American Girl Doll Company Accused of “Trans”-ing Youth

Dec 7

Some right wing writers are afraid that a book for girls about loving your body, which includes some trans inclusive content, will turn their children trans.

by Evan Urquhart

A black and white photo of a girl with a bow, perhaps in the 1950s, with an old fashioned doll

Here’s a scary thought: What if by buying a doll for your child you were endorsing something called gender ideology that would lead your child down the garden path of becoming trans? Would you still buy dolls for your kid THEN? Well??? Would you?????

This is the premise of the latest round of terrified outrage (“troutrage” for short), which is being pushed by anti-trans activists and their cheerleaders in the right wing press. It seems to have started when conservatives noticed a book from the American Girl company entitled A Smart Girl’s Guide: Body Image had a couple pages which acknowledged that some of the readers might not be cisgender girls, and that was perfectly OK. Hyperventilating swiftly ensued.

Unfortunately, American Girl has chosen to strip away all innocence and teach girls how they can leave their girlfhood behind and become boys if they feel like it.

I’m sorry, it’s NOT that the right is hyperventilating, it’s that American Girl is literally STRIPPING AWAY ALL INNOCENCE. It’s so easy to get those two confused! Also, note that the possibility that trans girls have American Girl dolls and are reading American Girl books does not seem to have occurred to the author at all. In this person’s mind this is entirely about cisgender girls who are being told their bodies are strong and healthy and should be celebrated… then being also told if they experience the least bit of insecurity about their bodies they should go become boys. Right wing logic at its best!

Now, if you note the phrasing it’s clear that there’s no mention of top surgery or any other surgery in this book. And, again, there’s absolutely no consciousness here that some of the girls reading this book may have anatomy that’s a little different from most girls their age. Such girls might feel comforted in finding representation in this girl book for doll-owning girls! And, while some trans boys might own dolls and/or be given books on body image aimed at girls, it’s reasonable (for anyone who understands trans identities) to assume that trans girls would be more drawn to such a book than most trans boys.

While the book reportedly includes some vague language saying it’s okay to love your body and also change your body (which is true!) and mentions also that nonbinary people exist. it doesn’t seem to be a book for boys whose parents think they’re girls, or for boys who haven’t figured out they’re boys yet. It seems to mostly be a book for… girls. Some of whom are trans! This is completely lost on moral-panic infected conservative parents, however, who have become convinced that a “transgender craze” is “seducing” their “daughters.”

But wait, there’s more! The author does manage to work in one brief reference to trans women before the end:

To those of you who may think I'm crazy, American Girl has put out transgender barbies. One of them showed up in my friend's daughter's surprise Barbie package. Her horrified 8-yr-old screamed "what is this mom?"

Now, we don’t speak fluent religious-nuttery at Assigned, but did this woman just suggest that a special Barbie designed based on Laverne Cox (which is the doll the link brings up)… actually has a penis which horrified and frightened an unsuspecting 8-year-old?

The Laverne Cox tribute Barbie does not, to be clear, have a penis. It is just a normal genital-free, vaguely woman-shaped doll, except it also looks a little bit like what Laverne Cox might look like if she was a Barbie. Hope that clears things up!