CCP43: On American Girl Dolls and the Disappearance of Childhood
In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a book released by the American Girl Doll company that’s caused a lot of controversy. Titled “A Smart Girl’s Guide: Body Image,” many parents thought they were getting their 10-year-old child a book on having a healthy body image. What many parents did not realize is that the book includes a chapter titled “Gender Joy” that attempts to indoctrinate children into things like considering different pronouns or whether they may be non-binary. It even directs children on how to contact specially trained doctors who can help them with access to puberty blockers and transitioning to another gender. Exposing young children to what are very adult and mature topics is a part of something Neil Postman wrote about in his book The Disappearance of Childhood which you can find HERE on Amazon. Needless to say, this was an interesting conversation.
Episode Links
Today’s conversation touched on the topic of gender given the chapter in question in the American Girl Doll book. We’d encourage you to go back and listen to CCP21: On Gender for a more comprehensive discussion about the huge shift that has taken place in culture from those within the LGBTQ community wanting affirmation, not simply acceptance for their lifestyle choices. You will also find the series given by Dr. White at Meck called “Gender” helpful, with three installments covering a theology of sexual identity, all things transgender and parenting and gender.
Children today are truly being robbed of their innocence. An example mentioned by Dr. White in today’s discussion was a Danish cartoon - created specifically with children as the target audience - about feats of heroism performed by the male character’s unnatural endowment. He wrote about this in a blog titled “A TV Show Built Around an Oversized Male Organ… for Children.” Yes, you read that right. Even Disney is trying to get in on this with their recent releases of Lightyear and Strange World, both including characters engaging in homoerotic behavior. Both movies tanked at the box office.
This is why parents need to step up and reclaim their children’s innocence. Whether supporting things like parental rights in education (check out CCP5: On the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill for more on this discussion), writing letters, removing financial support from a company, what’s clear is that parents need to be informed, involved and in charge. A very helpful series to explore how to do this effectively is “The Under Protective Parent.”
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we’d love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.