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November 07, 2005
American Girl Power
Don't anyone make the mistake of thinking that the evangelical Christian right-wing boycott of American Girl is simply a philosophical disagreement. This stunt is just more of the same from the extremist Christian right wing -- more attempts to intimidate and/or silence anyone who doesn't hold their point of view.
For those who've missed it or don't have daughters, American Girl dolls -- in contrast to Barbies or other empty-headed examples for young girls -- come with a whole book about who she is and the period of American history she hails from, and encourages positive self-images and education. American Girl partners with Girls, Inc., sponsoring math, science and athletic programs with the organization, whose mission is to promote self-esteem and self-reliance among girls.
What could be wrong with that, you ask? Ah, there's that whole pesky problem the Christian Taliban has with women actually having control of their own bodies and morality, and with people's sexuality being their own business. Girls, Inc. supports Roe vs. Wade, and supports homosexuals' rights to live as freely as anyone else. Heaven forbid! And of course, the right wing extremist nutjobs are screaming and out in force about it.
"Girls Inc.," one mother warned, "is pro-abortion and pro-contraception and pro all the other lies the secular world wants our girls to believe."
Yeah, what a dangerous agenda, huh? Pro-math, pro-science, pro-technology, pro-self reliance, pro-positive body image, pro-athletics, pro-healthy sexuality, pro-confidence, pro-education... what dangerous ideas to get behind, indeed, you Nazi cow. (Though I can see how the whole education thing frightens the Christian right; the more a girl learns, the less likely she is to be intimidated or misled by the ridiculous campfire stories that evangelicals like to brainwash people with.) Meanwhile, these allegedly "pro-family" goon squads are planning to descend on American Girl stores on the day after Thanksgiving, when hundreds or thousands of pre-teen girls will be shopping with their parents, with the extremist right-wing's traditional faked, sensationalistic depictions of supposedly aborted fetuses. Because it's pro-family to expose 8 year olds to phony, sensationalized violence, and to try and intimidate and scare little kids who are just trying to do holiday shopping. Yeah huh.
This is, like everything else the extremist evangelical sect does, about power, control and intimidation. And it's our collective responsibility to help stand up against it. Tonight, I made a contribution to Girls, Inc. If you've got even a little bit to spare, I urge you to do so as well. This is a good and honorable organization, doing good, much-needed positive things for the girls of America, and they need our help to stand up to a gang of narrow-minded bullies intent on silencing anyone who doesn't think or act the way the Christian Taliban approves. They need your help.
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Comments
How ridiculous.
But, yet another reason for me to not go shopping on Buy Nothing Day. ;)
Posted by: Chloe at November 7, 2005 11:22 PM
Nazi cow tops the list of Mudge-generated insults.
Posted by: Marquette Hoops at November 9, 2005 09:20 PM
