American Girl Dollcore 🎀

how a line of expensive, historically inspired dolls and books dominated 90s girlhood

Dec 15, 2023

true fact: my tween style inspos were American Girl Dolls. I never attempted a bucket hat, but my mom DID sew me a version of that gray wool jumper.

It was Christmas 1995 when I received my one and only American Girl Doll, Samantha Parkington. I’d already spoiled the surprise by inspecting the return address on a tantalizingly large box and cross-checking it with the dogeared Pleasant Company catalog that had made its way to me and thousands of other tween girls through the analog magic of direct-mail marketing. But even though I knew Samantha was waiting for me under the tree, it didn’t dampen the thrill of unwrapping my elegant new friend.

My mom wisely warned me to take extra special care of Samantha. Brush her hair gently, she pleaded. Don’t take her outside. Make sure she’s fully dressed—tights and shoes on—when playtime is over. This was an $82 doll, and there’d be no replacing her.

I happily complied. After all, as a hyper-sheltered homeschooler well aware of my family’s weirdness, Samantha made me feel a tiny bit more normal. With this doll, I was just like other girls.

This week on the podcast, historians and Dolls of Our Lives hosts and authors Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney—both self-identified Mollys—regale us with the backstory of how these iconic dolls came to be and what they reflect about the 90s culture and girlhoods they imprinted on. Even if you never owned one and/or aren’t a doll person, I promise you’ll love to hear it.

Unladies’ Room: MRKH Syndrome

Unladies, I'd never heard of MRKH syndrome until director/unlady Molly McGlynn wrote in to share her experience of being 16 years old and learning that she was born without a uterus and had to "make" her own vagina. Now, she's taken that trauma—along with her feminist rage and sharp sense of humor—and turned it into her second feature film, Fitting In.

You don’t wanna miss my fascinating conversation with Molly in the Unladies’ Room, and mark your calendars for February when Fitting In starring Maddie Ziegler hits theaters.

join the Unladies' Room

💗THANK YOU, THANK YOU to this week’s new Unladies Room member, Joe! 💗

ICYMI:

Ed. note #1: After a Texas lower court judge ruled in favor of Kate Cox and Center for Repro Rights last Thursday night, I hopped in here to drop the link and a hot take that quickly froze over.

An “historic” abortion ruling. (WaPo) For the first time since 1973, a judge has granted a temporary restraining order on a state abortion ban to allow a woman to terminate a nonviable, life-endangering pregnancy. And while this is good news, it also raises the specter of a “perfect” abortion seeker—at least, that’s what I read into the Texas judge’s ruling: “The idea that Miss Cox wants desperately to be a parent, and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability is shocking, and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice.”

Ed note #2: As we now know, even Kate Cox—who is married with two children and has already been to the emergency room FOUR times due to pregnancy complications—isn’t “perfect” enough.

Cruel and unusual punishment. (CNN) The Texas attorney general promptly had a shitfit following the historic ruling above and threatened legal action against hospitals or providers in the state if they helped her terminate the pregnancy. The entirely Republican Texas Supreme Court then reneged Cox’s abortion allowance on the grounds that her pregnancy isn’t “life-threatening” enough.
Fuuuuuuuuck. (NPR) That’s all I could think when SCOTUS announced it will be deciding whether or not to override the FDA (and evidence-based science) and ban mifepristone nationwide.
You had me at “Quantified Clit”. (404 media) I’d be more enthused if this clitoris wearable were in development as a research tool rather than a consumer product, but how could I not appreciate new news on clitoral erections??
The word of the year is actually girl (or girly or girlies or girl [fill in the blank]). (Guardian) But is she…authentic? 🤔