Web Research Study Assignment for LIS580

Robin Sanford

I decided to do my assignment using the phrase "American Girl." When internet filtering came up as a discussion topic in my Public Libraries course, a classmate related a story they had found in their research- a father goes to the public library with his daughter sometime early in the internet age. They do a web search for "American Girl" looking for the doll company and getting porn. I wanted to see if this could still occur.

The American Girl Dolls are made by the American Girl Company LLC (which is now a division of Mattel) and the books associated with the dolls are published by Pleasant Company which is owned by American Girl LLC. A child searching for the company’s website or for sales or the dolls or books might not use the phrase "American Girl Doll." From a child’s perspective, the word "doll" might be obvious and unneeded. I entered the phrase into five web search engines: Google, Yahoo, Yahooligans (a for kids site, as a control), Excite, and MetaCrawler. I listed the first 25 sites returned, although duplicate site listings are only listed once.

My sampling of 122 search engine results (one search engine only returned 22 unique sites) had 8 sites which were or might be considered offensive. Only one of these 8 was repeated in the sample from a second search engine. Of those 8 sites, 2 were offensive (by language or graphics) and 6 might be offensive, depending on the morals of the parent involved or the varying content of the site. Of the five search engines (click on the link to go directly to the result table):


The Yahooligans result was a surprise, this search engine is designed for kids and is supposed to be filtering websites. Escite returned the most dating service links. The official company website (numbered and named in red) was the first link on Google, Yahoo, and Excite. Yahooligans returned it as the 10th link. MetaCrawler listed a link as the official one, but clicking on it sent visitors to the company store not the main page.

Below are tables which list the sites returned by the five search engines (as documented on June 18, 2006 and June 19, 2006). Explainations of the eight offensive or possibly offensive sites are are footnotes at the bottom of the page.

Google results for American Girl (One ad on the page does lead to dating sites):

Number Website Name Website URL "Offensive" Website?
1 American Girl Click here for official website NO
2 Pleasant Company Publications Click here for the official books NO
3 American Girl Place Click here for the official stores NO
4 Complete Guide to American Girl Doll Collecting Click here for a fan club and collector’s guide NO
5 MSNBC Click here for a news article on the Conservative Christian boycott of the company in Nov. 2005 NO
6 Amazon Click here for a subscription to the official American Girl magazine NO
7 Kids Reads Click here for a review of the books No
8 The American Girl Collection Click here for reviews of many of the books NO
9 American Girl Directory Click here for a site which links to other sites, blogs, and "cliques" MAYBE *1
10 All-American Girls Professoinal Baseball League Players Association Click here for a website on the women who played baseball from 1943-1954 NO
11 Wikipedia Click here for a page with links to a number of American Girl articles NO
12 Mattel Click here for the official Mattel page NO
13 Internet Movie Database Click here for information on the film American Psycho II: All American Girl - there are no images from the film NO
14 American Girl Doll Clothes Click here for doll clothes and patterns for the American Girl Dolls (store) NO
15 Infinite Freedom Click here for dool clothing patterns and books (store) NO
16 All American Girl and Boy Pageant Click here for information on a pageant company NO
17 Reality TV World Click here for news blurbs about the reality TV show All American Girl NO
18 Internet Movie Database Click here for information on the movie American Girl NO
19 Kids Books and Puppets Click here for American Girl books (store) NO
20 Sitcoms Online Click here for information on the TV show All American Girl NO
21 American Girl - I Can Click here forinformation on the American Girl Company's fundraising efforts for Girls Inc. NO
22 TV.com Click here for information on the TV show All American Girl NO
23 Silly Monkey Doll Clothes Click here for doll clothes (store) NO
24 Ebay Click here for the doll section of Ebay NO
25 All Posters Click here for an art print, American Girl in Italy (store, image has no nudity) NO


Yahoo results for American Girl (multiple ads lead to dating sites):

