Am. Girl Doll leaves "dangerous" Pilsen for burbs

CHICAGO (AP) - Some residents of Chicago's largely Hispanic Pilsen section are upset over a new doll in the popular American Girl series because her storyline says the Mexican-American youngster and her family left the "dangerous" neighborhood for a better life in the suburbs.

full article

E:

Thanks for posting that. As someone who spends a lot of time in Pilsen and has for quite a few years now, I can understand the irritation of the folks in that neighbourhood at having their community labelled on something sold nationally as 'dangerous'. Of course, there is crime in Pilsen and no one can take lightly the fact that stray bullets from gang-shootings have claimed victims in the still recent past. But this corporate attempt to embrace diversity was really quite botched.

Without denying the existence of crime in Pilsen, I think it really quite unfortunate that Pilsen's image might so be tarnished. There are lots of non-Mexican-Americans who are afraid to go there to shop or to dine and such fears are for the most part completely unjustified.

And now for the truth: Yeah, Spanos, you just meant the traffic is dangerous... I believe that...

All that being said, I believe in free speech and that goes for both sides: American Girl Dolls can keep their Marisol story and Mexican Americans should complain loud and hard and not buy the dolls.

Antonius

* The article refers to Pilsen as a "West Side" neighbourhood but it is in fact on the "Lower West Side."

This is pretty (maybe) un-related, but when the chowhounditas were in their American Girl doll phase, I would always say to them, "you know who my favorite American Girl doll is?" Theyd name a few, and I would always say no, no, no. Then, I'd say, my favorite was Esther. Esther with her dark thick, curly hair, lovely olive complexion and a larger nose she was not shy about. Esther.

Esther lived on Delancy Street. Her mother was a seamstress and her dad worked to organize the cigar rollers. Uncle Morry prospered with his dry goods store and had recently moved to Flatbush. Cousin Izzy studied at the Yeshiva and struggled with how to stay true in the New World. This was my American Girl doll.

Then, they told me there was no Esther.

But, I never got tired of the "joke".

With all due respect, you are talking about a doll. You all (as well as the whiners in Pilsen) need to get a life.

Antonius wrote:But this corporate attempt to embrace diversity was really quite botched.

While this seems easy to say on the face of it, it's tough for me to draw that conclusion without reading the book. Are these American Girl books long? It strikes me that the excerpts in this article are a very small part of a rather long narrative. And what I can glean about the rest of the story--a Latino family looking to get out of the city and into the suburbs--doesn't sound particularly offensive or unusual.

Antonius wrote:Without denying the existence of crime in Pilsen, I think it really quite unfortunate that Pilsen's image might so be tarnished.

My suspicion is that the protestations and subsequent coverage has brought much more attention to whatever reputation Pilsen has for crime than this American Girl story did.

stevez wrote:With all due respect, you are talking about a doll. You all (as well as the whiners in Pilsen) need to get a life.

Spoken like a man without daughters!!

I know this is a dangerous topic, and let's not take this thread into nasty.

Rob

Hi--let me start by saying I have a daughter with 2 "Bitty Babies", and understand the Am. Girl hoopla. I believe Mary Mitchell's column in the Sun Times today nailed it--address the real problem, which is that there are gangs in many neighborhoods, city and suburbs, which compromise everyone's quality of life. My cousin is a cop in Des Plaines--they have their crime problems as well.

My hope is that something positive will come of all this--Pilsen, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Wicker Park, etc. are good communities--all now gentrifying, for better or worse--and have great food joints--but you can't hide your head in the sand and pretend that they don't also have problems. As Mitchell states, the Pilsen gangs are being pushed into Bridgeport, just as the Bucktown gangs moved into Cragin as Bucktown gentrified. The challenge for all of us is how to break this cycle.

