American Girl was founded in 1986. Initially a line of historical dolls, they were released with a series of novels on each of the girls from different periods in American history. Both the books and the dolls became explosively popular in short order, especially in the 1990s. My younger sister saved up for over half a year to buy one, and the books—which are very well-written historical novels and a great way to introduce different eras to children—made a regular appearance. We have many of them in our home library now, and my five-year-old daughter is currently obsessed with Samantha, a little girl from the early 1900s.
That, of course, was a long time ago—although in cultural years, 1986 is a century or so off, too. As the LGBT movement achieves cultural dominance, it has begun to colonize children’s stories. Disney, once one of the great American companies, has hoisted the rainbow flag. So have most other children’s cartoon franchises. LGBT activists have set their sights on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Herge’s Tintin, and Canada’s Anne of Green Gables. The American Girl franchise, too, has now become embroiled in the LGBT culture wars. As NBC reported recently: “The typically welcoming American Girl doll collecting community was fractured by a wave of Instagram posts denouncing Pride, prompting a discussion over homophobia within the hobby.”
Some are suggesting that Molly, the American girl who grows up during World War II, is a lesbian. (The company itself is denying fan speculation—the Molly stories don’t include anything sexual whatsoever.) However, American Girl enthusiasts took to social media during Pride Month to post pro-LGBT messages. Many fans, however, have long been from conservative and Christian homes due to the innocent and compelling storytelling found in the books, with their focus on family life and perseverance. Some took to social media to push back. From NBC:
Over the weekend, a group of creators, many who say on their profiles that they are minors, posted images of their dolls, each wearing a different color of the rainbow. They captioned their posts with Bible quotes condemning Pride.
“As many of you are aware this month is known by many as pride month,” the account agdollfan4ever wrote Sunday. “I feel like specifically this time of year a few things are pushed out of view. First is God’s view of pride. … The Bible warns us about pride and heeds us to be cautious and walk in humility.”
The creator posted a photo of a doll in a green dress, saying the color is reminiscent of “God’s stunning creation and the beautiful outdoors.”
You’ll notice, of course, that NBC objects to the fact that minors hold views on sexuality shaped by Scripture but would have no problem if those same minors wanted to take puberty blockers or get a sex change based on transgender ideology. Pro-LGBT social media creators promptly decried this difference in opinion, ironically ignoring the fact that these views would be shared by…every single one of the characters in the books, both during those historical periods and as written. One posted a photo of two dolls embracing to combat the “hateful” expression of biblical views.
Of course, the American Girl company has been going in the same direction as every other major American corporation for some time, and in 2021 launched their “Kira Bailey” character, who has LGBT characters in her storyline (a petition to discontinue the storyline from the One Million Moms group gained 34,800 signatures). LGBT activists called the character a “step in the right direction” and, predictably, stated that American Girl needed to provide more “LGBT representation.” Some fans are attempting to push back against those with traditional views of marriage and sexuality by writing “queer storylines” about each of the figures.
American Girl, like Disney and every other major American storytelling franchise, is likely to buckle to this pressure. The families who still enjoy the original stories for their wholesome but honest look at different periods in American history will be told that they are “hateful” for sharing the views that each of the characters in the original stories would also have held. History, after all, is told by the cultural victors—and it is the LGBT activists who have hegemony now.
