The University of Minnesota offered to pay children as young as five to play with transgender dolls with mix-and-match genitals.
Kids ages five to 10 were offered between $20 and $60 to play with “MyGender Dolls,” an Instagram post advertising the activity shows.
“We are looking to hear from transgender and gender diverse children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old and their parents about a new hands-on activity to help talk about gender and bodies!” reads the February 27 post.
The activity was organized by the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health, which is part of the Human Sexuality program at the University of Minnesota’s medical school. The Center has also produced a handbook to “support sexual pleasure education” for trans-identifying men after transgender genital surgery.
It is unclear if any parents volunteered their children for the study. The University of Minnesota did not respond to a request for comment.
The “MyGender Dolls” are similar to classic paper dolls, but they have movable internal sex organs, external genitals, hairstyles, clothing, and other accessories that children can “layer on,” supposedly to build a representation of their true gender. The dolls were created by “transgender and gender diverse artists” and are intended for use by “a gender competent therapist who sees young children and adolescents for gender exploration,” the Center said.
The “affirming” clinical approach for children who declare they are a different gender has received fierce pushback from both parents and doctors over the last few years, especially when it comes to medicalization. A growing number of detransitioners — men and women who were put on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones as children — have spoken out about their regret.
The dolls have already garnered national attention. They were presented at the 2019 symposium of the U.S. division of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), whose controversial standards of care for trans-identifying people have come under fire in recent years.
Elsewhere on its website, the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health touts that it has faculty serving on the WPATH Standards of Care document revision committee.
One of the Center’s co-directors is Dr. Dianne Berg, who serves on WPATH’s child and adolescent committee and is interested in both “gender creative children” and “compulsive sexual behavior,” according to her biography on the University of Minnesota’s website.
Her co-director is Dr. Katie Spencer, who is “passionate about social justice and feminist approaches” to clinical practice, her biography says.
The Center says part of its mission is to “eliminate gender-based stigma and discrimination.” It also says it wants to promote scholarship by trans-identifying people, “challenge cisnormativity in healthcare,” and “promote pleasure and positive sexuality for all bodies.” It also touted recently getting $87,500 more in grant funding.
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The University of Minnesota offered to pay children as young as five to play with transgender dolls with mix-and-match genitals.
Kids ages five to 10 were offered between $20 and $60 to play with “MyGender Dolls,” an Instagram post advertising the activity shows.
“We are looking to hear from transgender and gender diverse children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old and their parents about a new hands-on activity to help talk about gender and bodies!” reads the February 27 post.
The activity was organized by the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health, which is part of the Human Sexuality program at the University of Minnesota’s medical school. The Center has also produced a handbook to “support sexual pleasure education” for trans-identifying men after transgender genital surgery.
It is unclear if any parents volunteered their children for the study. The University of Minnesota did not respond to a request for comment.
The “MyGender Dolls” are similar to classic paper dolls, but they have movable internal sex organs, external genitals, hairstyles, clothing, and other accessories that children can “layer on,” supposedly to build a representation of their true gender. The dolls were created by “transgender and gender diverse artists” and are intended for use by “a gender competent therapist who sees young children and adolescents for gender exploration,” the Center said.
The “affirming” clinical approach for children who declare they are a different gender has received fierce pushback from both parents and doctors over the last few years, especially when it comes to medicalization. A growing number of detransitioners — men and women who were put on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones as children — have spoken out about their regret.
The dolls have already garnered national attention. They were presented at the 2019 symposium of the U.S. division of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), whose controversial standards of care for trans-identifying people have come under fire in recent years.
Elsewhere on its website, the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health touts that it has faculty serving on the WPATH Standards of Care document revision committee.
One of the Center’s co-directors is Dr. Dianne Berg, who serves on WPATH’s child and adolescent committee and is interested in both “gender creative children” and “compulsive sexual behavior,” according to her biography on the University of Minnesota’s website.
Her co-director is Dr. Katie Spencer, who is “passionate about social justice and feminist approaches” to clinical practice, her biography says.
The Center says part of its mission is to “eliminate gender-based stigma and discrimination.” It also says it wants to promote scholarship by trans-identifying people, “challenge cisnormativity in healthcare,” and “promote pleasure and positive sexuality for all bodies.” It also touted recently getting $87,500 more in grant funding.
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