Kit Kittredge: The Generational popularity of american girl dolls for girls
By: anna towle
Since the release of American Girl Doll in 1986 they have been an iconic role model, doll, and companion for girls throughout America, and even across the world. American Girl is a doll brand founded by Pleasant T. Rowland who had a vision to create a doll that was non-sexualized, taught girls’ strong values, and education was rooted at its core. Originally, the company offered six dolls who represented different eras of American history, and Kit Kittredge was the seventh doll to be introduced. Kit is a character from Cincinnati, Ohio who lived in the middle of the Great Depression in 1934. Her character represents perseverance, ingenuity, confidence, and the value of family and friendship.
In this paper I will examine Kit Kittredge’s popularity in the 2000’s and explore the underlying societal messages about girlhood and structured play, illustrating how American Girl has used her character to reinforce femininity and perpetuate white-washed history. My methodology includes various articles by Childhood Studies researchers, and economic statistics from the 2000’s – now regarding American Girl and their popularity.
Standing 18” tall with rectangular and round features, American Girl Dolls represent prepubescent bodies. The decision to make the dolls’ appearance like this was done intentionally by Rowland as she found dolls from other companies illustrated unrealistic bodily expectations to young girls. While this may seem like a small detail to some, it was actually trailblazing. Dolls at the time demonstrated a perfectly slim, unrealistic hourglass figure; Pleasant had concerns over how this might be affecting young girls’ self-esteem. American Girl also differed from other brands by making their characters show bravery, independence, and non-traditional girls.
Historically dolls have been used as a tool to teach gender roles and show girls how to be future wives and mothers. According to Zaslow (2017) “it was commonly believed that doll play could ‘cultivate taste in dress’ but equally importantly train girls to be moral, to sew, to be tidy, and to model good behavior” (Zaslow, 2017, pp. 44). Girls were not seen as being capable of making any meaningful contributions to society, they were expected to be nurturing, quiet, unopinionated and good future wife material. Society ignored girls, and to an extent still does.
American Girl’s emergence highlighted the changing outlook on girls, and Rowland created a doll brand that embraced girls as an entity rather than an accessory. Since society ignored girls and their contribution, they also overlooked any research into girls too. As stated by Pomerantz (2024) in her research analysis:
Up until the 1990s, there was little academic research on girls. Girls were ignored, marginalized, or framed as lesser than boys, men, and women. In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan challenged women to grow up if they wanted to lead fulfilling lives outside of the home. In Friedan’s analysis, only career women could be feminist adults, whereas housewives were viewed as immature adolescents. (pp. 846)
Without research into girlhood and their development we would lack the understanding of the complex intricacies of girls. Since dolls are used a tool of transmitting specific values to girls, having a doll that represents wholesome values and independence is important. Girls are influenced by the views and experiences around them so, having a character they can look up to or relate to changes the future adults they become.
Rowland understood the evolving landscape, and changing parental values of the time and ceased to opportunity to make a doll brand that embodied these values. American Girl’s release of Kit in 2000 then once again showcased the savvy, consumer orientated brand.
While Kit is a perfect example of a girl who achieved her dreams of becoming a journalist, and is witty, compassionate, and free-thinking she still emphasizes a deeper issue – American Girl whitewashes history. As stated by Helgren (2024) in her research:
“Girls mediate adult expectations to formulate their own identities. Although girlhood in the Global North has often been naturalized as White, middle-class, able-bodied, and Western, recent girls’ studies research examines girlhood as one of many intersectional identities within the context of global diversity.” (pp. 841)
Kit represents a whitewashed, privileged girl that unfortunately overlooks many girls’ experiences. By lacking representation, American Girl misses the opportunity to instill values in Girls that overlooks race and class, and perpetuation of whitewashed history is something society must move forward from. Schalk affirms this by saying “…the brand romanticizes and sanitizes history while encouraging consumerism” (Schalk, 2016, pp. 37). In order to move away from generationally washed history we must start teaching children real history, real identities, and representing different experiences. It seems clear though that American Girl chose to make Kit’s character this way to appeal more to the average consumer, but this choice is disappointing to see from the company. American Girl could have easily chosen to depict an impoverished girl (Hobo) to show a more accurate experience of the era, but instead they perpetuated white privilege to girls.
Since around 2020, American girl has diversified by offering more inclusive dolls that show disabilities, Alopecia which is an auto immune disease, religious accessories like hijabs, and dolls featuring different ethnicities. This diversification shows the brands attentiveness to the changing consumer desires, but it would be more appealing for the brand to adopt inclusiveness because they possess these values, rather than it being for appearance. The brand started out by wanting to transmit core values, but slowly evolved into a commercial entity when they were bought by Mattel in 1998.
