The Elephant In The Room

Here's a shocker for you. I have no intention of raising my children to be "colorblind". I hate the term, and it isn't something we strive for in my home. For me, ignoring that people have different colored skin is as stupid as acting like we don't have different color hair or eyes or freckles...Why would we do that? It makes no sense, right? So why would I try to raise them to not see different skin colors? 

Because it makes some white people feel better to say it? To say "I don't see color." Why? Why does it make people feel better? Could it be that, in not seeing color (which is a complete lie, by the way) we can also choose not to see the horrible inequalities that still happen in the world today because of it? If you "don't see color" you can not see the shocking statistics of police brutality against people of color? If you "don't see color" you can ignore the instances of racism that happen right in front of you? If you "don't see color" you can pretend that there isn't still a very real issue in this country? It is something that is truly still rooted in every aspect of day to day life, but people have spent so much time trying not to see it that many don't. But if we don't see it we can't fix it, and if we can't fix it nothing, I repeat nothing will change. 

And I can't accept that for the world my children are growing up in.

When I told my children that I'd finally seen leaks of the new GOTY for 2017, the first thing my oldest asked was "Did they finally do an African American doll?" We were all so happy to see that finally American Girl was listening to the requests of its customer base. That finally little girls of color could have a doll released that represented them. (Given my middle child's speech and motor delay, we were also happy to see a doll with a disability represented too, but that's not what this post is about.) Then there started to be more and more leaks of her collection, and our excitement turned into confusion, disappointment, and anger. 

Unless there are some huge secrets being kept by AG, which I have very little hope about at this point, it could not be more obvious that American Girl is setting Gabriela McBride up to fail as a GOTY and a DOC. Yes, they finally released a DOC for their GOTY, but they backed that by giving her the smallest collection of any girl in recent memory. There is no "big ticket item", and the clothing items that have leaked so far look pathetic and cheaply made. A mesh dance shirt, AG? That will survive tiny hands and frequent costume changes for about 3 minutes. An accessories chest that looks like it belongs to either Marisol or Isabelle leftovers found in some warehouse, and another fluffy cat...though I do like her kitten's name and the reason for choosing it that you find out when reading Gabriela's book. The rumors have long suggested that 2017 would be the last year for GOTY, but recent revelations certainly make it seem like AG plans to point the finger at Gabriela for the purpose of the line's demise...and as a probably excuse not to release another DOC for a good long while. 

On the other hand we have Tenney Grant, the rumored first character in America Girl's new "contemporary" line of dolls, who already has a larger leaked collection than Gabriela despite having no set release date. Blond hair, light skin, freckles, country singer, and both excitement and anger surrounding the thought that she will be accompanied by American Girl's first named boy doll, Logan. If you look at the leaks for both dolls, it is clear who AG is backing, clear who they are putting more thought, time, and effort into, and clear that they have left Gabriela to blow in the wind. It makes me sad. And it makes me mad.

As for me and mine, we'll be getting Gabby's entire collection for the first time in the history of GOTY. Money talks, and I hope others will also send a nice, loud message to AG by supporting Gabriela and showing them that DOC do sell, and that we want girls of all colors to feel represented by this company that is supposed to be about empowering them instead of telling them that they aren't good enough. 

This is still a very real issue in out country and our world. In 2016, almost 2017, the battle of racism and bigotry is still being fought everywhere. From our streets to our toy stores. So, no, I won't teach my children to be colorblind. I will teach them to celebrate and appreciate every hue humanity has to offer, and yes, to fight for the injustices that happen to people for no other reason than because of that color. It is our responsibility as human beings to do that, and I fully intend for us to do our part. 

GOTY 2017 Rumors

There aren't many to go on so far, but the few rumors that I've managed to get my hands on aren't good. At least, not for anyone who was hoping for a Girl of the Year of color. Everything I have heard so far points to a light skinned doll with dark hair. 

Really? Really, AG? Along with the rumors that the 2017 Girl of the Year will be the last GOTY, it now looks as though there will never be an African American GOTY. Talk about a huge slap in the face to the fandom. 

