American Girl introduces first Asian American Girl of the Year doll. - NBCAsianAmerica
“An iconic American Girl is more than blonde hair and blue eyes,” said Ria Pretekin, 40, a Filipino-American mom of two living in Illinois. “An Asian American girl is also American, and in the wake of anti-Asian hate it would help to dispel the otherness. I’d love for Asian American children to feel the pride of their identities.”
“It would have meant so much to me to have a doll that looked like me. It would have helped shape my idea of beauty to know that brown skin and black hair was also beautiful,” Pretekin said. “Growing up in the 80s and 90s, whiteness was and is still very much centered and it didn’t allow me to see Asian Americans in any toys, shows, movies, or books.”
“I remember the cool girls in school always had them. I liked reading their stories, but never felt like I could relate to them,” Courtien said. “By not having dolls or toys that looked like me growing up, I essentially grew up not thinking that the American story was my story. I didn’t realize I could be the ‘main character’ until my adult life. I always felt like the side character or the best friend.
“It fills me with so much hope. And I hope they don’t stop with just one. Having one Asian American Girl Doll is not a catch all — there are so many amazing AAPI women who have made the American Dream their own, who have rich and diverse histories of how they and their families came to America, and of how they continue to love their culture,” she said.
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