Hey, girlie! Did you see Barbie last summer? Just kidding—I know you, and I know you did! I mean, who hasn’t? I’ve seen it three times, and it made me cry every time.
I know talking about the impact of Barbies and dolls is a well-saturated topic. In fact, it was already addressed in the movie. Barbie was one of the first dolls that didn’t teach girls to be mothers and instead had them looking at future jobs. If Barbie can be _____, you can too!
To tell the truth, I hated Barbies as a child. I had a dislike for all sorts of dolls, but I bought them because my sister and friends loved them. I saved for years for an American Girl Doll, and when I finally got her, I never played with her. Part of it was the fact that dress-up never appealed to me, even though I saved for tons of cute outfits. Inventing storylines for my dolls bored me, which is ironic considering my dream job is to be an author. Instead, I would build things for my dolls, like cardboard dollhouses, or I’d rearrange their furniture obsessively.
I believe part of my dislike for dolls as a child was that they were inherently girly. I grew up in a very traditional household, so whenever I could, I would pride myself on being extra tough and “not girly.” Looking back, I realize that this was quite silly and sad of me to feel pressured to do this. I went from a pink-loving girl to a pink-hating girl, over the course of a few years.
Never fear, though! I love pink today, and I have discovered a newfound interest in dolls again. I live every day regretting the sale of my American Girl Doll. (I had Marie-Grace by the way. In case you were wondering.)
I’ve noticed this resurgence of interest isn’t entirely uncommon with my peers either. So what has brought American Girl dolls back? And why is Barbie suddenly so popular with crowds of people over the age of ten? I think it’s because of three reasons.
Firstly, I believe there is a nostalgia appeal. Even if, as a kid, I would rather be doing many other things than playing with dolls, I can’t ignore that they were a fundamental piece of my childhood. I have memories of playing with dolls at my grandma’s house, her Barbies all in this cool, round-suitcase-turned-dollhouse. I remember at my other grandma’s, she had these vintage Barbies that had actual moving limbs, which I thought was both a little bit creepy and amazing. I remember being ironically gifted a Ken mer-doll in my early teenage years, and I still have him. Finally, I remember my American Girl Doll days. I mean, I still brag about the fact I found the Julie bed at a yard sale, which I also regret getting rid of.
All of these companies hold a place in my heart. Even companies that I don’t remember the names of, like ones who made books of paper dolls. Dolls are unique toys, in the sense that they are made to inspire humanity in ways that other toys don’t. Whether that sense of humanity comes from playing with them, inventing storylines, taking care of them, or even giving them bad haircuts, dolls are meant to represent people. Little girls take the time to invent entire lives for them. Sometimes the creators themselves even come with storylines. Many older dolls have hand-painted faces, carefully brought to life with gentle brushstrokes. Even when I see scary-looking vintage dolls at thrift stores, I know that likely, someone treasured them as a child.
The second reason I think there is a resurgence of love for dolls is the reclaiming of girlhood. As I mentioned before, I fancied myself a bit of a tomboy growing up. (Was I an actual tomboy? Unlikely since I was too anxious to pull it off, but the point still stands.) For years, I looked back on my childhood, wishing that my parents would have let me get toys that I thought were actually “fun,” like cars and building kits and Legos, but now, I do appreciate my doll years. Do I wish that there had been a healthy balance of both? Yeah. But I have been obsessed with learning all about dolls in the past few years. In high school, I themed PowerPoints after dolls. (It was epic, thanks for asking.)
I believe by saying that I love dolls, or that I love pink when I once didn’t, I’m telling the people who told me that loving dolls or pink made me too girly or less important, basically to put a sock in it. And I think that’s pretty rad. As I’ve heard people say, growing up often isn’t about finding more things that you love, rather it is about rediscovering what you loved as a child.
The third reason I attribute to the resurgence is that we’re realizing a lot of doll companies are just really cool. Barbie, as mentioned above, basically paved the path for young girls to play with dolls without the sole objective of being motherly. Beyond that, we have the wondrous collection of Barbie movies, and no, I’m not talking just about Barbie. I’m talking about the whole universe. There is a whole world of Barbie lore to be discovered and to say I’m obsessed with it is an understatement.
Speaking of lore, I think American Girl dolls take the cake for lore. Invented by Pleasant Company, they combined a love for history with dolls, making girls question, “What if I grew up in a different time period?” I believe they taught many children to have sympathy, as they brought historical events to the forefront of young girls’ minds in ways that other toy companies rarely do.
The fun doesn’t end with the dolls themselves and their amazing wardrobes. There also are series of books that go with every doll. I believe they’ve aged quite well. They have incredible character arcs for novels targeted at children, as well as a well-researched historical department for each novel. In fact, one of the research assistants for one of the dolls even was a professor at WSU (Go Cougs!). Unironically, as a writer, I think my dream job is to write a novel like this, if not a novel for American Girl. (American Girl, if you’re reading this, my LinkedIn is linked above <3)
Speaking of storylines, many of the books also have amazing movies. I rewatched many of them recently, and I think the majority are very well done. American Girl also had a solid series of magazines and educational books, such as The Care and Keeping of You series. I know many people that those resources personally impacted, and I genuinely believe that the American Girl company is quite admirable for the positive impacts they’ve made on lives in the 90’s, early 2000s, and even today.
The impact of both of those companies is something I could only dream of. So when you ask me why I won’t shut up about dolls, and why I’m so obsessed with them today, I want you to tell me they’re “just dolls.” That’s right, I dare you.