American Girl's Homeless Doll Causes Controversy

There's a fine line between advocacy and, well, poor taste. The ever-popular American Girls brand has released a controversial new doll named "Gwen," a character who's actually homeless.

CBS sent correspondent Hattie Kauffman to an L.A. shelter to gather some reaction to the doll:

[One homeless advocate] observed to Kauffman that she finds "the whole concept to be extremely disturbing. It's not a doll I would ever buy for a child."

There are between 7,000 and 10,000 homeless children in L.A. alone, Kauffman notes, and it's doubtful many, if any, could afford Gwen's $95 price tag.

One homeless woman in a shelter Kauffman visited said Gwen touched her heart when she saw the doll in its box.

The women praised the doll, Kauffman reports, until they learned Gwen isn't a fundraising device for the homeless.

"I don't even see why you would make a homeless doll, anyway," one woman said to Kauffman, unless it was being used to raise money to help charities aiding the homeless.

At the NY Post, Andrea Peyser, who calls the American Girls line, "middle American Crack," wrote of the doll: "For $95 -- more than your average homeless person would dream of spending on a rather mediocre baby substitute -- Gwen Thompson can be yours. A mixed message if ever there was one."

Get HuffPost Business On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[Aaron Shaw]

02:59 PM on 11/04/2009

I admire the fact that the post has become aware that the issues regarding homelessness of those amongst this free society does not receive the amount of attention needed to bring forth a consistant moentary assumption as the current economic condition witnessed by this nation as of now.

[Progressiveama]

12:40 AM on 11/02/2009

hmmmmmmmm....I was homeless once.....I think that it is a good idea....teach kids to care about the homeless--girls do love their dolls......one never ever knows if they might find themselves in this situation...I mean, COME ON, the dream dolls the rich dolls, this is something new to me, allowing kids to see this sort of thing........I'm 56, not in the know about dolls anymore.

[askladybrain]

01:38 PM on 10/14/2009

Wow, if someone is that interested in teaching their kids about homelessness, take a walk through any urban center and you can find some real homeless people to talk to. They often have very interesting stories. Then--you can hand them $95! That will stick in a kids' mind much more than another doll. Oh, the IRONY of forking over $95 for a doll when there are people who could eat for a month with that kind of money.....2nd when is a kid ready to hear about the issues in a way that won't scare them that it could happen to them? Kids need to feel secure at the same time they learn about the world--but it has to be age appropriate! We just had to cover this topic in our show--for a taste, go to:

http://blog.askladybrain.com/2009/10/14/new-episode-wtf-1010-pt-3/

-Steph and Lauren

[EGW1103]

11:56 PM on 10/05/2009

Wow, this is just ridiculous, if you're gonna comment at least do a little research. Why r ppl so offended, homelessness is apart of life and the American Doll collection reflects that. I grew up with American Dolls my very fav was Addy Walker an Afriican-American girl born into slavery who throughout the series escapes with her mother thru the underground railroad and to mke a long story short its, sad, moving, REAL, and I learned so much becuz of that doll and collection. Theres also Samantha the super rich spoiled brat, Kirsten the pioneer girl, and so on... What? a slave doll, a rich doll, etc are ok, but not a homeless doll? I dont see anybody sayin they shld donate money to the NAACP or to spoiled rich girls or blue collar families. It wld be nice but ppl need to understand, u cant force donations and they have been partnered with I think its HomeAid or something since 2008. These dolls are meant to be REAL and have REAL stories and ppl homelessness is on the rise and there r still Homeless kids in America and they all dont wear rags, have globs of dirt n their hair, and smell. FYI, much more important things in this screwed up world to complain abt than a doll, fyi they've Always been expensive.

[RJII]

03:19 AM on 10/02/2009

guess this is one reason why America is in the shtcan now.

[vascopyjama]

11:35 PM on 10/01/2009

It's the American way. Make money out of anything.

[IreneL]

08:57 PM on 10/01/2009

Dolls can be used as tools to teach young girls about relationships---and to learn about and accept people who are different from themselves. I'm happy that "Gwen" has already begun to stimulate conversation sparking awareness of people who are homeless, people who only live in the shadows for most middle-class families.

It's more important than ever that young women develop a social awareness of the larger world around them. When I grew up all the dolls also had the same complexion.

[Jennifer Amstutz]

12:25 PM on 10/05/2009

How about the middle class families go volunteer at a homeless shelter instead? "It's more important than ever that young women develop a social awareness of the larger world around them" INDEED. And IN DEED.

[OGoodGrief]

02:09 PM on 10/01/2009

Leave it to Mattel to capitalize on one of the social ills in our society. Leave no stone unturned in order to make a buck. Mattel isn't even donating any proceeds from the sales of this doll to homeless shelters or agencies that would assist homeless people, although they do donate to charities in general -- just not with this particular doll. Seems stupid and illogical. Mattel ruined the American Girls dolls brand.

[NANANACHMAN]

11:59 AM on 10/01/2009

(SIC)

[MyPOLtiks]

09:49 AM on 10/01/2009

Where is the change, Obama? Where is the REFORM?

