Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 10/10/2009

Gwen: The Homeless Doll

is this the country club doll? no…this is the homeless doll.

I’m not kidding. The same people who brought you Rebecca Rubin,  Jewish doll by day, eco terrorist by night, are now introducing Gwen, the Homeless Doll.

Now, I’ve had my problems with the American Girl Dolls in the past. Mainly, I feel that in a lot of ways, though they may be trying to introduce young girls to the concept that, “hey, everybody is different” they are in many ways stereotyping diversity (“You’re Jewish? Do you come with candlesticks and your bubbie’s blanket, too?). But this new doll is just something else completely.

On the one hand, I think spreading awareness about homelessness is definitely a positive thing. We tend to think of the homeless as drug-addicted bums, but especially in…

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