Number Website Name Website URL "Offensive" Website?
1 American Girl Click here for official website NO
2 American Girl - Fun For Girls Click here for games and activities on the official website NO
3 American Girl Shop Click here for shopping at the official website NO
4 Amazon Click here for a subscription to the official American Girl Magazine NO
5 American Girl Place Chicago Click here for the page of the official store in Chicago NO
6 American Girl Place New York Click here for the page of the official store in New York City NO
7 Internet Movie Database Click here for information on the film American Psycho II: All American Girl - there are no images from the film NO
8 Complete Guide to American Girl Doll Collecting Click here for a fan club and collector’s guide NO
9 ABC Click here for official website of the reality TV show All American Girl NO
10 USA Today Click here for a news article on the Conservative Christian boycott of the American Girl Company NO
** Yahoo Answers Click here for questions asked by users containing the words "american" and "Girl" YES *2
11 Internet Movie Database Click here for information on the movie American Girl NO
12 MSNBC Click here for a news article on the Conservative Christian boycott of the American Girl Company NO
13 Wikipedia Click here for the Wikipedia article on the American Girl Company NO
14 Pleseant Company Publications Click here for the official books NO
15 Wikipedia Click here for the Wikipedia page with links to a number of articles titled American Girl NO
16 American Hoops School Girl's Basketball Camp Click here for a PDF on a basketball camp for girls NO
17 World net Daily Click here for a news article on the Conservative Christian boycott of American Girl Company NO
18 Ellis Parker Butler Click here for cover images from the vintage magazine The American Girl NO
19 Catholic Herald Click here for an editorial urging readers to boycott the American Girl Company NO
20 About.Com Click here for information on collecting the dolls and links to other sites NO
21 CBS Click here for a news article on the Conservative Christian boycott of the American Girl Company NO
22 The American Girl Collection Click here for reviews of most of the books NO
23 American Girl Club Click here for the official American Girl Club, although memberships are no longer for sale (must log in) NO
24 Infinite Freedom Click here for doll clothing patterns and books (store) NO
25 Curious Parents Click here for review of the American Girl Place in New York City, with information for visiting parents NO


Yahooligans results for American Girl: (only 22 unique sites returned):

Number Website Name Website URL "Offensive" Website?
1 What A Girl Wants Click here for the official website of the movie What A Girl Wants NO
2 The American Experience: Fly Girls Click here for the PBS website on a film about women’s impacts on the history of flight NO
3 Role Model Project For Girls Click here for a page on career options, aimed at girls NO
4 A Girl's World: Holiday Happening! Click here for a community site aimed at girls, this portion is on how holidays are celebrated around the world NO
5 Watoto World Click here for a site for children, parents, and educators of African descent, with a magazine edited by an American girl NO
6 American youth Federation Click here for information on a summer camp run by the group NO
7 Li'l Abner- Sadie Hawkins Day Click here for information on how Sadie Hawkins Day began and its history NO
8 Who Is Ruby Bridges? Click here for a website presentation on Ruby Bridges, a young girl who began attending an integrated school NO
9 What is a Quinceanera? Click here for information on this Hispanic celebration os a girl’s 15th birthday MAYBE *3
10 American Girl Click here for official website NO
11 All-American Girls Professoinal Baseball League Players Association Click here for a website on the women who played baseball from 1943-1954 NO
12 Girl Power! Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Click here for a list of famous or influential women of Asian Pacific heritage NO
13 American Youth Soccer Organization Click here for the official page of this organization NO
14 Girl power! Guest Rosa Parks Click here for a biography and quotes from Rosa Parks NO
15 A Girl’s World Thank-a-Thon Celebration Click here for the site’s page on celebrating Thanksgiving around the world NO
16 Yelloh Girls Click here for a page written by an woman in the Phillipines about her life, along with photos of her MAYBE *4
17 The My Hero Project - Ruby Bridges Click here for information about Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend an all-white school in the South NO
18 The Ruby Bridges Foundation Click here For the home page of the foundation, which works to fight racism through education NO
19 Eyewitness History Click here for an eyewitness account of the Battle of Gettysburg from a teenage girl NO
20 Prevention Online Error Page Click here for a US Department of Health and Human Services page explaining that the link from Yahooligans is no longer active NO
21 Scholastic - Dear America Click here for information on the Scholastic Dear American series of historical novels NO
22 American Girl - Addy's Collection Click here for the American Girl site for the Addy doll NO