My parents were forced to leave their beloved Humboldt Park because of crime and gang shootings in the early 1970's--my brother and I couldn't play on the sidewalks or even use the park anymore because it was too dangerous. The Park District cut down all the mature landscaping in Humboldt Park because criminals were hiding in the bushes. We moved to another Chicago neighborhood where we could ride our bikes, walk to school and use the parks without fear. I still go back to Roeser's Bakery on North Ave. for the birthday cake of my childhood. Anna

I bought Addy's Cookbook (Addy is an 1864 African American girl from American Girls) at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis 9 years ago and enjoyed reading the recipes and food customs. Because a good friend's daughter had the Samantha doll, I read Samantha's book. The American Girls strive for historical accuracy. I can understand people's feelings being hurt about their neighborhood being referred to as dangerous. But, it is a children's book and many families move for this reason. Our apartment was burglarized when I was 6 or 7 and Mom wanted to move because it was dangerous.

I think there would probably be whiners with any course the AGD people took here. If they just had her live in Pilsen, I'm sure some would have said "why do they sterotype all Hispanics as living in apartments in crowded cities--we have suburban houses like everyone else." And, of course, if the character had been based just in Des Plaines, it would have been also derided as inauthentic. I think the issue here, with the caveat that I'm another person who hasn't read the story, is that the family left Pilsen because it was dangerous, not because, for example, they wanted to move closer to work, or wanted a bigger yard.

For an absolutely hilarious visit to the American Girl Store for tea with the girls and their dolls, check out "American Girls Gone Wild" by Chicago's (formerly Oak Park's) hilarious Wendy McClure

Ann Fisher wrote:For an absolutely hilarious visit to the American Girl Store for tea with the girls and their dolls, check out "American Girls Gone Wild" by Chicago's (formerly Oak Park's) hilarious Wendy McClure

Did she leave the dangerous suburbs for the safety of the big city?

Personally, I think that it is unfortunate that American Girl cited a particular neighborhood as dangerous. They should have created a fictional neighborhood rather than branding an area as dangerous. For the most part, even on these boards, I have been somewhat reluctant to identify what neighborhoods are safe and which ones are not.

On occasion, I have shared some of my St. Louis city experiences - the gang shootings that I witnessed, three burglaries of my house in eight years, the three crack houses that we closed down in the neighborhood, the political corruption, etc. In response, I have received some pretty nasty and on occasion life-threatening e-mails from people telling me that I "have it all wrong" about St. Louis.

My response to them is this. If you want your area to be a good place to live in, FIX THE PROBLEM. Elect officials that are going to come in and provide the necessary police actions to stop street crime and nuisances. By nuisances, I mean the things that make life less pleasant that are not major crimes. For example, the guy who would never urinate on someone's lawn in Schaumburg but will do it in Wrigleyville.

Off my soapbox.

Vital Information wrote:I know this is a dangerous topic, and let's not take this thread into nasty.

Unfortunately, I think the offer of advice about '"getting a life" is itself already a step in that direction and, so far as I can see, one taken with no justification. I also take exception to the characterisation of what I wrote above as "whining."

***

I have never lived in Pilsen but, as I said, I spend lots of time there, know people who do live there, and also know people who know the neighbourhood from the perspective of city government and services. Does it have problems? Of course. Might some families that can afford to do so want to get out and go to the suburbs for a variety of reasons, including issues surrounding crime and gangs? Without doubt.

But anyone who knows the city well knows that Pilsen is hardly a particularly dangerous neighbourhood, especially for outsiders who are unlikely to go to those blocks that are gang hot-spots. There is, however, an abiding perception, or perhaps the better word is assumption, that it is a very dangerous neighbourhood and the basis of this perception or assumption is without doubt largely if not wholly based on the fact that it is a predominantly Mexican neighbourhood. To give one concrete example, which has economic ramifications for local businesses: cabbies generally refuse to take calls in Pilsen (at least this was so up until a few years ago; I hope the situation has changed).

Frankly, I think anyone who claims they can't understand people in Pilsen, a community where the positive far outweighs the negative, objecting to their neighbourhood being characterised as "dangerous", are either not thinking very deeply (for whatever reason) or as dishonest as the corporate stooge who tried to backpedal and say the danger was only traffic related.

