Okay, before I go any further I should give a little disclaimer that there’s nothing wrong with doing a Christian-themed line of dolls. Toys and stories as a way to teach faith are nothing new and can be perfectly appropriate ways for kids to learn.
However the Life of Faith dolls are a unique kind of fucking horrible because they are obviously American Girl knockoffs. Instead of meaningfully engaging with the difficult themes of history like the AG dolls did, they present a disgustingly white-washed, pretty, frilly, and pleasant view of history that straight up ignores the dark stuff.
So the Life of Faith dolls are based on the Elsie Dinsmore stories which were published between 1867 and 1905. They’re about a deeply faithful little girl who grows up on a plantation. In the books, when Elsie turns 18, she marries HER FATHER’S BEST FRIEND, because, to quote Wikipedia, “He has been her knight in shining armor who constantly helps her when other people are cruel to her; he has loved her for a long time.” Yeah we call that “grooming” today.
Yeah, that’s pretty sickening. But there IS a girl who escapes slavery in this series lemme see how that gets addressed….
WAIT YOU’RE TELLING ME SHE ESCAPES FROM THE SAME BEAUTIFUL PLANTATION THE OTHER GIRL WAS RAISED ON?! So when Elsie came of age she would literally own Laylie. Seriously did no one see the conflict in this?! Did no one involved in all of this stop for a moment and think, maybe we’re not presenting a fully accurate view of history?
What really galls me is the playing Robin Hood stuff. While enslaved children did find ways to play and have fun, their lived were still dominated by the grueling, demeaning work they had to do. And they would not be given luxurious playthings like bows and arrows and green silk capes. And they didn’t have frilly pretty dresses and elaborate hairdos.
I know the dolls are Christian and they all come with a little Bible but like…. Are we just gonna ignore the whole “slaves weren’t allowed to read” thing?
While all the other dolls come with lots of dresses and accessories, Laylie only has the one dress and her Robin Hood accessories.
So yeah we’re just skipping over the whole Civil War and Reconstruction. Violet is Elsie’s daughter still growing up on the plantation like always.
So moral of the story, when you’re trying to teach kids about history, maybe try a book series that wasn’t written by this lady:
Because you actually can write stories about faith and being Christian that DON’T involve romanticizing slavery.
Oh NO. I read some of the Elsie Dinsmore books as a child, and even then they were ridiculous. Luckily for me, they were presented as a curiosity of their time and not as aspirational life goal material. There’s one part in the first one, I believe, in which Elsie’s father wants her to play a certain piano piece for his guests, but she won’t, because it’s Sunday and the piece in question is secular, not sacred. He won’t let her leave the piano until she plays it, and she won’t play it, even though it WOUNDS HER TO THE CORE to refuse her father’s wishes. Bc obvs, her first loyalty is to the Lord, which Dad has a Big Problem with. Eventually I think she faints from hunger, or dehydration from all the weeping, or maybe just distress (physically robust this character was NOT) and hits her head on the piano or something and gets all bloody. and her father’s best friend future husband runs in and sweeps her unconscious form into his arms, hollering “Dinsmore, you BRUTE!” They must have had a really weird relationship.
I didn’t realize anyone was making DOLLS of them.
this is incredible. I am adding, “Dinsmore, you BRUTE!” to my vocabulary.
amhrancas 