Comments on: “I loved Nubbins”

By: Lilsmom

Lilsmom — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:16:58 +0000

Sadly, I see the “Nubbin’s” story played out by little girls every time I volunteer at my daughter’s preschool. We live in a very diverse area, and her classroom dolls reflect that diversity. But no one ever plays with the the dark skinned babies, not even the African American little girls.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:42:33 +0000

I have not read that book, but will definitely check it out! (When will TAL starting giving us some new programming? It seems like all of their shows are just cut up and re-pasted together re-runs from old shows.)

By: Leslie M-B

Leslie M-B — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:20:37 +0000

I enjoyed hearing the Nubbins tale again (it was a repeat). I’ve heard it a few times, and whenever I listen to it, I can’t help but giggle in delight and horror.

Have you read Life Like Dolls by A. F. Robertson? It’s a good read about people who collect porcelain collector dolls.

By: Buzz

Buzz — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:18:45 +0000

I found the Cabbage Patch Kids preemies creepy, but the girls my age who were into dolls certainly did not. To them, they were just baby dolls that were smaller, and hence more appropriately sized for a 3’8″ mother. Most young children didn’t have the awareness that being born prematurely was a medical problem. I did have that awareness, because my father was a pediatrician; I paid many visits to the intensive care nursery, and heard nearly daily stories about the problems the various preemies were having. The one other kid I remember who was really turned off by the dolls had been born prematurely himself and as a result was much more knowledgeable about premature births.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:28:08 +0000

notyettenured: The Cabbage Patch preemie–wow, that was weird, wasn’t it? I think there are dolls made now to depict disability, but they’re still produced for a niche market rather than mass-marketed.

prof bw–I’d love to hear more about why dolls were banned. Do you approve of the ban in retrospect, or do you resent it still?

And Roxie: yes, very creepy, the Coffin Doll effect. Which historical era did the AG doll depict? (I’m strangely drawn to dolls, but as play objects, not as museum pieces.)

By: prof bw

prof bw — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:15:31 +0000

dolls were banned at my house; discussing the political reasons why has turned into a great introduction to intersectionality in my intro courses.

By: notyettenured

notyettenured — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:15:06 +0000

I was the right age for cabbage patch, but I remember as a child (okay, the child of countercultural lefty intellectuals), that the CP “preemies” freaked me out. The sentimentalization of premature infants just seemed bizarre to me even as an eight year old. Interesting that being premature is considered a marketable disability. How about today? Are there other marketable disabilities for dolls?

By: Roxie

Roxie — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:47:26 +0000

This post has particular resonance for me today because the moms and I are just back from a family visit, where we stayed in a guest room that had one of those super-creepy American Girl dolls in a glass display box aimed right at the moms in the bed. For two nights, Moose barely slept, so terrified was she by the big blue eyes of the proto-fascist super-white girl in the preternaturally crisp pink dress. Talk about anger and aggression aimed at a doll! It’s a miracle she didn’t smash the thing to smithereens. Thank dog for the reservoirs of repression built up during her hyper-proper Midwestern youth.

By: Indyanna

Indyanna — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:27:41 +0000

I’m almost tempted to put in a (facetious) word for trucks here. Granted, they’re “inanimate,” and I don’t recall any illusion that they were to be “cared for.” (Maybe more recent versions have liftable hoods and tiny toolkits, who knows?). But the Tonka section of FAO-S up at Grand Army Square was responsible for quite a few door-buster episodes as well. And I bet some of the other dynamics cited here would have at least general analogues, if we could but scare up a focus group!

By: Historiann

Historiann — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:30:35 +0000

The Cabbage Patch doll mania was bizarre–they were really funny looking dolls, I thought (but then, I was about 14 and had moved past dolls in my interests then!) The Cabbage Patch wars–or wars over the white babies, anyway–were one of the first modern retail Christmas stampedes that I can recall. I remember stories about humans doing violence to real human bodies in the service of obtaining a plastic humanoid form. Very, very strange.

Besides–what kind of child who’s young enough to play with dolls would seriously let the absence of one present ruin her Christmas? (Adults ruin Christmas every year, don’t they?)