Let's hope they are indeed just rumors.

~Mrs. D

Nanea Mitchell?

Historically, some of our earliest American Girl leaks have come from their very own trademarks. They have also been known to trademark "ghost names" in order to throw the leak hunters off their scent for awhile, however, usually when both a first and last name show up together it is a pretty good indication that we will see a doll with that name sometime in the next year or so. 

Which brings me to Nanea Mitchell. 

They've trademarked everything from a doll to video games with this name, but who could she possibly be? My first thought was a possible 2018 Girl of the Year, but the latest rumors are that 2017's GOTY (who most believe will be named Tenney Grant) will be the last GOTY. I don't know how true that is, considering the GOTY line seems to be bringing in a nice chunk of AGs revenue, but rumors surrounding AG are surprisingly accurate, so it is possible that Nanea could be a new historical doll. 

The timeline would fit. The last two historical dolls, Melody Ellison and Maryellen Larkin were both originally trademarked a little over a year before their August 2015 and 2016 releases. (Less than 3 weeks until Melody! Eeek!) Nanea was trademarked at the end of July, which could very well make her next summer's historical release. (If there is indeed going to be a historical release next summer.)

Nanea is a Hawaiian name, which considering the popularity of the 2011 GOTY, Kanani, should absolutely thrill people! Depending on what baby name site you look on "they" will tell you that it means either "beautiful" or "fascinating", (though I also found sites saying that the Hawaiian word nanea means wave/surf) and behindthename.com claims that it was in the top 100 names for girls in Hawaii in 2005. Nothing I have found ranks it in the top 1,000 names nation wide anywhere between 1900 and today, so there are really no hints as to what time period Nanea might be from if she is even a historical doll to begin with. (And that is a pretty big "if") 

Of course the surname Mitchell is more historically Scottish...so do what you will with that bit of information. 

Keep in mind that, even if AG does decide to do away with the Girl of the Year dolls, that does not mean that the line will not continue on with a different name. Nanea could simply be the first girl in their "new and improved" GOTY line. I don't imagine that we'll find out any time soon, but it's fun to speculate. In the mean time, we can watch people argue about whether or not Logan Everett is going to be another girl doll or the first ever American BOY. (Watching grown women throw temper tantrums about how an 18 inch boy doll would "ruin everything American Girl is supposed to stand for" has been both amusing and disturbing.)

What do you think? Nanea Mitchell: Girl of the Year or new BeForever doll?   

Girl Of The Year 2017?

The rumors are already swirling around 2017s Girl of the Year. It's generally believed that her name will be Tenney Grant, though the name Logan Everett has also been recently trademarked too, and many in the fandom are hoping for a girl of color in 2017. (There has been an absurd and insulting lack of girls of color represented in the AG lines, though that it a rant for a different post.) 

This video leaked a couple of days ago featuring a new doll on the Simplicity American Girl patterns. While similar to #31 she is obviously a different doll. Some think she'll be a new Truly Me doll released later this year while many are hoping that this might be our first sneak peak of 2017s Girl of the Year. I am leaning towards the likely hood of a new Truly Me doll, because it seems unlikely that AG would allow their first leak of a GOTY in the form of a Simplicity pattern, but who knows? Either way, I think she's a beautiful doll. I've never understood the hate for Addy's mold. I personally find her one of the most beautiful dolls. 

What do you think? New Truly Me or a possible sneak peek at Tenney Grant? 

Let's Play The Guessing Game...

Lets talk rumors.

Here we are, less than half way through the year, Lea is still staring at us off the shelves every time we walk in the store, Melody hasn't even been released yet, and people are already frothing at the mouth to find out anything they can about The 2017 Girl of the Year.

