Back in this post I shared with you all how I bought my first AG doll through Craigslist, and how I'd refused to buy from them ever since I was nine years old because I'd heard they supported abortion.
Well, my cousin asked me how I knew that they supported abortion, or if it was just a rumor. Her mom, my aunt, didn't remember telling me. And no amount of words could prod their memories or change mine... haha.
We had a fun family argument about it, which resulted with me calling the company.
And so the following fun resulted:
Call #1
me: Hello, I have an unusual question, but do you all support abortion?
lady: *sounding defensive* I can't answer that.
me: Is there someone that can?
lady: *gives me another number to call*
Call #2
me: Hello, I was wondering if you could answer a question about American Girl. Do you all support abortion?
Guy: Uhh... I'm not going to answer that.
Me: I was told if I called here I could get an answer.
Guy: *pause* Let me put you on hold
I was on hold for ten seconds and then he hung up on me.
Call #3:
(I called again, of course)
Me: *rambling on for a bit, trying to present the question "do you support abortion" less awkwardly.
Lady: We don't take a stance on that. We don't support them, we don't not support them.
Oooooohhkaayyy. So that was a really vague answer. And totally didn't explain why so many people have boycotted AG for supporting abortion. A boycott this big doesn't just happen.
So I decided to do some research .
Through online googling I discovered that in 2005 a pro-life group spread a boycott against American Girl for funding a company called Girl Inc. that supported abortion.
American Girl made bracelets, where 70% of the profits went to Girl Inc. and they were giving an additional $50,000. Girls Inc. is a pro-lesbian, pro-abortion company.
Funny thing, 2005 would have been the year I was going to order my doll then didn't because I'd heard from an aunt (I think) that they supported abortion. So this all adds up with what I remember.
According to the article I linked above, the writer believed American Girl was taking the boycott seriously. And so they encouraged people to keep up the good work.
After all this, I called again, this time trying a new approach. You know me... I was going to get the facts, even if I had to strangle it out of AG ;D
Call #4
Me: Hello, I was wondering if you all support Girls Inc. (see I didn't say abortion this time!)
Lady: We don't. We had one campaign with them that ran in 2005. Since then we've never done anything like that again.
Me: So you have not had a campaign like that or given money away to places of any sort again?
Lady: Correct, it was a one time thing.
Me: Oh, OK. Thanks. Have you heard the rumor that you all support abortion?
Lady: *laughs* Yes, I have. It was stemmed from that. But, we don't support abortion.
Me: So, to be clear, you don't support abortion nor homosexuality?
Lady: correct.
Well, that conversation definitely went better. Lady wasn't defensive or hesitant... helps having informed questions ;)
So, all you people that boycott AG... it's OK to buy from them.
But I'm still not planning on it, haha! I have my doll. I not longer like their books - they are so feministic! In fact maybe I should write a whole post on why I no longer read their books. What do you think? Write, yea or nay?
And most of all because of that nine-year old experience I have learned how to save my money, how to spend it... and how to not spend it. And to be honest, there are many, many better ways to spend my money right now ;D
Well, my cousin asked me how I knew that they supported abortion, or if it was just a rumor. Her mom, my aunt, didn't remember telling me. And no amount of words could prod their memories or change mine... haha.
We had a fun family argument about it, which resulted with me calling the company.
And so the following fun resulted:
Call #1
me: Hello, I have an unusual question, but do you all support abortion?
lady: *sounding defensive* I can't answer that.
me: Is there someone that can?
lady: *gives me another number to call*
Call #2
me: Hello, I was wondering if you could answer a question about American Girl. Do you all support abortion?
Guy: Uhh... I'm not going to answer that.
Me: I was told if I called here I could get an answer.
Guy: *pause* Let me put you on hold
I was on hold for ten seconds and then he hung up on me.
Call #3:
(I called again, of course)
Me: *rambling on for a bit, trying to present the question "do you support abortion" less awkwardly.
Lady: We don't take a stance on that. We don't support them, we don't not support them.
Oooooohhkaayyy. So that was a really vague answer. And totally didn't explain why so many people have boycotted AG for supporting abortion. A boycott this big doesn't just happen.
So I decided to do some research .
