<p>All right ladies, please offer advice. My college age daughter will be in Africa and stay with a family with a 9-year old daughter who apparently likes dolls. So we thought we’d get her one of those American Girl dolls as a gift. My daughter loved them when she was little. Then the question arose whether the doll should be dark skinned, like the little girl for whom the doll will be bought, or white, like my daughter. I remember reading how, until fairly recently, there just wans’t a good selection of ethnically different dolls, and even on the American Girl website there are comments thanking the company for making beautiful dolls of color. Plus, I think many little girls project themselves into their dolls, so getting a doll that looks like them makes sense to me. But other friends questioned us getting a black doll, saying we’re white, and it might look funny, I don’t know… I don’t want to offend, but I do want to give a special gift to a special family.</p>
<p>So, ladies, based on what you and/or your daughters loved and played with as children: what would you advise?</p>
<p>I wished that I had a little girl to buy a doll for, as they looked lovely. Don’t know how well they’re constructed, however.</p>
<p>My D got an American Girl doll that looked like her when she was about 9, and we got accessories that matched her interests - ski outfit, gymnastics leotard, etc. I can’t imagine why it would seem strange to give a child a doll that looks like her. I’m sure she’ll adore it.</p>
<p>Katliamom, I went on the American Girls doll web site and I think those dolls are way too expensive – usually when there is a homestay situation the goal is to provide a gift that is modest enough that it doesn’t embarrass the family. When my d. did homestays, we were always advised to shop for things in the $15-$20 range – the dolls on the American Girl web site are $95+ – they are lovely dolls, just probably out of line for the purpose.</p>
<p>I do think your basic instincts are sound, though – just that you need to redirect focus to something a little less pricey.</p>
<p>Thanks for the Costco tip – I’ll certainly look into it.
Calmom, I appreciate your insight into the cost of the American Girl doll, this is a bit more than a thank you gift for homestay - we know the family through work relationships, husband has worked with them & stayed with the family in the past, we’ve exchanged gifts before, etc. That’s why I was willing to spend more, though I agree that the price of these dolls is… hmmm… a bit out there.</p>
<p>I think it’s great that you want to get her something you know she likes, but this could be unnecessarily awkward. I think she would like something that is reminiscent of the US, even if it is not a doll. </p>
<p>If it’s going to be a doll, being “American” is probably important, and white dolls might be rarer there. But American Girl dolls don’t look “American”, and the “black” ones probably don’t look like a girl in Africa. They doubted I was black when I was there! I vote for a doll that looks like your daughter.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if clothing was a really big hit. American clothes and “feminine hygiene products” were really popular when I was in Nigeria, although that was in the 80’s. What part of Africa?</p>
<p>Edited to add I checked the madam alexander doll, and that one seems more “African American” than Addy.</p>
<p>I was curious and checked out the Costco doll- seems contemporary while the “American Girl” dolls are of historical eras- not knowing US history something may get lost. What- no suggestions of “Barbie”?!!!</p>
<p>lol Then the host child can have a doll that looks like your daughter. Or if you have a photo of the host child, you can have the doll made up to look like her.</p>
<p>And yes, I did this for my kid when she was younger, she and the doll had the same outfits.
