American Girl promotes puberty blockers to 8-year-old girls

The well-loved American Girl brand is facing backlash after it was revealed that one of its books, aimed at girls aged 8 to 11,  promotes experimental puberty blockers, and suggests that girls in the target audience are old enough to know for sure that they’re transgender or non-binary.

A section of the "Smart Girl’s Guide: Body Image" is devoted to promoting gender identity ideology to young girls. “Being transgender is not an illness,” girls are told. “If you’re questioning your gender identity - or if you already know for sure that you’re trans or nonbinary - talk with an adult you trust, like a parent or school counselor.”

A trip to the doctor is advised, even though the girls have just been told that being transgender isn’t an illness, and then the guide goes on to encourage social transition, suggesting a change of name and pronouns to “make you feel most like the true you.” 

Many experts now advise against social transition for young people who are still in the stage of identity development. All research to date shows that if children with gender dysphoria are not socially or medically transitioned most will desist and no longer desire medical transition.

However, recent studies have shown that almost all children who are affirmed in their transgender identity, and allowed to change their name and pronouns, will go on to medically transition, therefore making social transition a powerful psychotherapeutic intervention that locks the gender identity into the child’s mind.

After promoting social transition, the guide aimed at girls as young as 8 goes on to promote experimental puberty suppression with drugs used to chemically castrate sex offenders.

“If you haven’t gone through puberty yet, the doctor might offer medicine to delay your body’s changes, giving you more time to think about your gender identity,” says the uninformed author of the book, Mel Hammond.

Hammond is obviously unaware of the fact that almost 100 percent of children put on puberty blockers go on to take cross-sex hormones, meaning puberty blockers are not the fully reversible pause to give children time to figure things out but rather that they make further medical transition almost a foregone conclusion.

“If you’ve already gone through puberty, a doctor can still help,” the guide informs its audience of young impressionable minds. “Studies show that transgender and nonbinary kids who get help from doctors have much better mental health than those who don’t.”

The guide also advises young people to turn to trans activist organizations for help if they don’t trust their parents.

“If you don’t have an adult you can trust, there are organizations across the country that can help you. Turn to the Resources on page 95 for more information.”

Then there’s a heart in the colors of the transgender flag with a quote from Jazz Jennings, the reality TV star who was born male but socially transitioned as a young child to be raised as a girl and whose vaginoplasty at the age of 18 was documented in the show I Am Jazz.

“Being transgender isn’t a medical transition,” says Jennings, who took puberty blockers from a young age which meant that the procedure to create a cavity to resemble a vagina out of Jazz’s amputated penis was especially difficult because there wasn’t much penile tissue to work with. “It’s a process of learning to love yourself for who you are.” Jennings now struggles with an eating disorder.

The guide then appears to suggest that surgically altering their bodies is a perfectly normal thing for a girl to want.

“If you’re transgender or nonbinary, loving your body might feel a bit different than it does for a cisgender person,” girls are informed. “Parts of your body might make you feel uncomfortable, and you might want to change the way you look. That’s totally OK!”

“You can appreciate your body for everything it allows you to experience and still want to change certain things about it.” is the message the author felt appropriate for girls about to enter the difficult and challenging life event that is puberty.

The response from the public has been one of outrage. Customers have left angry reviews on Amazon and the American Girl website.

“The contents in this book is absolutely disgusting! Teaching young girls to not be content with how they are but instead to go behind adults backs and change? How about we teach young girls to love themselves instead of telling them they're not made right?,” said one disgruntled former customer.

“We do not need to hide differences or have shame, but why does this book suggest that changing one's body or taking medications is a solution? Should we suggest breast augmentation for those girls who do not develop large breasts? That seems on the table since the book suggests 'medicine' if you don't feel comfortable in your body to ‘delay puberty’,” said another.

One review pointed out that children still young enough to play with dolls aren’t able to understand an adult topic like the decision to medically transition.

“You as a company should not be shoveling this garbage down our children's throat. You should be protecting their innocence to be young enough to enjoy playing with dolls … BTW how many children under 10 who play with dolls are old even to understand any adult topic like this.”

The response on Twitter was just as incensed. 

“The beauty of American Girl was how the dolls and stories taught young girls about girls just like them all across history who faced challenges with courage, resilience, and selflessness. How sad to see them peddle the toxic lie that girls and boys are interchangeable,” tweeted Alexandra DeSanctis Marr.

Jordan Peterson alluded to the desire to indoctrinate children while they’re still young and malleable

“If American Girl took a moment to hear the stories of detransitioners and the lifelong complications they face, they'd realize the idea that young girls should alter their bodies if they experience discomfort is far from harmless,” tweeted Kelsey Bolar.