Identify This Essay...
October 31, 2008 1:00 PM Subscribe
Help me find an essay about a woman working in an affluent toy store during the holiday season and a life like baby doll is the hot ticket item but nobody wants to adopt the minority baby dolls or the "mutant" display doll.
The employees had to dress up like nurses and had to pretend to fill out very serious adoption papers with the child getting the doll.
The employees were supposed to be very serious while working in the "nursery" but they would abuse the display doll by pretending to accidently drop it on its head while no one was looking and such.
There is a wonderful description of the look on the affluent white mothers faces when they arrive to do this pretend adoption and they find out there's no white dolls left on the shelves. They try to ask the employees, "nurses," if there are any "you know... dolls that look like they do" in the back store room. When they find out there are none left they are torn between not getting their child this must have status symbol and adopting doll of a different race.
The author describes this agonizing moment with the perfect balance of cynicism and compassion.
The employees had to dress up like nurses and had to pretend to fill out very serious adoption papers with the child getting the doll.
The employees were supposed to be very serious while working in the "nursery" but they would abuse the display doll by pretending to accidently drop it on its head while no one was looking and such.
There is a wonderful description of the look on the affluent white mothers faces when they arrive to do this pretend adoption and they find out there's no white dolls left on the shelves. They try to ask the employees, "nurses," if there are any "you know... dolls that look like they do" in the back store room. When they find out there are none left they are torn between not getting their child this must have status symbol and adopting doll of a different race.
The author describes this agonizing moment with the perfect balance of cynicism and compassion.
Thanks for reminding me of this! That's one of my favorite TAL stories.
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:40 PM on October 31, 2008
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:40 PM on October 31, 2008
It's such a good story, and so well-written and -read, that when i read this post my first thought was, "I've seen that movie! I know I saw that in a movie somewhere, now what the f*** was it?"
posted by FlyingMonkey at 9:20 PM on November 7, 2008
posted by FlyingMonkey at 9:20 PM on November 7, 2008
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posted by moxiedoll at 1:07 PM on October 31, 2008