:rolleyes:</p>
<p>I wonder if a girl in Nigeria may not see the American Girls / Madame Alexander “Addy” doll as being the same color as her? Only in the U.S. does Addy register as Black. In African terms, Addy could easily come across as white, or something like it.</p>
<p>Shrinkwrap, thanks for your comment (though it only confuses me more :)) The gift is for a solid middle class family in Kenya.</p>
<p>JHS, please tell me more why you think in African terms, Addy could easily come across as white?</p>
<p>Silvermonlock, I’m familiar with the creepy Twinn dolls - the company is (was) based in Colorado, where I live. </p>
<p>As to American Girl, my daughter and I weren’t going to buy a specific historic doll, rather one of their ‘generic’ dolls with typical modern American clothes & accessories.</p>
<p>It’s been a long time, Lord knows. But I paid special attention because the author of the Addy books was someone I knew growing up, and my daughter definitely went through both an American Girls phase and a Madame Alexander phase, which overlapped somewhat. Anyway, if memory serves the Addy doll, like most African-Americans, is relatively light-skinned, mulatto, not the blue-black skin color most common for Blacks in Sub-Saharan Africa.</p>
<p>I am not operating from much of a knowledge base, and my question was a real question. American society, historically, has assigned mulatto/mixed-race people to the category “Black”, absent special efforts to “pass” as white. In lots of other societies, however, I believe being mulatto or “colored” is its own category, separate from “Black”, and brings with it a different set of social assumptions. (There are vestiges of this in American society, too, but it has never been all that strong because legal segregation here drew the sharp line between “White” and “Black”. Contrast South Africa, where legal apartheid treated “Colored” as separate from “Black”.)</p>
<p>You know, we didn’t make a big deal out of doll skin color, we just got the dolls the kid liked. The last American Girls doll I purchased (and the kid selected) was just a generic doll of unknown ethnicity. I let the kid decide what it was.</p>
<p>After going to the site, it was the design your own doll, which she did design (wow was this over a decade ago)?</p>
<p>Anyway my kid and nieces liked their Barbies and it didn’t make any difference to them what color the dolls were. Lots of Barbie parties. </p>
<p>Being Black, I understand the concept of having a doll that looks like you, but perhaps the adults are really over-thinking this? The kids really didn’t care.</p>
<p>If you want an American Girls doll, why don’t you get Kaya? She’s a Native American–that makes her a link to America, and sidesteps the issue of black or white.</p>
<p>posted by a lover of dolls, not a woman of color :)</p>
<p>We have American Girl dolls at home. I think they might be too expensive to give as a gift in that the recipient might feel overwhelmed as in “this is too much!” </p>
<p>OP - I think given your relationship with this family, the American Girl Dolls are not too expensive. My children had several, along with My Twinn, Barbie and Bratz dolls - an impressive list given that neither daughter much cared for dolls, lol. </p>
<p>I think the American Girl dolls are a nice choice because of the quality and the books that accompany them. I think I would choose the doll based on the story that you feel she would most appreciate learning about and not worry so much about the skin color.</p>
<p>In one of the brief instances when my oldest showed interest in Barbie, we were shopping at Toys R Us and D1 picked out a black Barbie. The young woman working in the store tried to take the box away from her and give her the same doll but with white skintones - my daughter was furious, she wanted the black doll and I firmly (and I’ll admit, perhaps not too kindly, told the clerk that my daughter could have whatever doll she wanted) retrieved the black doll and put it in the shopping cart.</p>
<p>So…my vote is to pick the American story that would be of most interest and include the books and the doll that goes with it.</p>
<p>Interesting thread so I will give my 2 cents. I don’t think the color of the doll matters. The native american doll sounds like a cool idea but you could add a more typically american modern outfit for her to wear as well. But really any doll would be fine and I think the American girl doll is a great choice. Why don’t you ask your college age daughter which doll is her favorite and choose that one? And give the book too! </p>
<p>Honestly I think the cost of the American girl doll is not excessive given the relationship with the family. I think your instincts are right not to buy a present that will come across as “cheap.” If you are going for one of the cheaper dolls you could buy a black one and a white one so they could be “doll friends.”</p>
<p>Katliamom, how thoughtful of your D for wanting to get a meaningful gift for the daughter of her host family. I think any doll irrespective of skin color will be a wonderful gift. My D was also a doll lover and had dolls of all shades; I dont think she thought much about what color they were. If I were buying I would probably get the American Girl doll in a darker shade. If the host family daughter has seen American TV or movies or books she will know and expect an African American doll to look more like an African American little girl than like herself.</p>
<p>Possible solution: there are very cute miniature versions of all the historical American Girl dolls. They are six and a half inches tall and $22. That would be easier to transport and perhaps the traveling daughter could take two dolls, Addy and one of the others. My D had the miniature dolls (as well as the larger Felicity) and they are very well made.</p>