Through online googling I discovered that in 2005 a pro-life group spread a boycott against American Girl for funding a company called Girl Inc. that supported abortion.
American Girl made bracelets, where 70% of the profits went to Girl Inc. and they were giving an additional $50,000. Girls Inc. is a pro-lesbian, pro-abortion company.
Funny thing, 2005 would have been the year I was going to order my doll then didn't because I'd heard from an aunt (I think) that they supported abortion. So this all adds up with what I remember.
According to the article I linked above, the writer believed American Girl was taking the boycott seriously. And so they encouraged people to keep up the good work.
After all this, I called again, this time trying a new approach. You know me... I was going to get the facts, even if I had to strangle it out of AG ;D
Call #4
Me: Hello, I was wondering if you all support Girls Inc. (see I didn't say abortion this time!)
Lady: We don't. We had one campaign with them that ran in 2005. Since then we've never done anything like that again.
Me: So you have not had a campaign like that or given money away to places of any sort again?
Lady: Correct, it was a one time thing.
Me: Oh, OK. Thanks. Have you heard the rumor that you all support abortion?
Lady: *laughs* Yes, I have. It was stemmed from that. But, we don't support abortion.
Me: So, to be clear, you don't support abortion nor homosexuality?
Lady: correct.
Well, that conversation definitely went better. Lady wasn't defensive or hesitant... helps having informed questions ;)
So, all you people that boycott AG... it's OK to buy from them.
But I'm still not planning on it, haha! I have my doll. I not longer like their books - they are so feministic! In fact maybe I should write a whole post on why I no longer read their books. What do you think? Write, yea or nay?
And most of all because of that nine-year old experience I have learned how to save my money, how to spend it... and how to not spend it. And to be honest, there are many, many better ways to spend my money right now ;D
I'm glad that you got it all cleared up. And I'm glad that the last lady was so nice.
ReplyDeleteyes, me too! It was a good experience . . . I think that last lady was most likely just a nicer lady anyways, but a different approach helped, too, I believe.
DeleteWOW interesting story! I'd love to read a post on why you don't read their books. I am not at all familiar with American Girl myself :P
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll try to do that post sometime here in the near future! Thanks :)
DeleteWow, you were DEDICATED for those facts. I would never have been able to do all those phone calls, lol. I actually think they do still support some of those causes, maybe not the organizations, but they did make a trans doll a few years ago. So, that's something to think about. I used to read the books from the library, but when stuff came out about the abortion support, which also happened later than 2005 as well, I stopped.
ReplyDeleteAnd they were very feministic, especially for the time frames of the books.
Anyway, still amazing that you went through all of that. Pretty awesome! :)
Yeah, once I started I couldn't give up ;p
DeleteAnd I really agree with you. They may not support abortion monetarily, but I feel that they do it with their products and the vibes of their company. Especially if you read the books . . . AG is very non-christian, so it's logical that the message they give is so. And for that reason I'm glad I haven't bought from them.
Lol, that's funny!! I still probably won't buy from them, mostly because I'm the kinda person that prefers to buy used and look online for things on Ebay and Craiglist and the like. And also because I've never been a doll person to begin with. (I have TONS of toy horses, though!!)
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks! I'm the same! Why buy new when you can find deals? Toy horses are fun ;D
DeleteWhat an interesting post! It goes to show how just framing the question in a non-accusatory way or having a more informed question can get you so much farther! But you were so dedicated to getting to the bottom of the question - I enjoyed reading about your journey to find your answers!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my post. And you are so correct - the way we ask a question matters a lot. This was a good lesson for me :)
DeleteThis is so fascinating! I remember when all of that came out, the rumor that American Girl supported abortion, and how so many people swore off American Girl after that! I never even thought to do this kind of research on it, but it's nice to know all the facts.
ReplyDeleteAlexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
verbosityreviews.com
And, yes, I would love to read a post about why you no longer read AG books! I remember enjoying them when I was younger, but I haven't read them in several years, so I'd definitely be interested in hearing your stance!
DeleteThanks! Yes, it was such a huge thing for awhile . . . and then remained so, though in a hazy sort of way.
DeleteLooks like I'll have to write that post soon ;)