Person Tries Showing How Offensive ‘American Girl’ Actually Is, Gets Shut Down For Not Knowing Facts
Addy Walker was the fifth Historical Character of the American Girls, a line of 18-inch (46 cm) dolls by Pleasant Company. She represented the Civil War Era and was released in the Fall of 1993. As much as kids adored her, you could say that over time, Addy was forgotten about. But almost three decades after her “birthday”, Twitter user @NotLaja accused Addy of being ‘a slave doll’.
But they couldn’t be further from the truth. Fans of the series quickly rose to defend Addy, reminding us of all the hard work that her creators put into their dolls.
Recently, one Twitter user accused Addy Walker of being ‘a slave doll’
People can still buy Addy Walker. She comes with deep-brown eyes that open and close, golden hoop earrings, thick black hair, and an authentic 1864 outfit.
“When Poppa and her brother Sam are sold, Addy and her mother make the wrenching decision to steal away to freedom on their own,” an American Girls spokesperson told Bored Panda Addy’s story. “Their safety means leaving Addy’s baby sister behind — her cries could cost them their lives. After a daring and dangerous escape, Addy and her mother start a new life in Philadelphia. Addy misses the rest of her family terribly, and she finds that freedom is more complicated than she had imagined. Addy must dig deep to find the courage to face a powerful truth — freedom sometimes has great costs.”
The representative of the company said girls connect with Addy because of the qualities they share; a strong connection to family, a hopeful view of the future, a love of school and learning, a desire to unite all people, as well as the determination to keep going despite tremendous obstacles, and an unshakable belief in the power of love and the goodness of all people. “Her defining qualities are her tender heart, her kindness, and her courage.”
People quickly rose to defend Addy and her creators
Addy is a nine-year-old born into slavery who escapes to freedom with her mother during the Civil War. “True to history, her story depicts what it was like for Addy and other young Black girls during the Civil War. As difficult as it is to read about this time in our country’s past, we feel it’s important not to ignore it.”
Reminding of all the thought that went into creating the American Girl series
Eventually, the exchange went viral, generating even more comments
I grew up on these books and never, ever thought that the Addy doll was racist. Why do people insist on looking for racism where there is none. If they are not saying a doll is racist, then they are saying that Mary Poppins is racist because of the chimney sweeps. Unless you have seen actual racism, you can't call every part of pop culture racist.
Ironically, it's for the same reason people are racist: ignorance.
Load More Replies...These sound amazing. I'm sad I've never heard of this series before now.
The books were good for early reading but the dolls were very expensive.
Load More Replies...Its not cancel culture tho. No one was trying to cancel anything.
Load More Replies...People who see racism just because something depicts or references a person of color, are the biggest racists of all. Happy these people took the time to give a proper answer. Maybe it will help some people realize that shouting racism at everything is not helping.
Very interesting, I never understood the love for expensive american girl dolls. Now I can see the attraction.
The dolls were so cool because of the authenticity. The books were really good and pretty easy to get hold of. I remember when I was a classroom aide the girls in the school I worked at loved them.
Load More Replies...Too old for the books when these came out, but love sharing the stories with my Goddaughter. Wish more people would do the research before blasting it out there on social media. Being of Chinese (half) decent, I was recently told by a women in a supermarket that I needed to go back and take my germs with me. I told her (quietly although I was screaming in my brain) that I'm from Seattle, a US Army retired veteran, and she had better educate herself before she kept shaming herself.
That was good of you to educate that woman in a calm way. She had no right to say anything like that to you.
Load More Replies...Unpopular opinion alert: these dolls were so expensive in the 90's that they pretty much felt like the child's equivalent of flexing in a Ferrari. I didn't read the books because I didn't want to seem like I wanted one of the dolls which I knew were mondo expensive. Unfortunate, because the books seem wonderful.
They were fairly expensive. I was allowed 1, and my parents ordered the book of patterns for the dresses and my grandmother would make them to save on cost. I had Kirsten. She is currently in the attic in a long-term storage box with all her clothes waiting on a grandkid who's interested.
Load More Replies...Not American, but these look and sound like a great idea! Every country could produce different dolls for different eras. I learned something today. Thank you!
