tempted to actually buy a doll that looks exactly like them now?

 

 

We may have too much time on our hands if we’re all creating dolls; however, American Girl Dolls were a staple in most of our childhoods. Creating these dolls were a must! Hopefully, children appreciate American Girl Dolls like we did (do!).

 

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Jessica Bansbach

Geneseo '20

Jessica Bansbach is a junior psychology major who has more campus club memberships than fingers and toes. In her spare time, if she's forgotten that she's a college student that has more pressing matters to attend to (like, say, studying), she enjoys video games, thrift shopping, and ruminating. She was elected "funniest in group" by her summer camp counselor when she was nine and has since spent the next eleven years trying to live up to the impossible weight of that title.
Victoria Cooke

Geneseo '20

Victoria Cooke is a Senior History and Adolescence Education major with a Women's and Gender Studies minor at SUNY Geneseo. Apart from being an editor and the founder of Her Campus at Geneseo, she is also the co-president of Voices for Planned Parenthood and a Curator for TEDxSUNYGeneseo. Her passions include feminism, reading, advocating for social justice, and crafting. In the future, she hopes to inspire the next generation of history nerds and activists.
Hannah Fahy

Geneseo '20

Hannah Fahy is a junior English secondary education major at SUNY Geneseo. She is very involved on campus as the secretary of Circus Club and a general member of Musical Theater Club. She is also the social media coordinator of the Geneseo Her Campus chapter! She is an aspiring unicyclist who enjoys reading, donating blood, and knitting. She is always learning a new skill because she believes that you should never stop learning.
Madeline is a senior Psychology and Women's and Gender Studies double major at SUNY Geneseo. She is the President of the Pride Alliance, Assistant Coordinator of the Safe Zone program, and a Program Coordinator in the Office of Diversity and Equity. She may not have a lot of time to write, but she loves to contribute what she can to Her Campus Geneseo!
Sydney is a member of the class of 2020 majoring in International Relations and Political Science with a minor in French. She is also Vice President of Geneseo's club figure skating team and coaches local kids in the sport on the weekends. While she's not really sure where life is going to take her yet, she's optimistic about the future.