Dolls

The discussion heated up rapidly.

"This is gross!" Proclaimed the 13 year old, plugging her ears.

"No, really," insisted Simone. "Why are these dolls not designed anatomically correctly? Who can identify with them? I can't even tell which one is female and which one is male!"

"I'll show you," offered the five year old. "This one is the girl. This one is the boy."

Simone groaned in frustration. "I can't tell them apart."

"Let's get them dressed," offered the 13 year old, reaching for the minuscule pink sweater. "The pink one is the girl. The blue one is..."

"Nooooo!" Wailed the 5 year old, grabbing his sister's wrist. "You're putting the girl shirt on the boy!"

The 13 year old stopped trying to wrestle the doll's arm into the cotton sleeve and stared at the doll. "I can't tell them apart either then," she admitted.

"What's worse," said Simone, "is that even the girl is built funny. That's not what girls look like."

"Ew!" The 13 year old resumed plugging her ears. "I'm leaving. You're gross."

"What's gross is how deformed these babies are," replied Simone, unrepentant. "They don't mass market babies without noses or without toes. Why this? What's wrong with our society?"

Sometimes, there aren't any answers to our questions, are there?