My five-year-old son’s latest craze is customizing his toys. He’ll sit for hours with a Sharpie drawing on his Playmobil figures, quickly turning them into distant scribbled memories of what they were intended to be. This usually ends up with more ink on his hands (and whichever article of furniture his toys rub against) than on the toys themselves, but he has great fun changing their appearances. Just like any other kid, he likes to create.

Pray about the sexualization of our children with our special report prayer guide.

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Creativity is a big selling point for toys these days. So it’s not all that surprising that toymaking giant Mattel would launch a new line this week called Creatable World:

In our world, dolls are as limitless as the kids who play with them. Introducing Creatable World™, a doll line designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in — giving kids the freedom to create their own customizable characters again and again.

To be clear, Creatable World isn’t just about switching hairstyles and clothing. In a press release, Mattel revealed what’s really driving this line:

“Toys are a reflection of culture and as the world continues to celebrate the positive impact of inclusivity, we felt it was time to create a doll line free of labels,” said Kim Culmone, Senior Vice President of Mattel Fashion Doll Design. “Through research, we heard that kids don’t want their toys dictated by gender norms. This line allows all kids to express themselves freely which is why it resonates so strongly with them. We’re hopeful Creatable World will encourage people to think more broadly about how all kids can benefit from doll play.”

What, then, are parents to do? It’s easy to simply funnel news like this into outrage. After all, a big corporate toymaker — with deep pockets for its marketing budget — is not-so-subtly telling children that male and female are just labels that can be switched as easily as clothing. This should put parents on guard, and it’s entirely reasonable and warranted for parents to express displeasure in the marketplace. But we shouldn’t stop there.

Parents should be sure that we’re not letting any toy corporation (or school, or media company, or fill-in-the-blank) be the source about what’s true in the world. Parents should be aware that no area of the world — not even the toy aisle — is immune from the age-old effects of deception. In Genesis, the serpent points the man’s and woman’s focus away from the Creator toward the created. Likewise, in Mattel’s Creatable World, the Creator of the world is someone to be subdued rather than heeded. In an age when the toy business is much more than child’s play, parents should be a beacon pointing to God’s truth — even at play time.

(Excerpt from the Family Research Council. Article by Jared Bridges.)

You can take action! One Million Moms has organized an easy way to protest these dolls and ask Mattel to discontinue them. Just click HERE to sign the petition. Here is what they have to say about these dolls:

Mattel is following a trend to desensitize America by telling children they can be whatever gender they want to be. This irresponsible line of toys is dangerous to the well-being of our children. Mattel should avoid aiming to please a small percentage of customers while pushing away conservative customers who hold to the age-old truth that a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl.