Raising America's Girls: Motherhood and Domesticity in American Girl Historical Books

This paper examines gender roles as depicted in the American Girl historical books. The American Girl series aims to portray snapshots of girlhood through different characters throughout American history for readers aged 8-12. This paper analyzes how gender roles are perpetuated or subverted through the female caregivers in the American Girl series through a content analysis of the 85 “main line” books in the series. By providing analysis grounded in accurate information about the books, this research can better inform others interested in youth literature, particularly works aimed at young girls, about the gender politics of this series that has shaped its young readers’ imaginations for nearly forty years.