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AMERICAN GIRL: A CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO DOLLS, CHILDHOOD, AND CONSUMER CULTURE MIRAH KIRSHNER A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO JUNE 2020 ©Mirah Kirshner, 2020 ii Abstract Through a theorization and analysis of the American Girl doll brand, in this dissertation I illustrate the mutually constructing connection between childhood and consumer culture. There are several elements that contextualize my work including historical research on and a contemporary theorizing of childhood, dolls, motherhood, and consumer culture. As part of my study, I look to historical accounts of dolls, childhood, and consumer culture starting from the late nineteenth century. Locating children and consumer culture only within the contemporary moment functions to deny the integral relationship between the two and thus reinforces the modern myth that childhood, in some idealized past, was innocent of market forces. As such, I contextualize the very category of the modern child in consumer culture rather than document how a pre-existing, un-marred state of childhood was infiltrated by the market. I argue that childhood and motherhood are connected and central to grappling with the nature and influence of consumer culture. Thus, I also address the role of mothers as consumers, and explore motherhood and childhood as shaped in part through consumer culture. Furthermore, I seek to explore representations of girlhood through an examination of both print and digital resources. In a broad sense, therefore, this study offers insiGht not only into cultural understandings of childhood, but also into the social production and reproduction of consumer culture through identity. That is, I examine how understandings of childhood function to (re)produce consumer culture and how consumer culture in turn, functions to (re)produce childhood. iii Dedication For my mother and father, Thank you for starting me on this journey many decades ago. You instilled in me a passion for education, the courage and curiosity to question taken for granted notions, and a love of the creative. You also imparted on me the significance of seeing worthy projects through in spite of their inevitable twists and turns. iv Acknowledgements Thank you to my committee members: Liz Podnieks for your patience, direction, and many insights; Cheryl Cowdy for your input and encouragement; and Steve Bailey for your wisdom and guidance through this long journey. Thanks to Dennis Denisoff for your astute input on my proposal. I also want to thank Natalie Coulter for your generosity and encouragement. Thanks to Andrew Schmitz for your support in the early stages of my writing. Many thanks to Leigh Felesky and Malinda Campbell for cheering me on and championing me through so many of the ups and downs of this project. Hélène Lawler, thank you for your excellent coaching and listening skills. I also want to offer thanks to the staff at the Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, NY who supported my work through the Strong Research Fellowship and beyond. Clara and Amélie thank you for just being you; you inspire me every day. Finally, Ron Philipp thank you for coming along on the twists and turns of this journey with me. I thank you for your many years of love, support, and encouragement; this project wouldn’t have been possible without you. v Table of Contents ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................................... II DEDICATION .................................................................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................... IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................ V CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 CONSUMER CULTURE .............................................................................................................. 12 PRE-LIQUID AND LIQUID MODERN STATES ............................................................................. 18 CHILDREN AND CONSUMER CULTURE ..................................................................................... 21 MOTHERHOOD, CHILDHOOD, AND CONSUMER CULTURE ........................................................ 26 DOLLS ..................................................................................................................................... 29 THE PROMISES OF CONSUMER CULTURE ................................................................................ 32 AMERICAN GIRL ..................................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ......................................................................................................... 37 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 37 CHILDREN AND CONSUMER CULTURE: DEFINING THE FIELD .................................................. 39 THE MISSING CHILD AND THE MISSING CONSUMER CULTURE ............................................... 40 HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP ON CHILDREN AND CONSUMER CULTURE .................................... 44 MOTHERHOOD AND CONSUMPTION ........................................................................................ 56 vi TOYS ....................................................................................................................................... 57 DOLL STUDIES ......................................................................................................................... 59 AMERICAN GIRL ..................................................................................................................... 66 CONTRIBUTION ....................................................................................................................... 70 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................... 73 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 73 EXPLANATION OF METHODS ................................................................................................... 74 Semiotics ........................................................................................................................................................ 74 Discourse Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 78 Visual Discourse Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 82 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................ 83 DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ 84 Initial Objects of Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 84 Expanding the research ................................................................................................................................. 85 Locating patterns of representation .............................................................................................................. 87 Contextualizing patterns ................................................................................................................................ 88 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 88 CHAPTER FOUR: LITTLE MOTHERS ................................................................................................................... 90 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 90 INTENSIVE MOTHERING .......................................................................................................... 92 CONSUMING MOTHERS ........................................................................................................... 97 INTRODUCTION TO BITTY BABY .............................................................................................. 99 PRECIOUS GIRLHOOD ............................................................................................................ 100 vii MOMMY PLAY ...................................................................................................................... 103 MOMMY AT HOME ................................................................................................................ 106 LOVE AS CONSUMPTION ........................................................................................................ 107 PREPARING FOR BABY AS CONSUMPTION ............................................................................

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