As I said in my first post, I believe in free speech and do not question American Girl's right to print whatever they want to print. Nor do I intend to suggest that the story line for the Marisol doll is an unimaginable absurdity. But at the same time, I also respect the hard work that the Mexican American community of Pilsen has done to develop their neighbourhood. How could they be anything other than unhappy with being mentioned in a national setting in a negative light? Pilsen would benefit economically and consequently in other ways if outsiders would realise that it isn't a terribly dangerous place.

Antonius

Typo fixed.

Aaron Deacon wrote:My suspicion is that the protestations and subsequent coverage has brought much more attention to whatever reputation Pilsen has for crime than this American Girl story did.

Aaron, I don't agree. First, Pilsen already has this reputation, not among LTHers of course, but in the city as a whole. I think I may have mentioned this before in a post here or on CH, but once Antonius and I were with a friend in Pilsen for dinner, without a car. The restaurant called a cab for us, called repeatedly in fact. No cab would come. We three went out on the street (it was in January and snowing) -- saw a cab, who looked at us, locked his doors and sped off. The restaurant owner finally had one of his busboys drive us home, he felt so bad for us.

I'm a little surprised that both SteveZ and Ann Fisher see the protestors as "whiners". In my opinion, the point of objecting to the Marisol story is not to deny that crime exists in Pilsen, but rather to insist on a more complex, more faithful representation of what is really there. In fact, Aaron, I think this situation is somewhat similar to your great post about going to the bar on the South Side near Lem's: most white folks on the north side of Chicago wouldn't dream of going down to Miss Francie's bar because of the reputation of the neighborhood; you went there, and had a great experience.

What's the cost of letting a reference to Pilsen as a "dangerous" neighborhood go unchallenged? Well, the CTA may well think it's not worth restoring evening/weekend el service (finally back after years of no service); developers may get a free ride as "University Village" expands south into Pilsen -- after all, if it's just a crime-ridden slum, let's clear it out and build some condos instead...

But there is a lot of great stuff going on in Pilsen these days: new restaurants, new cafes, new art galleries, live music... and this is all coming out of the Latino community, I'm not talking about the gentrifying outsiders here. If people in other parts of Chicago are afraid to come to Pilsen at night, they will be missing out on a lot (and, conversely, worthwhile efforts will miss out on patronage).

Yes, Marisol is "just a doll", but it's important to think about what images are being perpetuated in the mass media, whether it's Barbie saying "Math is hard!" or Pilsen serving as shorthand for urban danger.

"For example, the guy who would never urinate on someone's lawn in Schaumburg but will do it in Wrigleyville."

Yeah, but those guys are from St. Louis

I accept the light vandalism, beer bottles, vomit and inept fisfights as part of the tradeoff for living in a vibrant neighborhood anchored by a sports stadium. I and everyone else who hasn't been living in the area for more than 100 years came to the nuissance.

The "passing though" mentality is a little annoying, though. Lots of folks in town for the day seem to figgure every neighborhood in a big city is either a dump where no one cares how you act or a place populated by robber barrons who can afford to have the help clean up their mess.

jlawrence01 wrote:Personally, I think that it is unfortunate that American Girl cited a particular neighborhood as dangerous. They should have created a fictional neighborhood rather than branding an area as dangerous. For the most part, even on these boards, I have been somewhat reluctant to identify what neighborhoods are safe and which ones are not.

You know, I know Logan Square, especially in the Palmer Square area and south, isn't supposed to be one of the safest neighborhoods in chicago, but I've never felt unsafe.

The only crime I've experienced in my life occurred in oak park.

-ed

If there's one person around here who's not nasty, it's Steve Z. Or Z1 as we know and love him. But I agree with Rob that he doesn't realize the incredible centrality of American Girl to the modern preteen girl's life. It's like saying in 1964, what's the big deal, they're just another rock and roll band, even if they are from England.

I think American Girl is in a no-win situation here. They create a doll that's Hispanic in order to be more inclusive and more p.c. with their product line, they write a story that touches in so-common-it's-a-cliche fashion on one aspect of that culture's undeniable historical experience-- what do you want to bet that the point of Marisol moving to the 'burbs is that she eventually makes friends in that strange new place, who celebrate her difference and enjoy the diversity she brings to their circle?-- and then they get hell for that. They would have been much better off telling little Hispanic girls tough, buy the blonde doll.