Job loss equates to home loss No jobs, no recovery. Why so many people out of work even with the stimulus spending? Why are more jobs still being shipped overseas? There is no such thing as a jobless recovery; that is n3ocon jargon.

good articles... http://www.iamned.com

meanwhile, the stock market is surging and everyone is too busy to counting their money to show any initiative.

[spinns17]

02:42 AM on 10/02/2009

lol what a fool

[Cryostatic]

09:28 AM on 10/01/2009

Checked the website, and from what I'm seeing, the doll isn't really designed to represent the homeless, so much as being simply a representation of a character in a book. A homeless friend of the main character. No mention of her homelessness is made on the website, so anyone who's unfamiliar with the book, I'm assuming, wouldn't even know.

In short, it's not being advertised or sold as a homeless doll, it's being advertised as a Gwen doll, a character in a series of children's books who happens to be homeless. That CBS would send a journalist to a shelter with this doll to get reactions from it's misrepresentation is pitiful.

[OGoodGrief]

02:23 PM on 10/01/2009

I'm sorry, maybe I'm misunderstanding. Gwen, the American Girl doll is homeless. She is homeless in her story because her dad leaves her and her mom and the mom is unable to financially support them -- and they end up homeless. How does that not represent what happens to people? It is shameful that Mattel would create such a doll and then not donate the proceeds to a homeless shelter or agency that benefits homeless people. The doll costs $95 dollars. Who can afford that? Not homeless people. Why create a homeless doll at all? What statement was Mattel trying to make? Just that crap happens and sometimes people become homeless...oh well? Maybe it would have been a "teaching moment" had Mattel thought to donate the proceeds to benefit people that really need support and assistance to get back on their feet.

What would happen if Mattel produced a doll with AIDS and didn't donate the proceeds to an AIDS charity? What about producing a doll that lives with an alcoholic parent? Or maybe a doll that has suffered from abuse? Maybe a doll that gets bullied? Or how about a doll that experiences gang activity in her central city neighborhood? Come on. If Mattel wants to make money off of the social ills of this country, the least they can do is put up some of the proceeds to organizations that want to alleviate these problems.

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

11:48 PM on 10/01/2009

Um, the homeless doll is one of the main dolls friends. The main doll is bullied. They are addressing bullying as part of the marketing.

[wizegeye]

08:39 AM on 10/01/2009

This is great. You don't have to worry about buying the doll a lot of accessories or even a house. She can live in the box she comes in.

[LHoney]

12:58 PM on 10/01/2009

I believe there's a car sold separately that she lives in...

[irishgawdess]

05:41 AM on 10/01/2009

This is an exploitation of a female child's natural instinct to nurture.

I'm with others who've said a portion of the $95 cost should be donated to homeless shelters. A LARGE portion!

[caroledekamp]

09:06 AM on 10/01/2009

A very very large portion like all of it....I am very disappointed with the american doll company...

[OGoodGrief]

02:13 PM on 10/01/2009

You mean Mattel? That's who owns American Girl Dolls. Yes, the maker of Barbie owns American Girls Dolls, so it's no wonder that they will do anything to make a buck.

[K M D]

04:04 AM on 10/01/2009

Nearly 100 bucks - for a homeless doll - that in no way benefits the homeless?

This is so unbelievably lame.

[Synii]

11:42 PM on 09/30/2009

I remember being a little girl and reading the American girl series; who can forget Felicity and Josefina? I also owned a Felicity doll, which I remember costing my mom $105... We were never rich and the cost took a chunk out of my parents bank account, but they purchased me a doll because it created a flare in my reading interests. It was in actuality well spent money, I loved those books and learned much more than I would have had they bought me a pricey game console, with games like Grand Theft Auto or Crash Bandicoot. The Gwen doll will teach children something they most likely would have otherwise never learned, but is something every able person (children and adults alike) should be aware of. I realize that they are not donating any of the proceeds to any organizations, but when children learn about the homeless because of the doll it will give oppurtunities for children to want to donate money and help the less fortunate. By learning about someone who was/is homeless and getting to experience it, children, the future adults, will be more willing to help these people. We need to all stop being so politically correct... I can't call my college cafeteria with an auditorium a cafetorium, which administrators feel is too close to crematorium, which may insult the Jewish. The world tends to be harsh, this will give children a higher understanding of whats going on around them.

[OGoodGrief]

02:29 PM on 10/01/2009

I wouldn't call it a "cafetorium" either, but that's out of decency, not political correctness. From a marketing perspective -- you think it's a cute play on words but in reality, it does sound too close to crematorium -- which may not only insult Jewish people, but be a reminder to others about death in general. Sorry, but people don't like to think about that stuff. The administrators saved you from making a big mistake and negatively impacting your business.

[sunnybunny]

03:27 PM on 10/01/2009

Thank you for looking at a situation sensibly. I think you're right. It's a good teaching tool and a great toy. That said though it would be even better (for PR ) if they did donate some of the proceeds to homeless programs. Helping homeless people is more complex than that though and putting a real face on homeless children and creating more genuine empathy goes a long way.