The purpose of this study was to investigate young girls' doll preferences, identify types of doll play in which children engage, and explore mothers' perceptions of the influence of fashion dolls on their lives. Except for height and gender, none of the 9 girls referred to specific physical characteristics of dolls' body shapes when explaining doll preferences. Instead, aspects of dolls that could be physically manipulated were frequently mentioned and play focused on changing dolls' appearances and vicarious role playing. Their mothers differed in their perceptions of how fashion dolls had affected their lives.
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