I'll admit that I am right there with them. Part of it is that I'm just not a huge Lea fan. Well, let me rephrase. I'm not a huge GOTY fan. At least, I haven't been. I am very, very old school though, and love the pre-Mattel Historical line. Love it. I didn't even know what Girl of the Year was until a couple of years ago, and I was among those rolling my eyes at the "issues" these girls were facing in their stories. I lived through the beginning of the Revolutionary War with Felicity, wept over Marta with Kirsten, and held my breath as Addy searched rushing waters for her mother during their harrowing escape. How in the world was I supposed to care about the school's art program, a dance audition, or the garden out back?

I'm coming around though. Part of it is my little Kewpie doll's absolute adoration of her loose legged, dry and chopped hair, cheap Craigslist Lanie that we bought just as a way to get her to stop trying to steal Rag's well taken care of and deeply loved JLY. (She needed an 18 inch doll that she could do whatever she wanted to without worry, so I found the cheapest one I could find quickly and locally. It just happened to be Lanie, whose story reminds me very much of my little Earth Lover, Husk.) Part of it is the fact that Isabelle is put up for our own tiny dancer's birth year doll, and Saige is on the list of must haves now because she shares a birthday with one of our small ones. Part of it is that I can see the appeal of dolls that modern girls can relate to in both story lines and fashion...Even if I am a Historical Loyalist. (Besides, I feel almost no guilt at the thought of customizing a GotY, but get cold and sweaty at the thought of ripping the wig off of a Historical. I just can't do it.)

And, if I'm being honest, part of it is the excitement of the new release! Finding out facts, sniffing out leads, watching for leaks...There's a rush to it, and I'm hooked. If I told you the amount of hours I've spent scouring eBay, blogs, documentation, etc. just hoping to find out anything about the 2017 GotY...I'm not going to tell you. It's embarrassing, but be assured that it is a lot of hours.

There are some glaring issues with the GotY line, not in the least being the lack of representation of Girls of Color. (I plan on addressing this in more detail in a later blog, but you can head on over to the American Girl Outsider blog for her insight. She's been blogging about Americna Girl and the fandom for a lot longer than I have! Just FYI: I adore her blog, and agree with many of the points she makes. Her blog is not hugely child friendly though, so read at your own risk.) I am hopeful for 2017. I feel like AG will be shooting themselves in the foot not to address this issue, but I've also seen the argument that they won't release a doll of color as GotY in 2017 because of Melody's release in 2016. For me and mine, the only way to assure that we'll purchase the GotY would be to finally release a girl of color, but I doubt that AG cares about what one family will do. We'll see though. I'm hoping that AG sees the demand for representation and addressed the glaring inequity in their most popular line. I can think of 10 good stories right off the top of my head, but again, I doubt AG cares what I think or can write. I'm also fairly certain that AG has planned out at least the next 3 years for their GotY line, so if I girl of color wasn't already on the lineup (in which case, shame on them) fans might have to wait several years.

Which brings us to American Girl's recent trademarks. In years past these trademarks have been a huge hint to the identity of the next Girl of the Year, and this year people are speculating the same. AG has applied for Trademarks for both Tenney Grant and Logan Everett in the last 6 months. While AG has been knows to put some fake names out there for trademark (likely to throw off the leak sniffers), I can't find a time recently when that has happened in the instance where there is both a first and last name. It seems that the odds are fairly good that either Tenney or Logan could be the name of the 2017 GotY. They could even be the next two GotYs, or perhaps a 2017 GotY and a new BeForever character. I certainly don't know, but will be sure to post here as soon as I find out anything else. What do you think?

(There was also a trademark filed just last month for something called A*G Rewards with the description "RETAIL SERVICES, ONLINE RETAIL SERVICES, LOYALTY PROGRAMS, INCENTIVE AWARD PROGRAMS, BUSINESS SERVICES". A customer loyalty program, you say? Husbands and fathers around the world are terrified.)

I also recently found this outfit on eBay.

I didn't recognize this outfit, so did a quick image search where I found no matches. It is very likely that this is just an older outfit that I've missed, but it was posted by an eBay user that has posted other outfit leaks for sale in the past, so it seemed worth it to post it here. Do you know what outfit this is? If not, who do you think it's for?

Have you heard any rumors? Have any theories? Leave a comment!

~Mrs. D