A 10-year-old girl with a rare form of muscular dystrophy is petitioning for American Girl to feature a "Doll of the Year" with a physical disability. Melissa Shang, from Paoli, Pa., is asking Mattel, the iconic brand's owner, to make the 2015 doll in a wheelchair to educate young girls about what it's like to live with a physical disability.
Shang, who has been a fan of American Girl since she was 7, said in a YouTube video that she wants to share her story with others and thinks a disabled American Girl doll would be an excellent way to celebrate girls like her and educate others.
Shang and her sister YingYing have started a petition on Change.org and have already gained over 15,000 supporters.
"Of all the American Girl dolls, my favorites are the Girl of the Years. Every year, American Girl introduces a brand-new character with a story about finding success in the face of challenges today. Girls of the Year come from all different places, from Hawaii to New Mexico, and they help girls learn what it's like to be someone else," she wrote on the petition page. "Through [her doll] Saige, I learned what it's like to be an artist and horseback rider. Through McKenna, I learned what it's like to be a gymnast. Girls of the Year have helped me understand how it feels to be someone else."
American Girl has tried to create dolls for girls who come from all different types of backgrounds but have never chosen someone with a physical disability as a "Doll Of the Year." Last year's doll McKenna, was a gymnast who struggled with an injury and a learning disability, ABC News reports. McKenna's friend and tutor, Jesse, was confined to a wheelchair.
"Being a disabled girl is hard," she continued. "Muscular Dystrophy prevents me from activities like running and ice-skating, and all the stuff that other girls take for granted. For once, I don't want to be invisible or a side character that the main American Girl has to help. I want other girls to know what it's like to be me, through a disabled American Girl's story."
As of now, the company allows owners to completely personalize dolls by choosing from a variety of skin tones, eye colors etc. They have also created dolls that could wear glasses and braces and started offering "Special Sparkle" accessories like hearing aids, wheelchairs and a guide dog.
