American Girl doll's ‘Modern Era’
collection sparks debate over body standards in toy designs
At the start of 2026, the toy manufacturing company Mattel celebrated the 40th anniversary of the American Girl doll. Mattel’s American Girl doll brand focuses on historical and contemporary characters to empower young girls. In early February, the brand celebrated by launching its “Modern Era Collection,” featuring six classic dolls, redressed in modern outfits and accessories. The overall goal of the revamp was to continue appealing to younger kids and Gen Z while referencing older characters. Mattel’s global head of dolls, Jamie Cygielman, told the New York Times, “We want to spend the year honoring the legacy of the brand and the ongoing legacy of our characters because that’s what first ignited consumer passion. The Modern Era is a creative extension, really meant to celebrate the original historical characters in a different form.” However, the Modern Era Collection did not appeal to many modern audiences and actually had the opposite effect. The public was quick to notice that the dolls had an overall slimmer look, with thinner arms, hips, legs and even almost an inch off the dolls’ waists from the classics. Quickly, the jokes followed. According to Today, comments on their social media post announcing the line included remarks such as “Did they…snatch their waists??” and “Kirsten didn’t endure six weeks on a boat across the Atlantic and lost her best friend to cholera for you to give her the Ozempic treatment and space buns.” The public also picked up on the difference in the dolls’ style since their first release in 1986. The rebranded dolls’ looks give the impression of being changed to adhere to new modern-day styles, specifically Gen Z aesthetics. According to data from a March Bark survey, 64 percent of students believe that large-scale brands do change their products to appeal more to Gen Z. The backlash against the American Girl rebrand is not the first time Mattel has been chastised for its dolls. Mattel’s Barbie doll was created in 1959, and its design embodied unrealistic, idealized beauty standards. Barbie’s tall, thin physique and blonde hair accompanied a seemingly perfect life: popular, successful, wealthy and always happy. The Barbie doll has been condemned for decades and even triggered what is now referred to as “Barbie Doll Syndrome,” a type of body dysmorphic behavior, in which an individual strives to attain impossible body standards, aiming for the body of a Barbie doll (Hektoen International Journal of Medical Humanities).The consequences of playing with toys, specifically dolls, with unachievable physical traits, can be significant. A study at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom found that girls ages five to eight who were exposed to Barbie dolls reported lower self-esteem and a greater desire for a thin body than those who weren’t exposed to the dolls. In addition, a study at the Behavioral Science Institute found that girls ages six to 10 ate significantly less after playing with thin dolls than girls who played with normal-sized dolls.
Junior Sophie Levin reminisces about her childhood when she played with American Girl dolls. For Levin, they were more than just dolls. “I got [an American Girl doll] with curly hair and ears pierced to match me for my fifth or sixth birthday. I just loved how it looked like me, and I even had matching outfits [with the doll],” Levin said. Levin remembers thinking of her doll as not just a toy, but as a companion throughout her childhood, including her doll in every activity. “We would dress up together, and I would take her around and play with her anywhere. I had an ice cream truck, a doll house and all the accessories to go with her,” Levin said.
At first, Levin’s doll, with curly brown hair and familiar features, marked the first time Levin felt understood by a toy she owned. However, even in early childhood, comparison made its way into Levin’s playtime. Around the same time Levin had gotten her doll as a gift, her sister Haley also got one. The only difference between their dolls was that Haley’s doll had long blonde hair and blue eyes.
“I would always think that [Haley’s] doll was prettier because her doll was blonde and had blue eyes. Honestly, sometimes I would compare myself to my sister in that way, and how her doll was prettier than my doll,” Levin said.
Moments like these highlight why changes to dolls, whether in body size or styling, matter. For young girls, like Levin, who see themselves reflected through these dolls, even the slightest shifts can reinforce negative beauty standards and influence how girls feel in their own bodies.
Junior Sophie Levin grew up playing with American Girl dolls, and even had one that looked like her. The dark curly hair and matching pierced ears offered a comforting companion for young Levin. (Photo courtesy of Sophie Levin)
San Domenico sophomore Valentina Cabello has struggled with her own body image since middle school. In an effort to help other teenagers with her same struggles, she began working with Marin 9-25 to create the Love Your Body Campaign. Cabello and a few other students created the initiative to bring body awareness and positivity to school campuses across Marin. “I used to always compare myself [to my dolls] when I was really young. I get it now that they're just dolls and I'm a human,” Cabello said. “I cannot physically look like that.” As someone who herself struggled and is an advocate for body positivity, Cabello is concerned about the American Girl dolls’ thinner look. “[The change] could impact the future generation,” Cabello said. “That would not be a good thing because I don't want people to have eating disorders or body dysmorphia because it's not a good thing to promote.”
In conjunction with this, Redwood alum and current Marin-based therapist Diana Benjamin notes the important role dolls play in portraying healthy beauty standards. “Dolls are really important because, for a girl, they are what a female body should look like,” Benjamin said. As a professional working with adolescents struggling with disordered eating, Benjamin has witnessed the many factors in a child's life that influence their self-esteem and how early they begin to internalize messages about their body. “It can be as early as three, but researchers often look at ages five to eight. That’s when a little girl shifts from mainly looking at her mom as the representation of a woman to also looking at peers and dolls. That age range is the most powerful,” Benjamin said. According to Zero to Three, a nonprofit organization offering parenting advice from professionals, children begin playing with dolls around ages two to three and are encouraged to do so. So when a toddler is given a thin doll, what happens? “If you’re playing with a Barbie or another very thin ideal of a female body, and your mom is insecure about her weight, and your friends are talking about appearance, all of that compounds. Kids are hearing messages about looking good or being thin,” Benjamin said. Benjamin has also noticed the shift to a slimmer physique in the American Girl dolls. “I think [the change] is profound. American Girl dolls have been around for a long time; mothers were playing with them. I looked at the new ones, and they’re pretty thin,” Benjamin said. She also referenced the size of the doll's head, which appeared disproportionately large relative to the body, often referred to as the “lollipop look.” “The dolls looked significantly smaller to me. They almost looked like what anorexics call a ‘lollipop,’” Benjamin said. When toy companies, such as Mattel, adjust original doll measurements to present a slimmer figure, there are serious impacts that go beyond toy aesthetics. Given the susceptibility of developing children, the girls playing with these dolls begin to conceptualize that this is how they should look, even if the representation is unrealistic, and the effects can be detrimental. “Anorexia is the deadliest psychological disease. [Anorexia] is not dying necessarily from physical problems, although you can; it's suicide,” Benjamin said. “[Suicide caused by] the depression and [feeling of ] never being enough. It's really hard once that negative body image gets imprinted [in your head] to get it out.” Even with the potential harm, avoiding dolls altogether seems unrealistic. According to Talker Research, over 63 percent of parents reported that their children play with dolls or toys. But just because avoiding dolls may be unrealistic, doesn’t mean avoiding the potential harm is. “Ideally, a parent would get more average-looking dolls because the girl sees [the doll] and kind of sees herself in it,” Benjamin said. “But if you are going to choose to buy one of those thinner ideals, are you looking at all things going on? Are you monitoring your child's internet use? Are you talking about eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full, or is the mother talking about dieting?”