Doll
Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.
The haunted doll has long been a trope in horror movies, but like many fears, there is some truth at its heart. Dolls are possessed-by our aspirations. They're commonly used as a tool to teach mothering to young girls, but more often they are avatars of the idealized feminine self. (The word "doll" even acts as shorthand for a desirable woman.) They instruct girls what to strive for in society, reinforcing dominant patriarchal, heteronormative, white views around class, bodies, history, and celebrity, in insidious ways. Girls' dolls occupy the opposite space of boys' action figures, which represent masculinity, authority, warfare, and conflict. By analyzing dolls from 17th century Japanese Hinamatsuri festivals, to the '80s American Girl Dolls, and even to today's bitmoji, "Doll" reveals how the objects society encourages us to play with as girls shape the women we become.
Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
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"Maria Teresa Hart's Doll is a fascinating personal and public exploration of the deeper meanings behind the plastic, polymer, and porcelain playthings that still shape American girlhood." --Susan Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author of Unhooked, Five Men Who Broke My Heart, and Barbie: Sixty Years of Inspiration
"Doll is a heartfelt, intimate, and clever study of objects that terrify some and thrill others. Maria Teresa Hart answers the question what makes dolls so special, anyway? while giving us new perspective on these tiny, fragile mirrors." --Allison Horrocks, co-host of the American Girls podcast "Aqua once sang of Barbie, "life in plastic, it's fantastic." The same could also be said of the experience of reading this great contribution by Maria Teresa Hart to the Object Lessons series. Through an analysis of "doll culture" Hart demonstrates the value of thinking with things. Dolls have much to teach us about issues of gender, sexuality, and girlhood. Through an exploration of different brands and styles, Hart reveals the stories we tell with and about dolls, and what thinking about them can tell us about our world." --Mary Mahoney, co-host of the American Girls podcast "Entertaining and brilliant, this deceptively slim book packs all the potent drama and intrigue of the world of childhood doll play itself. A fascinating exploration of self and society that is equal parts enlightening, nostalgic, and insightful. An important addition to the literature of feminist cultural history that readers are bound to return to again and again." --Summer Brennan, author of High Heel
