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Thread: American Girl Dolls Boycott

  1. #1
    Veteran Member TarynJolie's Avatar
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    Default American Girl Dolls Boycott

    Can the religious fanatics get any more ridiculous ?

    Nov. 14, 2005 issue - Tracie and Richard Cross have four daughters, who have seven American Girl dolls between them. Every time a new American Girl catalog arrives at their Ft. Worth, Texas, home, the girls fight over who gets it first. Last Christmas their dad gave them wooden beds he'd made for the dolls. The girls adore them, but their parents, like so many other conservative Christians, love them, too. Unlike curvaceous Barbie or the tarted-up Bratz dolls, an American Girl doll, which comes with a whole book about who she is and the period of American history she hails from, teaches wholesome values. A few weeks ago Tracie read on the company's Web site that it was donating $50,000 and proceeds from its I CAN bracelet to Girls Inc., which sounded like the kind of nice thing American Girl would do. But when she clicked on www.girlsinc.org, Tracie was crushed to find an endorsement of Roe v. Wade and language supportive of homosexuals. It struck her that politics had invaded playtime. "I feel like there's nowhere safe," says Tracie, who has vowed not to buy anything from American Girl as long as it's affiliated with Girls Inc. "I have to have a clear conscience."

    By the time Tracie told her girlfriends about the Girls Inc. link at the high-school football game, a tempest was brewing among other conservative Christians around the country. Last week the outrage had spilled onto a half-dozen Christian Web sites—including James Dobson's influential Focus on the Family site—and set off an explosion of mom-to-mom e-mails. "Girls Inc.," one mother warned, "is pro-abortion and pro-contraception and pro all the other lies the secular world wants our girls to believe." Roman Catholic schools in Brookfield, Wis., and St. Louis canceled American Girl fashion shows, where girls were to dress up like their dolls. And the Pro-Life Action League of Chicago called for a boycott of American Girl, which is owned by Mattel. The group is also planning a demonstration outside the Chicago store on the day after Thanksgiving. Though the league has requested that members leave their graphic signs at home, some are vowing to show up with them anyway.

    American Girl, which prides itself on being the antidote to our Paris Hilton impulses, was blindsided by the reaction. The religious right has long been alert to even the most tenuous hints of homosexual cues in popular culture (see outing of Tinky Winky), but American Girl intends to sponsor math, science and athletic programs at Girls Inc. The company is horrified by the thought of an anti-abortion demonstration. "Given this group's focus on family values, we will find it particularly shocking and ironic if they choose to use graphic images in front of innocent little girls," says American Girl spokesperson Julie Parks.

    Girls Inc. was caught off guard, too. The last time it got into trouble was in 1999, when some of its members questioned a partnership with Barbie, fearing the svelte dolls would create body-image issues among the girls who played with them. Founded 141 years ago, Girls Inc., which used to be known as Girls Clubs, offers after-school programs to underprivileged girls on subjects ranging from pregnancy prevention to substance abuse. And on its vast Web site, amid proclamations of empowerment, Girls Inc. states its support for girls who might be questioning their sexuality, as well as a woman's right to an abortion. "We went into this feeling so great and so positive about this partnership," says Girls Inc. president Joyce Roche. "We have been shocked."

    For now, American Girl, which grossed $379 million in sales last year, is standing by its commitment to Girls Inc. Meanwhile, the group is enjoying a surge in donations, says Roche. If the boycott has had any real impact on sales, it was not noticeable at American Girl Place in Chicago last week. It was as bustling as ever. Grandmas perused the matching doll and girl nightgowns. And little girls waited in line to get their dolls' hair styled, sheltered in the safety of the store, far from the angry politics swirling outside.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9937614/site/newsweek/

  2. #2
    madmaxine
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    Default Re: American Girl Dolls Boycott

    LOL The sales figures show, little middle American girls want to look like Round The Way Girls (Bratz) not Little House on the Prairie. I'm not paying attention to this silliness. My sons & daughters will be beer-drinking redneck stoners, not Girl & Boy Scouts...

  3. #3
    God/dess Deogol's Avatar
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    Default Re: American Girl Dolls Boycott

    Bible thumpers are mad because the world is changing and they don't want it to ... and it is leaving them behind.

    Apparently it is better to deprive their kids of these teaching tools than to give in to some "homosexual abortion agenda."

    I say, let the little bastards grow up ignorant and things be what they become.

    Besides, it seems like a lot of strippers come from uptight homes. We can always enjoy more strippers!

    I think more and more people are realizing these people are the trouble makers yelling and damning people about this and that - especially the other religious oriented trouble makers blowing shit up all the time. The FCC got like 20,000 complaints from ONE religious group and like FIVE complaints from "normal" viewers. They are becoming jesters.

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    God/dess leilanicandy's Avatar
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    Default Re: American Girl Dolls Boycott

    The woman is just crazy!
    If you want the present to be differant from the past, study the past.
    Baruch Spindza

    It is what it is, not what you want it to become, that's important -- at least for now. Today, remember that things worth having are worth waiting for!
    The Stars

    Minds are like parachutes: They only function when open.
    Thomas Dewar

    Dont throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water.
    Swedish Proverb

  5. #5
    God/dess Jenny's Avatar
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    Default Re: American Girl Dolls Boycott

    I don't know. I think that they are involved in effective and positive world change. I mean I strongly disagree with their stance, and think they are all stupid, yes. And further, I don't think there are enough people like that to intimidate anyone but Disney. But what they are doing is purchasing items and giving financial support to organizations and companies that are keeping with their values. I do the same thing.
    I have taught that the sky in all its zones is mortal and its substance was formed by a process of birth

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: American Girl Dolls Boycott

    This is just funny. This is one of many "boycotts" that have gone on only to give the company more publicity and more sales. I would say that the Liberals/Gay Rights Activists/Women's Rights Activists/etc. hear about these "boycotts" and run out and spend more money just to piss the god-fearing "fanatics" off even more. LOL "Hey, that boycott you started against the doll company? Yeah, well, their sales INCREASED $500,000 this year since you started the boycott." Heh...

  7. #7
    God/dess
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    Default Re: American Girl Dolls Boycott

    Ugh...does anyone else ever get sick hearing about these kinds of people? I mean, dang...they boycott damn near everything now because it's "wrong."

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