Building Girls

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. We did and I saw the "Kit" movie, which equals a plus in the good mother spread sheet. Its close to the first year anniversary when the American Girl phenomenon entered our household. Three of the kids that worked for us last year gave Madeline her first doll and the dam was broken. I am forever torn as to what these dolls mean for Madeline and for women in general. I am happy that the books attached to the products are educational and historic, I am sad that my daughter gets such joy out of "buying" things for them. I am happy that the quality of the product and the quality of the production(movie) are of the highest value. I am happy that the girls portrayed are really ten, eleven and twelve years old's and not baby teenagers but bummed that all moral lessons get so buttoned up neatly and the complexity of racism, "classism" and general American inequality is never really explained...I guess that's my job.
This interview on Slate is a good discussion of what these dolls might mean to young woman today, http://www.slate.com/id/2194785/pagenum/all/#page_start.