Some of these pictures by Polish photographer Ilona Szwarc are haunting, while others are beautifully shot. This insight into American life is explained by the photographer herself, when she explained over email to Flavorwire: “I became interested in that — photographically it was a beautiful image, girls carrying their own sculptural representations, their twins, their avatars. I started to take street snapshots of the girls, then I would stop some girls on the street and take their portraits."
Dolls are a hot topic for women turning over the stones of feminism in their minds. Are dolls sexist and do they promote stereotypical gender roles? All the girls in these photos are carrying a specific type of doll - an American Girl doll - which Szwarc feels is a commentary on American culture itself as the representations of different types of girls and women are limited ones.
The Hair Pin ran a piece about how the type of doll you had correlated to what your parents were trying to instill in you, with one of their contributors saying: "Did you know, when you picked her out, that Samantha was the cool one? Or were you simply drawn to her glossy brown hair, sophisticated accessories (she had a fur muff!) and rich demographic? Either way, every girl wanted a Samantha. If you owned her, you quickly learned the value of cachet."
British kids however, have apparently started ditching their dolls at the tender age of seven, in favour of i-Pads and video games. Having witnessed a kid at the weekend scream for her i-Pad at a wedding I attended, I can fully believe that.
Take a look at the gallery of stunning photos:
Girls And Dolls
Do you think dolls are sexist? Or should people just chill out?