Mattel Says Their New Gender-Neutral Dolls Will Help Boys Become Better Fathers

The business-savvy (arguably virtue-signaling) announcement was unsurprisingly met by the sound of angry, bigoted knuckles cracking over basement keyboards across the countryhell, some of you are probably hate-commenting this very article right now. (WhY Is MEnS HeALtH CoVERiNg dOLLs?? thats you; thats what you sound like.)

But a majority of parents76 percent, according to Pew Research believe these types of toy changes are good and that, in general, we should be steering our children away from gendered play. (In other words: stop giving your son a toy lawnmower and your daughter a baby carriage.)

A without labels means everyone is invited to play. Welcome to #CreatableWorld , where we let toys be toys so kids can be kids. #AllWelcome Shop now: https://t.co/YetMkzG7bq pic.twitter.com/AOi1bNYJVO MATTEL (@Mattel)

A Mattel video advertisement for the new line says dolls are as limitless as the kids who play with them. This particular line called creatable world, Mattel says, [is] designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in, making play more inclusive than ever before.

The kids did not want their toys to be labeled, Jess Weiner, a cultural expert and Mattel consultant, told Time . The Mattel team had conducted research with hundreds of parents when designing the new line. What we heard from parents was an increasing concern around gender-izing toys, said Weiner.

What does it mean for a doll to be gender-neutral? Gender neutrality is a concept that champions the removal of gender-specific features from language, signage, fashion, policies, and general social structures. It means using person instead of man suffixes, for instance. In the doll space, gender neutrality means removing clothing, hairstyles, and makeup traditionally associated with a particular sexsex being ones biological and genetic identity, gender being the way in which this identity is acted or performed.

Remember that, technically, all Mattel dolls are sexless (they have no visible reproductive organsfor obvious reasons). But the dolls are gendered; Barbie wears makeup and dresses, Ken wears jeans. For designers, gender neutrality meant creating faces without makeup and providing a diverse sartorial color palette.

Its important that kids of all different types can see themselves reflected in culture and media and especially the toys that they play with, Head of Design Kim Culmone told Time.

How do you expect to raise wonderful, nurturing fathers if we dont encourage nurturing play when theyre boys?

Weiner took this thought even further, explaining how gendered play may impact a boy's development. How do you expect to raise wonderful, nurturing fathers if we dont encourage nurturing play when theyre boys? she asked.

Though it is clear that children learn gender preferences almost arbitrarily when young , their use of gendered toys (such as toy guns, for instance) does not appear hinder social or cognitive development .

Still, Weiners words have more to do with the childs choice than the adults position on the matter. And if given the choice of genderless dolls, children chose Mattels new line, what parent would say "no"? To deny your child this choice would be less than nurturing.