Ginny Vitiello

William came up with this idea that dolls are Not For Play. In his words: "I will cuddle and love and befriend and anything with a face. But those baby dollies were so solidly Not For Play, they couldn't be a dragon slayer or a journalist or talk back or have stories"

Now, I don't think this is universal. My Baby Janet was the queen of the toys. She was in charge, told every other toy what to do, and demanded to be the center of attention at all times. But I still think William's point is incredibly perceptive.

When we instruct AFAB children in how to hold and treat a baby doll, we're not letting them play with it. When they do as instructed, they're not playing. And, it's DEFINITELY not encouraging play when we scold a child for treating a bit of plastic with a face too roughly.

It's something else entirely. It's a chore, or a punishment. And, to the extent that baby dolls are primarily used as a chore or a punishment to coerce AFABs into perform nurturing on demand, they're not really toys. As William put it, they're Not For Playing.

More from William- I actually found this story quite shocking: When I worked at a primary school if the girls played like the boys the teachers would stick a dolly in their hands and do the concern play thing...

...and the only way they could get out of it was if they "found someone to look after the dolly" so me, the classroom assistant, would end up looking after like six baby dollies...

...And like you point out- always the more tomboyish girls who'd get that punishment more quickly. A really ribbons-and-princess girl could go and play with the boys for a bit and just be "trusted" to come back, a girl in a tracksuit would get immediately handed a dolly

DOLLS AS PUNISHMENT FOR BOYISHNESS!!! (Those in charge don't actually call it punishment, of course, but if it's a correction for unwanted behavior that really reeks of punishment.) What is it with these empty eyed, tyrannical, plastic, little bottle feeders?