American Girl notoriously avoids anything that could be misinterpreted and yet as a brand they still experience backlash, and have received their fair share of critique throughout the years. One interesting thing the brand manages to do is market to a very broad audience.
Whether a family is conservative or progressive seemingly has no effect on them. This is because they de-politicize advertising, books, and use neutral language. Staying politically neutral allows them to appeal to multiple demographics, thereby being more profitable. Schalk’s (2020) research study observed:
“American Girl’s marketing and product creation is carefully curated, often involving many experts and consultants. American Girl’s writers, designers, and marketing directors clearly work to align every product with the brand’s professed values and reputation, seeking to please (or at least not offend) as broad a group as possible to maximize sales.” (pp. 18)
An example of their neutrality from Kit’s character stems from her book series. In it, they address the hardships and struggles people faced during the Great Depression but avoid offering any solution/political answer to the issue. There is no resolution in her book, rather Kit just learns to overcome challenges, which allows the reader to interpret as they please.
According to Rowland she had already created Kit’s personality and had just not assigned her to a historic era. She describes Kit as resourceful and clever. Rowland’s release of Kit was a strategic marketing ploy perfectly curated since in 2000 America plummeted into a recession.
This recession was caused by what is known as the “Dot-Com Bubble Burst”. According to an article published by Goldman Sachs (2019) “The dot-com bubble coincided with the longest period of economic expansion in the United States after World War II” (“1990’s Dot-Com Bubble”, 2019, p. 1). From 1998-2000 America saw massive growth in computer communication technology, but investors overvalued the stability of the emerging companies, and the companies lacked long-term business models leading to wide-spread collapse.
While a recession is nowhere near as severe as a depression, her character became relatable for young girls. Rowland saw Kit as an opportunity to give parents a tool to help young girls understand the world around them. Young girls were developmentally exploring their own identities, while also interpreting the stress around them from their parents and even other adults in their life. Kit was a tool to make these situations more palatable for girls. Taken from La Ferla (2001) referencing a statement from Rowland that says ''My idea was to give parents a way to start conversation with a child, to introduce the notion that high times may be transient, to prepare ourselves'' (La Ferla, 2001, p. 1). It can be daunting for a child to understand the world that is unfolding around them, but seeing character/doll that is relatable can be a tangible experience that provides new perspectives for them.
Having a role-model is so important for young girls, and even after the recession, Kit’s character remained one of their best-selling dolls. Further referencing from La Ferla’s article ''Kit could be a touchstone for contemporary girls, whether or not they actually go through hard times” (La Ferla, 2001, p. 1). This is because Kit is relatable in many ways, and not just because of her timely struggle. Even when the economy is stable, her story still provides a fun, educational character for girls. She has adventures with her friends, finds creative ways to have a good time, and has goofy experiences which makes her loveable amongst girls.
The company’s de-politicization is what allows them to remain so popular amongst girls and parents throughout America. Pleasant’s business model, which was later adopted by Mattel while not ideal, allows them to influence more girls. Kit has remained one of their all-time best- selling dolls because of the compassionate values she transmits, and her neutral characteristics. She is also representative of economic struggle which has been an on and off issue in the world since her release, and she provides a tool for parents to teach their children about financial struggle. All of these factors have worked together to make Kit’s doll and American Girl thrive as a company. While some of the social concepts put forth by American Girl are less than ideal, they still sell a good product that instills wholesome values and teaches girls that they are stronger than they could have ever imagined. American Girl teaches girls to reach for the stars and to never let the anyone stop them.
Reference Page
Goldman Sachs. (2019). The Late 1990’s Dot-Com Bubble Implodes in 2000 (p. 1). https://www.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/history/moments/2000-dot-com-bubble
Helgren, J (2020). Girlhood, SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies (pp. 841). https://sk.sagepub.com/ency/edvol/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-children-and-childhood-
La Ferla, R. (2001). Latest Economic Indicator: A Depression Doll is Hot, The New York Times
(p. 1). https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/07/style/noticed-latest-economic-indicator-a-
Pomerantz, S. (2020). Girlhood Studies. SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies
(pp. 846). https://www.academia.edu/43661774/Girlhood_Studies
Schalk, S. (2016). Ablenationalism in American Girlhood. Berghahn Journals (pp. 37). https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/girlhood-studies/9/1/ghs090104.xml
Schalk, S. (2020). De-politicized Diversity in the American Girl Brand. Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, vol. 2, no. 2. (pp. 18).
https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/rdyl/article/view/1549/1266
Zaslow, E. (2017). Playing with America’s Dolls. Emile Zaslow (pp. 44).
https://www.academia.edu/38075647/Playing_with_Americas_Doll_A_cultural_analysis_of_the