Oh! This made me remember that I had the Kaya doll when I was a kid. I had her horse and teepee and I thought the teepee was so cool to put together because of the explanation the little instruction book had. It was one of the things in my childhood that led me to an anthropology career.
Thank God that there are still sane people out there. These dolls and their stories are wonderful and inspirational.
I remember when I was reading these books in elementary school. My parents always read them first because they KNEW I would have questions and they used the parental material to facilitate discussions on the topics listed in the article. How anyone could shame this series is beyond me. If all you know about American Girl is the stores, you are MISSING OUT.
I never really got into the series, but wow! I will definitely be sharing them with my daughter if that’s what I end up with. If not I have a niece and she deserves to be educated like this. Very beautiful company
I loved these books- kind of still like some of the chapter ones, very historical and positive roll models
These weren't around when I was a kid, but the books sound great. I've always been a voracious reader and I would have gobbled these books up! It's not the (too expensive) dolls that matter, it's the stories! Read and learn, people!
i agree! i'd love to find some of these. i like simpler books that still deal with these issues, it allows you to understand the issues simply and then allow you to do further reading and research to learn more, while still being able to understand because you know the basic message of the story.
Load More Replies...Do/Are they make any new American girl dolls that reflect current events?
yes, one of the comments stated the 'girl of week' dolls talk about issues like friend problems, bullies, etc. that's not modern issues per se, but it is something a lot of people suffer with. i'm not sure if this counts, i'm really sorry if it didn't!
Load More Replies...I am freakin' proud to be an American Mom right now that raised her daughters on the American Girl Books. They never had real dolls but they loved their dolls just the same and we managed to find ones that looked like them, too!
Dang I didn’t know that. I’ve heard of American Doll but I always assumed they were just overpriced dolls that not everyone could afford. I love that the books have so much accurate history. I want to introduce my daughter to the books when she gets older.
You can often buy the dolls used for a lot less. They are super quality dolls, and they don't hyper sexualize young girls like other dolls do. Totally worth it.
Load More Replies...When they make kaya,they had a Nez Perce come in and examine EVERYTHING
i was a kid when the original three or four girls were released, i really loved the books so much and wanted one of the dolls. my mom got me a look-alike of molly for christmas, complete with clothing, accessories, and a wooden school desk. i never knew it was a fake until i was an adult, at which point i fully appreciated my mom's thrifty nature. but i learned a lot from the books, and they got some history into me (something that was notoriously hard to do). nowadays they also have a doll who comes with a wheelchair, one with a service dog, and a bald one. pleasant company doesn't mess around, they do some fantastic stuff.
Explain to me why the headline is intentionally vague and the Black woman's face who initially posed the question was blurred out. Why is everyone else's screen names and pictures viewable?
But anyway, if you had taken 5 seconds to google it, you would find out there are in fact "Boy" dolls sold by the American Girl Doll company. Check yourself before you wreck yourself Bill.
Load More Replies...Anyone can read the AG books for free if they have a library card. And you can get great deals on the dolls if you buy them second-hand.
Load More Replies...I grew up on these books and never, ever thought that the Addy doll was racist. Why do people insist on looking for racism where there is none. If they are not saying a doll is racist, then they are saying that Mary Poppins is racist because of the chimney sweeps. Unless you have seen actual racism, you can't call every part of pop culture racist.
Ironically, it's for the same reason people are racist: ignorance.
Load More Replies...These sound amazing. I'm sad I've never heard of this series before now.
The books were good for early reading but the dolls were very expensive.
Load More Replies...Its not cancel culture tho. No one was trying to cancel anything.
Load More Replies...People who see racism just because something depicts or references a person of color, are the biggest racists of all. Happy these people took the time to give a proper answer. Maybe it will help some people realize that shouting racism at everything is not helping.
Very interesting, I never understood the love for expensive american girl dolls. Now I can see the attraction.
The dolls were so cool because of the authenticity. The books were really good and pretty easy to get hold of. I remember when I was a classroom aide the girls in the school I worked at loved them.
