Life

Is This The World's First Transgender Doll?

by Sara Levine

Between normal-girl doll Lammily and the bad-ass female IAmElemental action figures, it looks like doll makers are finally getting with the times and making dolls that actually represent a diverse population. Now, it seems as though one toy company is going where no toy company has gone before by making the first ever transgender doll. The doll, which is being sold in a popular toy store in Argentina, was first discovered when a girl flipped up her new fairy doll’s skirt and noticed what looks to be male genitalia. Her mom posted a picture of the doll to Facebook, and as they say, it went totally viral.

I should take this time to note that it hasn’t been confirmed if the “genitalia” was intentionally put on the doll or not, but even if it was a factory defect I’m pretty sure that would be just about the greatest “mistake” ever made. Not everybody shares my opinion, though, and news of this doll’s existence hasn’t come without its fair share of controversy. One concerned parent said, “It’s very difficult to give an opinion because I’m conscious that it’s a taboo subject in society…but yes, obviously it’s very shocking” and others worry that the toy could influence the sexuality of their children. Here’s a picture of the “offending” doll so you can see just what everyone’s been talking about.

This brings us to our daily reminder that it’s 2014 (almost 2015!) y’all, and would an LGBT doll really be so bad? For what it’s worth, I slept with a teddy bear as a kid (still do, actually. Don’t judge me, I just don’t know what to do with my arms when I sleep unless I’m hugging something, and did I really just put that information on the Internet?) and as far as I know, I’m not a furry, so I seriously doubt this doll is going to change anyone’s sexuality. And I'm not the only one who thinks this way. In fact, Argentina’s transgender community took this opportunity to say that if dolls like this existed when they were growing up, life would have been a lot easier. Go figure.

While some adults argue if the genitalia was actually intentional (as one commenter pointed out, the doll looks pretty similar to Disney’s fairy dolls, so there’s a chance this is all just a happy accident), child psychologist Ricardo Rodulfo effectively dropped the mic on the whole debate when he offered his opinion, saying, “It doesn’t matter to a child whether a toy has male genitalia or not. The idea causes more disturbance among adults.” Can I get a TRUUUUU?

See, adults? This is why we can’t have nice things. #DOBETTER

Images: The Daily Mail; champagnepvpi / Tumblr; Giphy