The sometimes welcoming American Girl doll amassing community was fractured by a wave of Instagram posts denouncing Pride, prompting a dialogue over homophobia within the pastime.
American Girl collectors on Instagram, a community often called AGIG, sometimes use the platform to anonymously flex their intensive collections, meet different doll collectors and share images of custom-made clothes and niknaks.
American Girl rereleased the historic Molly doll on Wednesday, and a few doll lovers advised that the timing implied that Molly is canonically homosexual. American Girl has denied fan hypothesis over Molly’s sexuality.
As celebrations for Pride kicked off, some AGIG creators posted in help of LGBTQ illustration and inclusivity. Meanwhile, a gaggle of different AGIG creators created an online marketing campaign to “take back the rainbow.” The posts have divided the doll lovers on Instagram.
‘The Bible warns us about pride,’ creator post says
Over the weekend, a group of creators, many who say on their profiles that they are minors, posted images of their dolls, each wearing a different color of the rainbow. They captioned their posts with Bible quotes condemning Pride.
“As many of you are aware this month is known by many as pride month,” the account agdollfan4ever wrote Sunday.
“I feel like specifically this time of year a few things are pushed out of view. First is God’s view of pleasure. … The Bible warns us about pleasure and heeds us to be cautious and stroll in humility.”
The creator posted a photograph of a doll in a inexperienced gown, saying the colour is paying homage to “God’s stunning creation and the beautiful outdoors.”
Another creator, ag.frogsoup, posted a photograph of a doll sporting a yellow gown to symbolize “joy that we have knowing Jesus is our Savior and Lord.” The caption mentioned, “This month is know to some as Pride month. I am a christian, and as a christian, i do not support this. I believe that God made two genders and that’s male and female.”
Creator little.bird_studio quoted Revelations.
Other creators who had been a part of the anti-Pride group appeared to delete their posts or make their accounts non-public after different AGIG accounts spoke out towards the marketing campaign.
The meme account klit.klittredge — a play on the doll Kit Kittredge — shared screenshots of two anti-Pride posts, sparking additional debate within the AGIG community over inclusivity.
The account livs_ag posted in help of “christians defending their beliefs” on their Instagram story.
“Just because they do not agree with you politically, doesn’t make them bigots or racist or any other colorful names you’ve come up with,” livs_ag wrote. “Everyone has the right to their own opinion. I believe in the Bible and if that offends you so be it.”
Reese, who needed to make use of solely their first title out of concern for their privateness, is among the many creators pushing again towards the anti-Pride posts.
On Instagram, Reese, 18, often called honeyag_, posted an image of two female dolls embracing. They mentioned the anti-Pride posts “felt odd.”
“We are strange people collecting dolls, so we should honestly be the LAST to judge a group of people.”
Reese, an AGIG creator often called honeyag_
“We are strange people collecting dolls, so we should honestly be the last to judge a group of people,” Reese mentioned. “Especially something we can’t control, then using religion as an excuse, which is something they can choose.”
The AGIG community is often a welcoming area, Reese mentioned, in order that they had been shocked by what number of AGIG creators supported the homophobic posts.
“It made me realize they aren’t as supportive as I originally imagined,” Reese mentioned. “That it can be just as hateful as any other community.”
Anti-Pride posts go ‘towards the message of American Girl’
The American Girl doll community is not any stranger to homophobia.
Last yr, American Girl launched Kira Bailey, a doll who loves animals and spends her summer time at her household’s wildlife sanctuary along with her great-aunts Mamie and Lynette.
Kira was the first American Girl doll with LGBTQ characters in her storyline, which sparked outrage from conservative teams. A petition to discontinue Kira’s storyline from the group One Million Moms gained over 34,800 signatures.
A spokesperson for American Girl didn’t instantly reply to request for remark concerning the homophobic posts and concerning the backlash towards the Kira doll particularly.
Kyra, an overtly lesbian AGIG creator who goes by sapphic.ag, described the Kira doll as a “step in the right direction” and added that the AGIG community supplied followers with “a way for some people to get this representation they never get to see.”
Kyra, who didn’t wish to use her full title out of concern for her privateness, mentioned she felt “really disgusted” by the latest homophobic posts.
“I was really angry from these statements that the accounts left,” Kyra, 19, mentioned. “Because I use this page as a safe space for others and even myself. … I generally like to keep my Instagram stories lighthearted, but I felt such rage from these Instagram accounts.”
Others within the community echoed the thought, calling the anti-Pride posts “disappointing.”
Kelsey, an AGIG creator often called prettylittleelizabeth, has been an avid American Girl fan since she was 8. Now 32, she mentioned she has discovered “friends for life” by way of the AGIG community.
Kelsey, who didn’t wish to use her full title out of concern for her privateness, emphasised the significance of illustration for youthful followers.
“Hate is a learned behavior, and seeing it modeled here, for younger fans to absorb, is so disappointing.”
kelsey, agig creator konwn as prettylittleelizabeth
“Hate is a learned behavior, and seeing it modeled here, for younger fans to absorb, is so disappointing,” she mentioned. “It goes entirely against the message of American Girl and everything the characters stand for.”
The American Girl characters are “girls who defied social norms and stood up for their friends,” Kelsey mentioned.
“I can’t understand calling yourself a fan if you aren’t willing to do the same.”
While American Girl solely not too long ago launched a doll with an LGBTQ storyline, AGIG creators like Kyra have been utilizing their platforms to put in writing their personal illustration for years.
Kyra mentioned she and different creators “explore storytelling with their dolls” and spin elaborate backstories for every character very like the unique American Girl dolls.
She tries to fight the homophobia within the AGIG community by writing queer storylines for all of her dolls, which she posts on Instagram. Kyra was particularly inspired by the inflow of AGIG posts supporting the LGBTQ community, regardless of the homophobic posts.
“If posts of queer AG dolls on Instagram help at least one person feel supported, I think that’s amazing,” she mentioned.