Excite results for American Girl:

Number Website Name Website URL "Offensive" Website?
1 American Girl Click here for official website NO
2 Magazines.Com Click here for a subscription to the official American Girl magazine (store) NO
3 Ebay Click here for a list of Ebay auctions which use the words American Girl - mostly the dolls, some clothing and other collectables NO
4 Yahoo! Shopping Click here for a list of items on the Yahoo Shopping site which use the words American Girl- mostly the colls and clothes, Ads on the site do include a dating service, see it below NO
5 Millionare Match Click here a dating service that claims to include many individuals with income levels up to $100, including a "major Hollywood celebrity" who recently found a match with the site (no mention of sex, all photos are head shots) NO
6 American Girl Shop Click here for the official store NO
7 Amazon Click here for a subscription to the official American Girl magazine (store) NO
8 Zingy Click here for a ringtone with Tom Peetty’s song American Girl (store) NO
9 Shopmags.com Click here for a subscription to the official American Girl Magazine and others MAYBE *5
10 Bath and Body Works Click here for the official American Girl line of personal care products NO
11 Aemrican Singles Click here for a dating service’s sign up page (sex is not mentioned, and all photos are head shots) NO
12 Complete Guide to American Girl Doll Collecting This site is not longer in existence, the link does not work N/A
13 MSNBC Click here for a news article on the Conservative Christian boycott of the American Girl Company NO
14 Fitzen Click here for a dating service (sex is not mentioned, all photos are head shots and non-sexual) NO
15 United-States Online Dating Services Click here for another dating service, with links to other dating services YES *6
16 Fast Cupid Personals Click here for another dating service MAYBE *7
17 Beautiful Doll Click here for a site selling doll clothes (store) NO
18 Singles Net Click here for another dating service (logon required, non-suggestive photos) NO
19 About.Com Click here information on the dolls NO
20 All-American Girls Professoinal Baseball League Players Association Click here for a website on the women who played baseball from 1943-1954 NO
21 Amercan Eagle Trade Group Inc. Click here for discount shoes (store) NO
22 ForeFront Online Click here an online ad site, trying to sell the visitor space (store) NO
23 A Dolly's World Click here for doll clothing (store) NO
24 Shirtapolis Click here for an I Love Lucy T-Shirt (store) NO
25 American Girl Place Click here for the website of the official stores NO


MetaCrawler results for American Girl:

Number Website Name Website URL "Offensive" Website?
1 American Girl Shop Click here for the official store (Note: the link appears to go to the official site home, but the store is where the visitor ends up) NO
2 Ebay Click here for Ebay’s list of related American Girl categories and selected auctions NO
3 American Girl Fun For Girls Click here for a page with games and activities on the official site NO
4 American Girl Place Chicago Click here for the official site of the Chicago store NO
5 American Girl Place New York Click here for the official site of the new York City store NO
6 Amazon Click here for a subscription to the official American Girl magazine (store) NO
7 Complete Guide to American Girl Doll Collecting This site is not longer in existence, the link does not work N/A
8 Mattel Click here for Mattel’s page on the dolls NO
9 Internet Movie Database Click here for information on the movie American Girl NO
10 Magazines.Com Click here for a subscription to the official American Girl magazine NO
11 MSNBC Click here for an article on the Conservative Christian boycott of the American Girl Company NO
12 AB Crafts Click here for wooden furniture for the dolls (store) NO
13 Silly Monkey Doll Clothes Click here for doll clothes (store) NO
14 About.Com Click here for information about the dolls NO
15 American Girl Place Click here for the website of all the official stores NO
16 Adorable Doll Clothes Click here for doll clothes(store) NO
17 American Girl- I Can Click here for information about the American Girl Company’s donation to Girl's Inc. NO
18 Bath and Body Works Click here for official American Girl personal care products NO
19 Sew Dolling Click here for doll clothes and dolls with amputated legs or wigs from cancer (store) NO
20 Pleasant Company publications Click here for the official American Girl books NO
21 Clothing Creations by Irmgard Click here for children’s clothing and matching doll clothing (store) NO
22 American Girl Directory Click here for a site which links to other sites, blogs, and "cliques" MAYBE *1
23 American Singles Click here for a dating website (loging required, all photos are head shots or non-suggestive) NO
24 Fox News Click here for a news article on a bus crash in Peru which killed 13, including an American girl/woman No
25 American Girl, Celebrity News Click here for a website on American celebrities, with photos MAYBE *8


