With the New Year upon us, American Girl has revealed their 2022 Girl of the Year, and it’s another first for them. Their choice is Corinne Tan, the first-ever Asian American Girl of the Year.
Corinne lives in Aspen, Colorado and loves to ski, and according to the books that accompany the doll she is dealing with her parents’ divorce and her mom remarrying, bringing with it family members. She is also dealing with anti-Asian sentiment Chinese Americans have been dealing with in recent years.
American Girl general manager Jamie Cygielman explains that Corinne is part of a line of dolls that "reflect what it means to be an American girl today. "Wendy Shang, an Asian American author who wrote the two books about Corinne, says she wrote the stories to help young Asian American girls see their story. She notes, "I think when readers feel seen, they realize that they matter and their experiences matter, and that they are meant to be the stars of their own stories."
- Corinne isn’t the first time American Girl has introduced an Asian character, but this is the first time one is the Girl of the Year. Previous Asian dolls included, Ivy Ling, a Chinese American girl living in San Francisco in the 1970s, which was “retired” in 2014, and the Korean America doll Z Yang, which has also been retired.
- To coincide with Corrine’s release, American Girl has partnered with AAPI Youth Uprising, an organization founded by middle schoolers which supports positive change in their communities, including a day devoted to teaching Asian history and culture in schools.
Folks can pre-order Corrinne here.
Source: Insider