Two professors from the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health at the University of Minnesota have developed paper cut-out dolls with interchangeable genitals, hair styles, clothing, and accessories to help gender diverse children aged 4-10 experiment with their options. They are to be marketed commercially as “MyGender Dolls” and promise to “make gender fun.” Predictably, outrage has emanated from right-wing media and the House Republican caucus, with as-yet-unsubstantiated claims that the dolls will be used to indoctrinate children in Minnesota public schools, something denied by both state authorities and the dolls’ creators.
To the extent that the dolls help gender diverse children imagine different modalities of personal expression, they may be helpful, but if they give kids the false impression that switching one’s genitals is easy, they have the potential to mislead. Much depends on how they are used by therapists or parents working with the child. Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration’s Department of Education has announced that they are investigating.
