Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory: American Girl Doll an Agent of Political Indoctrination

Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet at 5:00 PM on September 24, 2009.

Last week, the intrepid reporting of Matt Drudge -- and incisive analysis of Rush Limbaugh -- revealed that in "Obama's America", kids get bullied by other kids. Unfortunately, things have only gotten worse since then. Today, we learn that an American Girl doll named Gwen is faring even worse than that white kid on the bus: she's homeless! And, if sleeping in a car weren't bad enough, she is also a tool of a sinister left-wing agenda. Glenn Beck isn't going to take this well.

An outraged Andrea Peyser writes in the NY Post today:

And while you were snoozing, the creators of American Girl, which is sold by Mattel, got bold. They engaged in all-out political indoctrination.

Snuck into the collection is a doll that comes with a biography that is weird and potentially offensive enough to keep Mom running to the Maalox. Gwen, you see, is harboring a terrible secret.

She is homeless. A homeless doll.

Bringing attention to homelessness is unforgivable. But the left-wing propaganda machine does not stop there:

But what is Mattel subtly selling along with its outrageously expensive progeny?

It seems obscene that a company that prides itself on teaching impressionable children about history and grooming -- you can have your doll's hair done for $20! -- should engage in political preaching. What message is being sent with Gwen?

For starters, men are bad. Fathers abandon women without cause. She's also telling me that women are helpless. And that children in this great country, where dolls sell for nearly 100 bucks a pop, are allowed to sleep in motor vehicles. But mothers don't lose custody over this injustice. Because, you see, they are victims, too.

The radical ideology espoused by Mattel (which often gets flak for its aggressively feminist, social justice agenda) is evident in the customer reviews of the doll published on the American Girl website:

"I totaly L-O-V-E Gwen!Her dress is beautyful and the flower print at the top is on her beautyful light pink under!Her sandals are 100% tought to get on." writes AGGwen1997.

CRAZY4Americangirl also seems to be on the verge of trying to overthrow Capitalism:

"Gwen is so pretty her dress looks cute on her. Her headband is a great add on I just love her so much I cant explain !!!!!"

What's Peyer's takeaway from this alarming state of affairs? Barbie is a much better role model for her kids than that laggard Gwen:

So take a close look at what your daughter is playing with. Barbie, the feminists long complained, gave girls body issues.

But she never attempted to politically indoctrinate me.

I'll stick with the thin girl.

That's a really good point. Much better for your kid to absorb unrealistic body images than empathy for those less fortunate.

Anyway, Peyser also whines about how it's ironic that a homeless doll is so expensive ($95), a very serious issue also addressed on Fox and Friends this morning. Which, I suppose, is a totally valid criticism. Except that I'm having some trouble figuring out how buying kids overpriced crap they don't need when other kids don't have homes is a symptom of untrammeled liberalism/socialism.

Wait, maybe reading through the comments on Fox Nation, which features and links to Peyser's article, will help me understand her argument better:

Here's what "Johannes" has to say: "Hell, why not! I suppose next we'll have to suffer the gay and lesbian dolls being forced on us too! How about the communist doll?"

They add: "Oh yes, and the welfare doll that has both its hands out and six baby dolls with different fathers; and the illegal alien doll that wears its entire wardrobe and has a phoney social security card."

"Out of the Blue" is good with words: "So when do they come out with the LIEberal doll?"

"What's next...an ACORN doll??" worries "itgurl."

"When squeezed, the doll says 'GIVE ME' in ENGLISH, SPANISH, and EBONICS!" says Bosman.

That didn't help much.

Tagged as: gop, liberals, conservatives, right-wing, american girl