No, I'm not in favor of making Pilsen out to be a scary, no-go place. As should be obvious from a current series of posts, I'm pretty enamored of Mexican culture and not afraid of Mexican neighborhoods. But as someone involved with an urban private school dealing with all these diversity things, I've read books like Diane Ravetch's The Language Police and seen the dilemma companies trying to deal with these issues get into, where they have to "represent" lots of ethnicities and at the same time ruthlessly hunt for and remove anything relating to those ethnicities that anyone, anywhere, could possibly see as offensive or stereotyping, which quickly comes to mean any form of historical context or cultural flavor whatsoever. The result is, not surprisingly, incoherence rather than educational merit-- YOU try telling the story of the black experience in America without ever mentioning the fact of slavery (since that might reinforce feelings of inferiority in certain kids). It's a real problem.

Amata wrote:First, Pilsen already has this reputation, not among LTHers of course, but in the city as a whole.

Thanks for the response, Amata. I guess I'm just pretty far removed from Pilsen's negative reputation. I'm a relatively new arrival to Chicago (about 5 years now), and for all the "scary" things I've heard about the South Side from people who live in the city, people I met in Hyde Park, people who live in the suburbs, and people in various other parts of the country, I can't recall any similar experiences with Pilsen. Your cab story is shocking to me.

Perhaps, from a non-native's perspective, Pilsen's reputation is simply overwhelmed by the South Side's reputation as a dangerous place. It's certainly too bad people feel that way about Pilsen.

That said, I still present myself as at least one example of someone who wouldn't have been exposed to the perception that Pilsen is dangerous from the American Girl book by itself, but I have been because of the protest and attendant coverage.

Vital Information wrote:I know this is a dangerous topic, and let's not take this thread into nasty.

Unfortunately, I think the offer of advice about '"getting a life" is itself already a step in that direction and, so far as I can see, one taken with no justification. I also take exception to the characterisation of what I wrote above as "whining."

***

I have never lived in Pilsen but, as I said, I spend lots of time there, know people who do live there, and also know people who know the neighbourhood from the perspective of city government and services. Does it have problems? Of course. Might some families that can afford to do so want to get out and go to the suburbs for a variety of reasons, including issues surrounding crime and gangs? Without doubt.

But anyone who knows the city well knows that Pilsen is hardly a particularly dangerous neighbourhood, especially for outsiders who are unlikely to go to those blocks that are gang hot-spots. There is, however, an abiding perception, or perhaps the better word is assumption, that it is a very dangerous neighbourhood and the basis of this perception or assumption is without doubt largely if not wholly based on the fact that it is a predominantly Mexican neighbourhood. To give one concrete example, which has economic ramifications for local businesses: cabbies generally refuse to take calls in Pilsen (at least this was so up until a few years ago; I hope the situation has changed).

Frankly, I think anyone who claims they can't understand people in Pilsen, a community where the positive far outweighs the negative, objecting to their neighbourhood being characterised as "dangerous", are either not thinking very deeply (for whatever reason) or as dishonest as the corporate stooge who tried to backpedal and say the danger was only traffic related.

As I said in my first post, I believe in free speech and do not question American Girl's right to print whatever they want to print. Nor do I intend to suggest that the story line for the Marisol doll is an unimaginable absurdity. But at the same time, I also respect the hard work that the Mexican American community of Pilsen has done to develop their neighbourhood. How could they be anything other than unhappy with being mentioned in a national setting in a negative light? Pilsen would benefit economically and consequently in other ways if outsiders would realise that it isn't a terribly dangerous place.

Antonius

Typo fixed.

But I suppose it not impossible that the people in La Villita who are working to improve their neighbourhood might also be upset.

"Not impossible?" Actually, I believe that's the LVCC on the phone right now, objecting to your post...