Load More Replies...Too old for the books when these came out, but love sharing the stories with my Goddaughter. Wish more people would do the research before blasting it out there on social media. Being of Chinese (half) decent, I was recently told by a women in a supermarket that I needed to go back and take my germs with me. I told her (quietly although I was screaming in my brain) that I'm from Seattle, a US Army retired veteran, and she had better educate herself before she kept shaming herself.
That was good of you to educate that woman in a calm way. She had no right to say anything like that to you.
Load More Replies...Unpopular opinion alert: these dolls were so expensive in the 90's that they pretty much felt like the child's equivalent of flexing in a Ferrari. I didn't read the books because I didn't want to seem like I wanted one of the dolls which I knew were mondo expensive. Unfortunate, because the books seem wonderful.
They were fairly expensive. I was allowed 1, and my parents ordered the book of patterns for the dresses and my grandmother would make them to save on cost. I had Kirsten. She is currently in the attic in a long-term storage box with all her clothes waiting on a grandkid who's interested.
Load More Replies...Not American, but these look and sound like a great idea! Every country could produce different dolls for different eras. I learned something today. Thank you!
Oh! This made me remember that I had the Kaya doll when I was a kid. I had her horse and teepee and I thought the teepee was so cool to put together because of the explanation the little instruction book had. It was one of the things in my childhood that led me to an anthropology career.
Thank God that there are still sane people out there. These dolls and their stories are wonderful and inspirational.
I remember when I was reading these books in elementary school. My parents always read them first because they KNEW I would have questions and they used the parental material to facilitate discussions on the topics listed in the article. How anyone could shame this series is beyond me. If all you know about American Girl is the stores, you are MISSING OUT.
I never really got into the series, but wow! I will definitely be sharing them with my daughter if that’s what I end up with. If not I have a niece and she deserves to be educated like this. Very beautiful company
I loved these books- kind of still like some of the chapter ones, very historical and positive roll models
These weren't around when I was a kid, but the books sound great. I've always been a voracious reader and I would have gobbled these books up! It's not the (too expensive) dolls that matter, it's the stories! Read and learn, people!
i agree! i'd love to find some of these. i like simpler books that still deal with these issues, it allows you to understand the issues simply and then allow you to do further reading and research to learn more, while still being able to understand because you know the basic message of the story.
Load More Replies...Do/Are they make any new American girl dolls that reflect current events?
yes, one of the comments stated the 'girl of week' dolls talk about issues like friend problems, bullies, etc. that's not modern issues per se, but it is something a lot of people suffer with. i'm not sure if this counts, i'm really sorry if it didn't!
Load More Replies...I am freakin' proud to be an American Mom right now that raised her daughters on the American Girl Books. They never had real dolls but they loved their dolls just the same and we managed to find ones that looked like them, too!
Dang I didn’t know that. I’ve heard of American Doll but I always assumed they were just overpriced dolls that not everyone could afford. I love that the books have so much accurate history. I want to introduce my daughter to the books when she gets older.
You can often buy the dolls used for a lot less. They are super quality dolls, and they don't hyper sexualize young girls like other dolls do. Totally worth it.
Load More Replies...When they make kaya,they had a Nez Perce come in and examine EVERYTHING
i was a kid when the original three or four girls were released, i really loved the books so much and wanted one of the dolls. my mom got me a look-alike of molly for christmas, complete with clothing, accessories, and a wooden school desk. i never knew it was a fake until i was an adult, at which point i fully appreciated my mom's thrifty nature. but i learned a lot from the books, and they got some history into me (something that was notoriously hard to do). nowadays they also have a doll who comes with a wheelchair, one with a service dog, and a bald one. pleasant company doesn't mess around, they do some fantastic stuff.
Explain to me why the headline is intentionally vague and the Black woman's face who initially posed the question was blurred out. Why is everyone else's screen names and pictures viewable?
But anyway, if you had taken 5 seconds to google it, you would find out there are in fact "Boy" dolls sold by the American Girl Doll company. Check yourself before you wreck yourself Bill.
Load More Replies...Anyone can read the AG books for free if they have a library card. And you can get great deals on the dolls if you buy them second-hand.
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