Some time ago, I read on the Criacionismo.com.br blog (read here), an article about an exhibition in São Paulo titled “Sombra Negra”, featuring 25 photos of Barbie in sensual poses. Looking at the photos, I confess I trembled at the thought that millions of girls (and even women) not only own them but are fascinated by the doll, which in those photos conveyed a completely debased and immoral message. I then remembered my own experience with “adult dolls” that had happened about two years prior, and it went something like this.

When my daughter was born, I remember looking at dolls in stores and thinking that Barbie was definitely not an option for a little baby like her. Despite having heard negative things about “adult dolls,” I confess that wasn't the reason I didn't buy one at the time. Because when my daughter was about 3 years old, we ended up buying a Barbie for her. But deep down, something bothered me, so much so that we didn't even tell her the name Barbie, and she gave the doll another name.

Around that time, we had just arrived in the US, and we went to the church's Social Assistance to get some things for our home. When we got there, among the toys, we found a box with about “300” Barbies. My daughter's eyes widened, and she said, “Look, Mom, just like my doll,” and kept asking to take them home.

At first, I didn't like the idea of having a ton of Barbies at home, but then I had a brilliant idea (or so I thought). I decided I would take the Barbies (without makeup and earrings), the Kens, and the Bobs, dress them in biblical clothes, and these would be the girls' “Sabbath dolls.” (Since the girls were born, we've always had special toys for the Sabbath at home, which they only play with during Sabbath hours). I thought this way they wouldn't be playing with dolls all the time, and since they were in biblical attire, they would always play Bible stories.

The idea worked well for about three years. Naturally, during that time, my daughter discovered that the name of all those dolls was Barbie, but it didn't make much difference to her. She continued to respect the idea of the Sabbath dolls.

One beautiful Sabbath, however…

(already back in Brazil) we were going to spend the day away from home, and I had the brilliant idea of bringing the dolls. Other children would be there, and I thought it would be good for them to play Bible stories with the dolls. My husband (wiser than me) thought it wasn't a good idea, but I (more stubborn than him) ignored his comment and brought them anyway.

During lunch, the girls had already told their friends that they had brought the dolls, and their friends also got their Barbies (which were not biblical at all). When I happily opened the bag and explained who the dolls were, the children immediately started putting the Bob dolls and Barbies together, pretending they were kissing. I was startled and very embarrassed, especially with my husband, who reprimanded them and put the dolls away shortly after.

Well… the following week, when the Sabbath began, we got out the Sabbath dolls as usual, and as soon as my daughters took them out of the bag, guess what they did? They started playing that the dolls were kissing too. At that moment, I realized the magic of the Sabbath dolls was over. I was very frustrated; I talked to them, and they stopped doing that, but the following Sabbath, I saw that they no longer played Bible stories. Moreover, I started noticing that they had a habit of taking the doll with them to the mirror and combing its hair and posing.

I started praying, asking for God's guidance. It was I who had had the “brilliant idea,” and how was I going to change it now? That same week, God answered my prayer. I was listening to a lecture on child rearing, and the speaker explained how adult dolls are confusing for girls because they are never their daughters; in fact, they are always the children's mothers or older sisters, which means girls end up obeying or imitating what the adult doll “dictates” through its clothing and demeanor.

It finally clicked for me. In the past, I had even “mentally” ridiculed some people who had made negative comments about my daughters' “Sabbath dolls.” But at that moment, God spoke to my heart that I needed to remove those dolls from my girls' lives.

I confess it was a very difficult decision “for me.” A real drama! I wrestled with God, arguing that the dolls were biblical; there was even an angel doll and one dressed as Jesus. Plus other interesting things like a Black doll, an “elderly” doll, which, in my view, helped my daughters not to show partiality. But deep down, I knew it wouldn't matter; that wasn't the message they were truly conveying to them.

I then asked God to prepare their little hearts for our conversation. I felt I should only talk to the older one, as the younger one, at three years old, might not understand. So I called my seven-year-old daughter and told her I had something special to tell her. We prayed, and I asked God to help her understand me. When I started to say that I had made a wrong choice and that we would need to correct it, she interrupted me and said, “Mommy… it's about the Sabbath dolls, isn't it?” I was surprised, and she told me she had already felt that she shouldn't have those dolls anymore.

It's incredible how, when we ask, God truly works in our children's hearts! She then asked me what we were going to do with them. I asked her what she thought, and she said, “I think if it's not good for me, it's not good for anyone else.” I confess I felt like I was the daughter and she was the mother at that moment. It wasn't my plan to discard the dolls like that, but I felt that God was guiding everything and that I had no right to change His plans.

A few weeks later, my younger daughter noticed the dolls were gone and questioned me. I explained it to her, and at first, she didn't understand and was sad, but as soon as she learned we would replace them with other Sabbath toys, she quickly forgot and liked the idea.

Today, here at home, we are “Barbie free.” Sometimes my daughters receive “Barbie-like” dolls, and they themselves bring them to me, and we try to replace them with another gift to reward the wise choice they made. This doesn't mean they feel no attraction to the doll, especially when they see their friends with a collection of them, but in those moments, they face a conscious struggle with God.

This week I read (here) an interesting experience someone had with Barbie (as a child). She says: “When we played with Barbies, we embodied their character. We’d go buy high heels, mini-skirts (we have to be honest, Barbie’s clothes aren’t very modest!), we’d sunbathe at the beach, visit the salon, and get ready to meet a boyfriend… When we played with Barbie, we pursued our own interests. We wanted to be number one.”

On the other hand, she recounts that when they played with baby dolls, “the role we took on when we were mothers to our dolls was to care for them. We ‘fed’ our baby, changed their diaper, dressed them, and then rocked them to sleep. Unconsciously, we were practicing skills we now use as mothers. We were learning to care for the needs of others.”

I think that says it all, doesn't it? This truly is God's plan for our daughters: that they learn the noble mission of motherhood, to be affectionate, kind, and show love to their neighbor.

We live in a time in world history when we need to question everything, re-evaluate our values, and study God's plan versus the world's plan. This is exactly what we call “Revival”!

May God help us be part of this blessed movement!

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