I catch a whiff of insinuation in a paragraph about "knee-jerk reactions" and "no matter what part of the political spectrum they come from" and so on that I, mild-mannered and blissful soul that I am, will ignore. Again, I have had to deal with this in the real-world context of a grade school seeking to promote diversity without blandardizing its curriculum into nothingness or giving every child of every ethnicity veto power over anything that comes from either their own or another culture. It is not easy and what it requires, first off, is a shared sense of tolerance that recognizes that the kiddies are better off with Hanukkah, Kwanzaa AND Christmas and worse off with just Winter (and be careful even personifying that in any way, because then you're promoting Paganism).

As far as corporate art goes, that's a tougher subject. The book about Marisol is not to be compared to a real preteen novel about Latino girlhood by a Latino (or even a non-Latino) writer, what's conceived and written by one committee is surely fairer game for other committees-- but it's not like real writers have been exempt from this either. Ravitch cites the example from a New York state textbook of all references to Judaism being expunged from an Isaac Bashevis Singer story (which must have left little beyond the page numbers).

I don't say there's an easy answer to this (even if I am assumed to have one, of some perceived ideological stripe). Perhaps the best thing to assume is that a properly-educated child will have exposure to so many works of literature through the years that no single work should be given this much importance.

Incidentally, here's a column from today's Sun-Times on the subject-- which incidentally notes the not-insignificant fact that the term "Pilsen" never appears in the book. (Apparently there's simply an address cited which 8-year-olds with maps will be able to pinpoint as being within Pilsen.)

Mike G wrote:I catch a whiff of insinuation in a paragraph about "knee-jerk reactions" and "no matter what part of the political spectrum they come from" and so on that I, mild-mannered and blissful soul that I am, will ignore.

Sorry to disappoint but that is completely in your own mind -- honi soit qui mal y pense. I wasn't thinking of you at all at the time of writing those lines and they were in no way directed at you. And beyond that, I have no idea what your political inclinations are.

That paragraph was intended to say that I am neither a champion of 'p.c.' (indeed, more often than not I find myself taking an anti-p.c. position) nor am I inclined to dismiss all that seems p.c. as emotional drivel from folks who want to be victims. More specifically, the point was to counter the characterisation of complaints against the label "dangerous" for Pilsen as "whining." As I've tried to explain in a balanced and rational way above, I can understand and sympathise with the position of Pilsen community advocates with regard to the reputation of their neighbourhood, insofar as I understand that position from what I have read about this Marisol-issue and what I know of the neighbourhood.

Now, in light of further information, one should perhaps wonder whether the issue with the doll is trumped up for political purposes; if so, as Aaron was perhaps trying to say, the advocates might in a certain sense be cutting off their nose to spite their face. If Pilsen is only so indirectly mentioned in the story, that might well be the case.

Antonius

Re: no mention of "Pilsen". I looked at that Mary Mitchell column (boy, talk about emotional writing...). From googling further it appears that Marisol's old apartment was across the street from Harrison Park (location of the Mexican Fine Arts Museum). It would be (somewhat) interesting to see an actual copy of the book to learn what in fact it says. But I doubt that will happen. I'm generally willing to go to great lengths in the name of research, but setting foot inside the American Girl Place on Michigan Avenue is more than I can stomach.

Idea for next American Girl story line: 8-year-old Lupe and her family move out of the city to the suburbs or beyond, unable to afford the new high rents in gentrifying Pilsen/La Villita/Heart of Chicago/etc etc. (Somewhere lost in unsearchable Chowhound land is a post by Mugs, where he reports encountering Mexican families newly moved from Chicago to Joliet -- still commuting back to Chicago jobs, I believe. Mugs draws maps for the newcomers showing them how to get to Amanecer Tapatio.)

Edit: I just realized that the story from Mugs was something he wrote in an email, not in a post. No wonder the Chowhound search function didn't return it!

Antonius wrote:

Vital Information wrote:I know this is a dangerous topic, and let's not take this thread into nasty.

Unfortunately, I think the offer of advice about '"getting a life" is itself already a step in that direction and, so far as I can see, one taken with no justification. I also take exception to the characterisation of what I wrote above as "whining."

