In the new Barbie movie, one of the dolls is played by a transgender actor who was assigned male at birth. It’s far from the most important thing in the world, but it’s one of many wake-up calls in the culture today.

A 1980s ad campaign, which I can still hear in my head, had girls declaring: “We girls can do anything. Right, Barbie?” It’s just a toy. But taking the girl from Barbie does seem to take away the point of it.

Taking the Girl From Barbie

In an interview with Vogue, Hari Nef, the transgender actor who plays one of the Barbies, talks about imagining that a gay man owns that particular doll: “This is no child’s toy.” The only problem with that is that Barbie IS a child’s toy. And a girl’s toy. Dream your dreams as an adult, but remember, childhood is a vulnerable time.

I half-expected to find out that transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney was in the Barbie movie. Bud Light is regretting making Mulvaney a spokesperson for the former No. 1 beer in America, although I suspect people won’t boycott Barbie dolls like they are boycotting beer. Barbie seems more significant.

As silly as it may seem, Barbie introduced girls to beauty — even if very few of us were ever going to look like her — and vocational opportunities. Ken’s head might have popped off, but there was something to be said about interacting with men via play. Differences were suggested, even if they didn’t have all the accurate parts (which seemed appropriate for child’s play!).

The Dylan Mulvaney-ization of Barbie robs girls of something of their own. I have no illusions that Mattel was ever a beacon of all that is good and innocent, but in becoming associated with gender ideology, the Barbie world adds to the confusion and pain that children are already drowning in.

Drowning in Confusion and Pain

It’s hard to be a girl, especially as they grow out of the Barbie years and deal with adolescence. High school girls are losing opportunities because adults insist boys identifying as girls play on their teams. Doctors are pressuring parents to put uncomfortable children on hormone blockers.

Gender dysphoria is a real thing, and agonizing. But children need healthy cultural and educational signals, not adults working out their own confusion — or making money at their expense. Adults, do we remember being adolescents? Who among us was not physically unhappy in some, or many, ways? Adults, including toy corporations and the entertainment industry, need to stop exacerbating growing pains.

We need resources for children who are confused about their identities. Mainstream culture is increasingly adding to their struggle, with adults’ needs and desires often leading the way more than the welfare of children. There are serious implications to sexualizing children in ways both large and small.

For instance, there’s the serious issue of sex trafficking, the topic of a fictional movie in theaters right now called Sound of Freedom. But before you ever get to an issue like trafficking, we’ve all experienced something as simple as loneliness. The internet today can be a grave danger for a lonely child — with people more serious than Dylan Mulvaney trying to sell them the solution to all their awkwardness and sadness about the cruelties of life in the cafeteria and elsewhere.

Innocence is worth protecting for as long as possible, so kids can just dream, create and learn. Adults need to be adults and let kids be kids. Let Barbie be Barbie. Sometimes the little things can be the most important ones in the life of a child with a little dreaming time on her hands.

Editor’s Note: Kathryn Jean Lopez describes Sound of Freedom as a “fictional” movie. “Sound of Freedom” is a dramatization of the true story of Tim Ballard and an accurate representation of the horrors of child sex trafficking.

Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living. She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan’s pro-life commission in New York, and is on the board of the University of Mary. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com.