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ShowYourSporty-StrongSideOutfit

A boy doll, Just Like You 113, in the Show Your Sporty and Strong Side Outfit.

A Boy Doll, as a term among fans, was originally used to describe any American Girl dolls customized to appear more like boys. With the release of Logan Everett in 2017, boy dolls became an official term. American Girl stated that they were added to the line due to customer demand.[1]

Official Boy Doll Releases[]

Our New Baby dolls were sold as gender neutral, with the option to purchase either masculine or feminine infant clothing; this was phased out when the brand became Bitty Baby. The first officially stated boy dolls sold by American Girl were boy Bitty Twins in 2003, who were sold as a pair with the girl twin until 2006, when it was made possible to purchase two boys. (a single doll could also be purchased at store locations.)

In 2017, American Girl released the first boy doll, Logan.

In 2018 four boy dolls were added to the Truly Me line: #74, #75, #76, and #77. The face molds are based on standard face molds, with slight modifications.

In 2022, Bryant was added to the WellieWishers line. Later that year, two new boy dolls were added to the redesigned Truly Me line: #104 and #113.

In 2023 short haired options and a masculine meet outfit were added to the Create Your Own line, allowing for customized male dolls.

Male Truly Me Meet Outfits[]

Modern Truly Me boy dolls have had a unique set of meet outfits, which are updated with the girls' sets. These often consist of pants or shorts, a shirt, shoes, and briefs.

Currently no boys' outfits have been sold separately or had official names; names are either derived from matching girls' sets or available accessory sets it was paired with.

Customized Boy Doll[]

Collectors who wished to add male dolls to a collection before 2017 could only do so by getting or making customized dolls. Boy dolls can be made from any doll, including all 18" dolls, WellieWishers, and Bitty Baby dolls. Because the general doll anatomy is a gender-neutral body shape of a prepubescent child, practically any female-focused doll can be modified to another gender presentation.

The major reason collectors create (and continue to create) boy dolls is that until 2017, it was believed that, given the target of the company (and the very name "American Girl"), that the company would not release wide scale male dolls. This included characters such as Kit Kittredge's close friend Stirling Howard, Julie Albright's friend T.J., or Maryellen Larkin's best friend Davy Fenstermacher. Even with the release of official boy dolls, collectors continue to make their own custom boy dolls. Many collectors prefer the open-mouth smile of the standard molds, for example, or want a combination not available in currently offered selections.

Methods of Self-Customization[]

BoyDoll

A customized boy doll.

The quickest way to modify any doll to present masculine is to trim a long wig short, as many boys in modern Western society are assumed to or expected to keep their hair shorter than a girl's. However, since the original wigs are draped and designed for longer hair, there will likely be prominent bald spots on the back of the head or around the bangs.

Rewigging is more complex, but a short-haired wig will appear more natural on the doll's head.

Bitty Babies, since they have short molded hair, can be made into boy dolls with changes of clothing (and will fit Bitty Twin boy clothing or neutral off-brand clothes).

With the availability of the short pixie cut in the Create Your Own line, these dolls can easily be presented as boy dolls.

A head swap to place a boy Bitty Twin's head on a full 18" body was possible through the life of the Bitty Twin line (and after, with the secondary market). However, this will appear misaligned or out of proportion as a Bitty Twin's face mold is designed with the face of a toddler; older children do not have the same round cheeks, level of "baby fat" and larger-appearing eyes of a toddler.

Clothing Options[]

Most outfits are designed to be very feminine and a collector may prefer their male dolls to appear in more masculine clothing, such as t-shirts and jeans or shorts. Many collectors choose to purchase off-brand or specially commissioned outfits. However, some older My American Girl outfits are considered gender-neutral enough to present on a male-presenting doll, such as the Cargo Outfit or either set of the Blue Jeans Basics.

Bitty Twin outfits were an option during the life of the line and on the secondary market, but pants could appear cropped on the longer legs.

With the release of Logan, followed by dolls in the Truly Me Line, options for more masculine outfits again became available; some sporty outfits are also displayed or advertised on the boy dolls in stores.

Boy Dolls and the American Girl Hospital[]

Logan, Create Your Own, and other released boy dolls can be repaired through the hospital. A doll with a hair cut on their original wig can be sent in to the hospital, but if any repairs are needed that require full head replacement, the head will most likely return with long hair.

As with any other heavily customized doll, a rewigged or head-swapped male doll will not be repaired by American Girl.

References[]

  1. Twitter account, posted Nov 9th, 2020; [Boy dolls] were introduced because our customers kept asking[.] Accessed Nov 11, 2020.
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