Antonius. Let me please clarify what I said. The whining I was referring to is that of the people who are trying to make a big issue out of this by going to the press. They are the people who need to get a life. It's a toy, for crying out loud. In no way did I intend my comment towards you or anything you wrote.

Thanks for the clarification, Steve... Sorry for misunderstanding... No problem.

A

Say, there's more to be concerned about than we thought. Now, I've not read to book, or the article, but I did see this on the American Girl website:

For ten-year-old Marisol, the upsetting news that her family is moving to the suburbs is made worse when she learns that her new neighborhood doesn't even have a dance studio!

This is the kind of thing suburbanites everywhere, especially in this forum, fight every day. The kind of nit-picking urbanophile criticism of suburbia as a collection of rubes without cultural assets. The spirited, artistic child from a "tight-knit" community is devistated by the thought of moving to the antiseptic and jejune burbs.

Can they do nothing right?

Okay, so they've insulted both Pilsen and the suburb she moves to... surely Citizens For Proper Representation of the Eisenhower Expressway In The Media will weigh in next on how she got from one to the other...

Say...did you hear that SpongeBob is Gay? That's an insult to sponges and gay people everywhere?

P.S. Both SpongeBob and Marisol are NOT REAL PEOPLE!

The whining I was referring to is that of the people who are trying to make a big issue out of this by going to the press. They are the people who need to get a life.

Apparently the person responsible doesn't need to get a life, as he already has a Congressional seat.

I can't speak for the safety of Pilsen, but I can to the neighboring area of Little Village. It's not safe. Does it stop me from working there? No.

Around the school, during the school day, we often have drive by shootings. We have drugs and gang activity in the elementary school.

Little Village is often a stopping ground for recent immigrants. I can also tell you these people do live in fear. Many of my students complain of not being allowed to visit friends nearby because their parents are afraid to let them go outside because of the gang activity.

Also, so many of our families are "waiting" to leave the city. They so often cannot afford the gentrifying "better" neighborhoods of Chicago, and instead, move to Plainfield, Joliet, Berwyn, Cicero, though Cicero is no longer the primary "move to" place it once was. The number of transfer students in and out of the school weekly, is ridiculous.

Children who live in this area do not receive the same education that children in schools outside of the neighborhood in predominantly Caucasian schools, or in many of the surrounding suburbs, do. Many of our Hispanic teachers choose to live in the neighborhood, though, in an effort to maintain cultural ties in the area and to "show" it's an okay place to live.

As far as AGD is concerned, I find it all so frightening. The formulaic stories, the "stereotypical" ideas, the commercialism. People actually take their kids to the store to have their doll's hair professionally coifed in a beauty salon. The kids stand by and watch as an adult combs the dolls tresses and styles it to the child's delight. It's freaky.

As a librarian, I have always chosen to opt for "better" literature to present to students, literature that is well-reviewed and less formulaic. My budget can be spent on stories that don't fall into all that trap. It's a powerful position. Some may think this a form a censorship, I'm don't think it is. It's all a matter of choice however, and enough people choose to buy into it, there you go.

Sorry to disappoint but that is completely in your own mind -- honi soit qui mal y pense.

Indeed. Rushing to take offense and assume the worst in what people say is one of those regrettably common Internet faults... I shall strive to assume good intent in my fellow posters from now on.

Re Spongebob, I am reminded of the time some group complained about The Simpsons lacking people of color and Matt Groening, incredulous, pointed out that they were all bright yellow with (in one case at least) electric blue hair.

As for what's frightening, at least American Girl has some historical relevance, and offers an alternative to Barbiedom, it may be awfully prefab (as was Nancy Drew), but at least it's not like Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh, which are truly the products of North Korean brainwashing research.

Mike G wrote:Re Spongebob, I am reminded of the time some group complained about The Simpsons lacking people of color and Matt Groening, incredulous, pointed out that they were all bright yellow with (in one case at least) electric blue hair.

That would be a good argument if there weren't black, asian, and hispanic people of other colors. Dr Hibbert is definitely not bright yellow... Sure, the term "people of color" is bad, but it's bad in our world too. I'm more yellowish-tan than white.

-ed