American girl dolls may differ by race and class and lunch pail, but many come with the same kind of hair.
Recently, however, Meredith Bailey was shopping with her daughter at an American Girl Dolls store in Natick, Massachusetts when she noticed that one of the dolls on display had no hair at all.
Bailey's own daughter, Morgan, has alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. It was empowering for Morgan to see a doll that looked like her on display, her mother wrote on Facebook.
The year before, Meredith had already purchased an American Girl doll without hair for Morgan. But it was especially empowering for her to see a doll without hair featured prominently in the store.
"These dolls were not hidden in the back and had to be asked for. They were there for all to see, especially for my daughter who wondered why they were not out before," Bailey wrote on Facebook. "This may feel to your company to be 'no big deal,' but to little girls who may feel alone and so desperately want to see dolls that reflect their beauty—it means more than you know. I cried many happy tears yesterday."
Read the full text of the moving letter below.