1. - The owner says he/she will not accept links to porn and derogatory sites. however, there are a few hundred links here, and it is entirely possible that one of them will lead to something offensive or innapropriate for minors.

2. - Questions are linked below the first 10 sites on Yahoo Search. On this page they include "Who is hotter? American girl? Canadian girl? Latin girl? or ... " and if the "More Yahoo Answers" link is followed, questions include "How is it that so many white american girls do porn?" there are no pictures but the answers are from anyone who responds and the language is often very crude.

3. - This website does mention the need for a girl to keep her virginity, and that such a celebration is often not done for boys because "men don’t really lose anything if they have sex; no one can tell. Most girls can’t hide it because pregnancy often occurs." This may well be something that parents do not want their children reading, depending on the age. However, the overall message of the site is a fairly positive one, and the language is not graphic or crude.

4. - The introduction to this site reads "Yelloh girls, written by Kiana Garcia, a Filipina from Manila, Philippines (that’s me on the banner) is here to identify the issues of growing up and living as an Asian woman in the world of today. Actually I'm just one of those Asian girls who likes to speak her mind. This isn’t some sort of sex site, so don’t get any wrong ideas. I might talk about sex from time to time in a non-graphic way, but that’s about all you will get. Ok, maybe you will get some seductive looking photos, but that’s only to show the true beauty of the Asian woman. Taking pictures is one of my hobbies. The purpose of my site to hopefully empower and educate girls (and teach men about us) about both their inner and outer strength and beauty in this non-Asian dominated world today through my example of body and spirit. I believe that our most powerful asset as modern Asian girls is the freedom of our minds and the power of the internet." The pictures do include sexy poses including a bikini and a photo of her nude back (no frontal nudity). Prostitution is mentioned on the site, as something that the author has not done but other women in her position have. The owner has aslo gotten hate mail with racial slurs and profanity, which she has posted.

5. - Unlike the other magazine subscription sites, which take the visitor to a page with just the American Girl magazine on it, this site directs the visitor to a page with multiple magazines. This includes Maxim with Carmen Electra posing on the cover in a bikini and a magazine called Stuff with a number of women on the cover in their underwear. Depending on how this page is generated, it would be possible for a visitor to see a more risque image.

6. - Unlike the other dating services, the main page of this service includes links to Mail Order Brides, a Herpes/HPV site, alternative (with links to a BDSM dating site), adult (which advertises sites explicitly for sex), and swingers.

7. - This dating service posts exerpts from user’s profiles (answers to questions) along with headshots. While the language in these exerpts was not offensive when I visited, it is entirely possible that some very crude language could be displayed, depending on whether a human screens these blurbs or a computer just grabs data out of a database.

8. - This is a British website, posting photos which are legal in the European market. On the date I visited (June 19, 2006) the site included numerous photos of women in bikinis, including one in which the actress is removing her top. One nipple is visible, and a larger version of the immage is available to those who click on the smaller one. Depending on the date visited, this site (updated regularly) may or may not have objectionable material.

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