A local Stapleton mom was caught by surprise last Saturday, to see her daughter return home from an American Girl Doll-themed birthday party with the Chinese-American based character “Ivy.” “I mean, we already have Ivy.” Said the mom. “Why not Addie? Or Julie?” Upon learning her daughter had been given the doll as a party favor, she said she immediately felt judged. “What kind of message does this send? They don’t think we’re PC enough? Ivy was the first doll we bought our daughter, since she looks Asian, and I didn’t want to be racist.” One of the better qualities Stapleton prides itself on, is the pervasive talk about the value of diversity. “Sending 8 little girls home with the same doll, doesn’t exactly support that message.” Said the 36 year-old-mother of 2, gesturing around her yard with a glass of wine. “Look around, as a community we believe in diversity and you can see it in our homes. The HOA lets us paint our houses a variety of colors. We have blue, houses, red houses, yellow houses; even the occasional stucco. If I wanted homogeneity, I would have moved to the suburbs.” Yet what was most upsetting about the incident, was that she had considered the party hostess to be a close friend. “I don’t know, am I reading too much into this? I’d expect this from a classroom mom, but not a good friend. I mean, we have drinks together at La Sandia! She obviously looks down on me.” Ivy’s new owner is weighing her options of donating the extra doll, or letting her daughter keep it, as a reminder of just how common moms-judging-other-moms, can be.]]>