I previously posted the measurements of the average woman compared to Barbie's. This spurred comments regarding Barbie as a poor choice of dolls for young girls.
That got me to thinking... Which dolls present positive images to girls - that are not all about ginormous ta-tas and itty bitty waists? What would I want to give to my little nieces? To my daughters?
So off I went to 'research' this conundrum, and I made the following list of dolls I thought give a more positive image than Barbie. I noticed that, overall, these dolls are more expensive, which is unfortunate. However, I believe they are also of greater quality. If you know any other great dolls for girls (and boys too), please let me know!
Girls Explore
Girls Explore dolls personify actual women in history, complete with period clothing and biography. Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, and Dot Richardson are among the historical lineup.
Now, these are not glamorous dolls. There are no ball gowns, sparkles, and makeup. They're also $55.00 a piece. However, they ofter a unique peak into history and the importance women have had in shaping it.
Only Hearts Club
Thanks to Lynnae from beingfrugal.net for mentioning these great dolls. Only Hearts Club features dolls that are girls from different ethnic backgrounds with a wide array of interests, from horseback riding, music, cooking, and math. They are appropriately dressed and come with their own pet. They are approx $16.00 each.
American Girl
I remember when these dolls from when I was a preteen, and I thought they were beautiful. Only three different dolls were offered at that time, but the American Girl company have since grown to include not only dolls from different periods in history, but baby dolls, dolls that resemble their young owner, clothing, books, and accessories. An American Girl Place, a museum/store/restaurant, is located in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. And now there's a movie coming out featuring Kit, a girl living during the Great Depression.
What I like about the American Girl dolls is how beautiful they are, yet how suited they are for playing. I really like the opportunity for learning about history that is involved with each doll. Each girl has their own story books, clothing, and accessories. My favorite has always been Samantha, from 1904.
The latest addition is Julie from 1974. This "historical" doll is hitting a little too close to home. If they make a doll from 1984, I'm going to start feeling really old!
The dolls cost roughly $90 or more.
P31 Dolls 
P31 Dolls are based on the teachings from Proverbs 31 (hence the name P31) and feature three Biblical women, Leah, Abigail, and Elisabeth. However, they are featured as girls and are dressed in modern outfits. The dolls come with a cookie recipe, cookie cutters, and a lesson based on Proverbs 31:20. They cost about $40.00.
Language Littles Speaking Dolls
Just as the name says, Language Littles Speaking Dolls "speak" various words and phrases in their native tongue if you press their hands. Languages represented by these dolls include Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. They cost approx $48.00.
Manhattan Toy Cuddle Dolls
Cuddle Dolls are your basic, cute dolls without the images that seem to encourage girls to grow up too quickly. They are soft and meant to be hugged and played with by little ones. Price is approx. $22.00.
Karito Kids
The purpose behind Karito Kids is teaching lessons about "social responsibility and charitable giving." Each doll is from a different culture - Australia, China, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, and New York. You also have the opportunity of contributing to Plan, an organization that focuses on involving children, their families and communities to help other children in need. Each doll costs about $100.00.
My Twinn
My Twinn dolls are created to look like their little owner. Send in a photo of your little girl, and in about a month, you will receive a doll in her likeness. They cost about $139.00.
Originally posted 2008-05-27 14:00:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Carrie Underwood's Pressure to Stay Thin I like Carrie Underwood. I think she has clear and powerful voice. She also seems to conduct herself in a decent manner. Yet, this seemingly sweet, country girl from Oklahoma is not immune to the pressures that Hollywood, and society in general, place on the importance of looking thin and...... -
One of these is not like the others... ...So why are the plastic women so disproportionate? Average woman Store mannequin Barbie Height 5' 4" 6' 0" 6' 0" Weight 145 lbs. Not available 101 lbs Dress size 11 -14 6 4 Bust 36 - 37" 34" 39" Waist 29 - 31" 23" 19" Hips 40 - 42"...... - Food For Thought... and Health Green tea may have another positive feature to add to its resume - that of increasing antibiotic effectiveness, even against superbugs! Green tea gave antibiotics a boost in their bacterial killing capabilities like spinach gave Popeye his super strength. I hope this study wasn't just a fluke! It would be great if green tea really can provide......
-
Breast Cancer Risk Factors for Women There are a number of ailments that women are actually at risk for developing without actually realizing it. For example, breast cancer risk factors for women are much more significant than they come to realize in many situations. Of all the types of cancer that you can get, breast cancer...... -
Shopping Fun Facts - The Day After Thanksgiving Black Friday - is the name given to the busy shopping day the Friday after Thanksgiving. This term, which began in the mid 1970s, most likely refers to retailers’ sales moving from the red into the black (making a profit). Not the busiest shopping day?! The day after Thanksgiving is......
Related Websites -
Tokatee Golf Course, McKenzie Bridge, OR Tokatee Golf Course is located in McKenzie Bridge, OR Phone: 800-452-6376 Website: http://www.tokatee.com/ Course History: The name Tokatee means, "Place of Restful Beauty," and there are few places on earth that embody this phrase as closely as this course does. This is a rare course that was inspired and built...... -
Pleasanton Golf Center Pleasanton Golf Center is located in Pleasanton, CA Phone: (925) 462-4653 Website: http://www.pleasantongolfcenter.com Course History: Pleasanton Golf Course is a fun course that is open to the public and offers a great way to spend an afternoon. The prices are very reasonable and the on staff pros are incredibly helpful....... - Bratz Dolls Collectibles -> Animation Art, Characters -> Bratz Bratz Dolls, produced by MGA Entertainment, are similar to Barbie Dolls in that kids (and adults) love them and love to collect them. But there’s no mistaking a Bratz Doll for a Barbie Doll, not even at a glance. Bratz Dolls are shorter......
