Conservatives Protest Doll Maker

[bliss_eternal]

(I didn't see this story come up through a board search, so I thought I'd post it)

Conservatives Protest Doll Maker

NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2005
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Samantha Small, 7, of Brooklyn, looks at dolls for sale at the American Girl Place store in New York, in a 2003 file photo. (AP)


Quote

"Let American Girl know they are making a terrible mistake."

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AFA chairman Don Wildmon


(AP) American Girl, manufacturer of a highly popular line of dolls and children's books, has become the target of conservative activists threatening a boycott unless the toy maker cuts off contributions to a youth organization that supports abortion rights and acceptance of lesbians.

The protest is directed at an ongoing American Girl campaign in which proceeds from sales of a special "I Can" wristband help support educational and empowerment programs of Girls Inc., a national nonprofit organization which describes its mission as "inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold."
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The Mississippi-based American Family Association, in a campaign launched Wednesday, is urging its members to demand that American Girl halt support for Girls Inc., which it called "a pro-abortion, pro-lesbian advocacy group."

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The Pro-Life Action League, a Chicago-based anti-abortion group, also is asking supporters to contact American Girl to express dismay. The league's executive director, Ann Scheidler, said her organization might call for a boycott of American Girl's products and organize picketing at its stores in Chicago and New York if the company doesn't sever ties with Girls Inc.

"Parents need to know that this effort to promote self-esteem among girls is not as innocent as it seems," Scheidler said. "While Girls Inc. has some good programs, they also support abortion, oppose abstinence-only education for girls, and condone lesbianism."

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American Girl, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc., said the "I Can" initiative supports three specific Girls Inc. programs — building girls' skills in science and math, developing leadership skills, and encouraging athletic skills and team spirit.

"All of these aims are appropriate to our 7- to 12-year-old American Girl fans," the company said. "The American Girl brand exemplifies the values of wholesomeness and responsibility that we would expect any organization to commend."

Girls Inc., which traces its roots back to a center founded in Waterbury, Conn., in 1864, serves about 800,000 girls a year, many of them black or Hispanic and most from low-income families.

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excerpts from article provided by:
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link to article

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/14/national/main947520.shtml

:patriot:

[cornermouse]

1. Political correctness, republican style.

And Mattel isn't politically obedient.

[bliss_eternal]

2. American Girl dolls

was one of the first line to feature multi-cultural dolls. I LOVE that about them.

It's interesting that conservatives would call for a protest of dolls that promote empowerment of ALL Girls of all races, and they put their money where their mouth is by supporting organizations that do the same.

I hope they tell the conservatives to suck on it...

[cornermouse]

3. That would be nice.

But the reality is that if they are a large section of the buying public for the dolls they may succeed.

Something that I suspect may help them in their attack on American dolls is the economy, depressed wages courtesy of outsourcing, gas prices, and the bankruptcy laws. The result of these policies are probably setting retailers up for a less than nice Christmas season possibly as early as this year. I'm wondering if the result could confuse Mattel into thinking its the effect of the boycott rather than the other factors? I guess we'll find out.

[Selatius]

4. The AFA is a bunch of religious nutjob fanatics

They are opposed to the idea of letting the casinos on the Mississippi coast rebuild on land instead of again on barges because it's immoral. Nevermind the fact that, gee, the government failed everybody. They are so myopic that they can't even see the big picture. Who are they to dictate what moral standard people will follow? They love to impose their morality and beliefs on others the same as any other religious fundamentalist.

[swimboy]

5. Inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold?

Of course it must be stopped.
:sarcasm:

Evil bastards. :mad:

[bliss_eternal]

Exactly--

part of me wonders if this is REALLY about the fact that this line does exactly what you state, or if it's really about what they claim it is?

Either way, apparently they don't want to get behind women on any positive level...

[zbdent]

14. That probably cuts off their

chances of molesting them . . . and for getting the girls to marry Repuke and breed . . .

I wonder - how many of the little girls the conservatives "daddies" have molested have turned lesbian as a result?

[swimboy]

15. These poor men in these uncertain times--

young women empowered to resist them, gay men empowered to prey upon them (in their paranoid dreams!)--they are losing their sacred ground.
tsk, tsk

[REP]

6. These Dolls Are HUGELY Popular

I don't think anything can kill this line.

This campaign is making me think that maybe I should buy an American Girl doll to add to my collection of childhood Madame Alexanders (all in boxes with wrist tags!). A well-made doll can be a good investment, after all...

[bliss_eternal]

8. Only recently

I found out what a huge business dolls are. I honestly had NO IDEA!!!

Madame Alexanders are a HUGE collectible--wow! Still in box with tags--that's great!

[REP]

10. In Box, With Tags, Limited Editions, Over 30 Years Old Now...

Egads I'm old! I got them when I was a kid, but I never played rough with them or messed up their hair, so they even have their original hairstyles and all their shoes, stockings, hats, etc.

The American Girl Dolls are pricey, but as far as 'things I think kids should have' go, they're pretty much in line with my ideas; well-made, and not all brides and ballerinas.

[KitchenWitch]

7. I think it is high time I buy my daughter an American Girl doll!

:woohoo:

[bliss_eternal]

9. I was thinking of buying one, too...

For myself--just to support them--they deserve it for not backing down from the right!

[wakeme2008]

11. There was a thread on here yesterday or the day before

about a mother of a nine yo girl that was told American Girl kills babies by another 9 yo girl. :grr:

It is sad to have fundies teaching their kids things like this.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. funny, isn't it, how fetuses and zygotes have become "babies"

but these same fundies want to cut off funding to help viable human infants by slashing aid to poor children, etc, etc. I was talking to an aquaintance who is a fanatical "right to lifer" and she refused to even let me use the word 'zygote' insisting that it was a baby.

[bliss_eternal]

16. Oh my--that's just disgusting!

:puke:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. If these dolls are terribly popular

chances are that the controversy will only increase sales. I remember in the 60s when these same kind of people burned the Beatle's records and John Lennon's books-didn't really hurt their popularity.