-
The Bandwagon Effect of Celebrity Perfume I've never been a girl who runs out to get the next hot thing, and that includes celebrity perfume. In fact, I've always been a little of the opposite. If everyone's doing something, I'm probably going to be the one in the group who poo-poos the very idea of it....... -
Alp-N-Rock Luxe Clothing for Men and Women Simply put, I have found my new favorite shirts. From their unbelievably soft feel against the body to their unique and dynamic design, Alp-N-Rock luxe clothing for men and women clothing sets the mark for all contemporary high-end resort inspired fashion. Often, my expectations are far too high. As such,......
- Tressy American Character By Brand, Company, Character Dolls Dolls & Bears
- Umbro Women Shoes Clothing, Shoes & Accessories Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
- Tee Shirts Clothing Clothing, Shoes & Accessories Fishing
- Low Cost Valves Watering Equipment Gardening & Plants Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery
- Native American Contemporary (1980-Now) Porcelain By Material Dolls Dolls & Bears
Categories:
Adolescence, Body Image, Health and Wellness
Tags:
10 comments ↓
Wow, I had no idea there were so many great dolls out there! My daughter loves the Only Hearts Club dolls and the American Girl Dolls (she has “Kit”). I love the history lessons from the AG dolls, too.
off to explore links
we have the lizzie language little but that’s it—-hope there are some doll of color there too!
Yep, there are girls from all sorts of different ethnic backgrounds with most of these dolls, which makes them pretty cool.
Those dolls are awesome! I had no idea there were so many good ones out there. I like the idea of the “Girls Explore” dolls especially.
Another doll I like is Fulla: http://www.fulla.us/
She’s theoretically Muslim but her clothes are versatile ( http://tinyurl.com/5uc7qk ) enough that while they’re modest they’re not exclusively Muslim. She’s also got dark hair and eyes. I desperately wanted a darker doll as a kid…in the early 90s everything was pretty much blondes. I assume they also have Hispanic dolls now which would have worked.
Thanks, Mrs. Micah! I didn’t know about these dolls.
I hope you were able to get your dark-complected doll you wanted so much as a girl!
[...] girls. That got me to thinking?? Which dolls present positive images to girls – that are not alhttp://nutritionfitnesslife.com/2008/05/27/positive-image-dolls-for-girls/Riding on through again Nevada Daily MailOCEANSIDE, Calif. — The annual Race Across America RAMM [...]
Thank you for mentioning the Karito Kids dolls/books in your article. We are thrilled to be recognized as a doll that is making a postive impact on girls! Just wanted to point out that you don’t just get the opportunity to donate, the company actually makes the donation based upon the retail price and then the purchaser gets to go online to choose where the donation should go — food, health, school or home.
Barbie was conceived first as a FASHION DOLL for girls using the proportions of a fashion illustration figure which has a different dimensional ratio to that of a anatomically correct human female body. This was done to accentuate the fashion silhouette. Hence, “FASHION DOLL”… get it? And not to mention ARTISTIC LICENSE. It’s really a no-brainer. Barbie was NEVER conceived to have a body of a typical woman because it was a FASHION DOLL, like the miniature fashion mannequins from Paris during WWII with their exaggerate physical form, because FASHION is the main feature. Additionally, dolls of Minnie Mouse or Daisy Duck, or other characters, like Wilma Flintstone, Judy Jetson, or Raggedy Anne, based on illustrative styles or exaggerated design, have NOT caused “image problems” for little girls. The young girls that grew up in the 50s and early 60s and played with the more distorted and dramatically more stylized earlier Barbie turned out perfectly fine. So this notion that Barbie is inherently a poor influence on girls’ body image is all psycho-babble hogwash that is imposed and projected upon Barbie by the very people and so-called ‘experts’ who have low self-esteem, themselves.
^My guess is that the above Barbie fanatic has never read the story about Stacy Handler, Ruth Handler’s granddaughter, about who the Stacy doll was eventually created and named after. It’s actually quite sad, and while dolls don’t directly affect a girl’s self-image, I can see where a lack in various Barbie sizes and styles can give a young girl the wrong message about her own body. Sure, as seen here, there are alternatives, but they’re not nearly as readily available as Barbie. (and as far as your argument that Barbie was meant to be a fashion doll, then why were all of her sisters created, along with a “life-size” version of Kelly? Plus, surely you aren’t disregarding that they’re starting to get more and more skanky, like Video Girl Barbie?)
As for the original poster, I’m glad you took the time to come up with a list like this! I’m already familiar with a few of the dolls you’ve listed and actually have ordered some things from their companies to enjoy for myself. There’s other brands too, such as A Life of Faith (no longer in business but can be found in some Family Christian stores or on eBay), Carpatina (has beautiful fantasy/historical clothes for their slender 18″ dolls as well as for AG sized ones), Our Generation (decidedly low quality but still pretty decent, especially with the many accessories to choose from), Corolle, Beautiful Girlhood, and if you really want to teach them tolerance, try a doll line available from Sew Dolling called Sew Able. The dolls are designed to be like characters who have cancer or other terminal illnesses and are missing a limb or their hair. They are often packaged with a prosthetic or a wig and there are therapy tools that you can purchase for your doll to get an idea of what a child with the same condition may go through. They’re definitely out of the box, but innovative and the creator has to be commended for trying out such a new concept as far as positive toys go.
That’s not to say that I don’t like Barbie “Math is Hard” Roberts! Dolls themselves are what got me interested in sewing, so if all else fails, buy a Barbie and help redress her in the kind of clothing YOU’D prefer.
Leave a Comment