Social commentator Prue MacSween drops transgender slur
Australian journalist and social commentator Prue MacSween has used a transgender slur when commenting on a new line of non-binary dolls.
MacSween shared her controversial thoughts on American toy manufacturer Mattel’s new line of non-binary dolls on Sky News program Outsiders, where she also made her debut as a co-host of the program alongside Chris Smith and James Morrow.
Mattel, the makers of iconic children’s doll Barbie, released their new Creatable World range last week which gives kids a blank canvas to create their own character. The dolls feature over 100 different combinations of clothes, hair and accessories.
As first reported by OutInPerth, MacSween opposed the dolls as they could “brainwash” children to abandon traditional gender roles, while noting that dolls such as Barbie continue to reinforce unhealthy gender stereotypes of women being domesticated and homely.
However, MacSween said she hopes the introduction of the new dolls do not lead to a boycott of Barbie.
“I just hope people don’t black ban Barbie … now that Barbie is relegated to the rubbish bin. This is absurd, I know that Ken is in the foetal position as we speak, but to confuse little children with this ridiculous initiative that is all about brainwashing and confusion,” she said to her Outsiders co-hosts.
“It’s just so tragic that little kids can’t be little boys and little girls. Boys naturally play with trucks, if they want to play with a baby girl, or a baby, or a doll, you know, fine – let them do that, but it’s a natural thing.”
Despite MacSween’s claims, the new line of dolls don’t state the gender of any of their characters.
MacSween then regaled her audience with a story of her visit to a toy store the day before where she noticed Barbie dolls were still perpetuating gender-specific roles for women.
The conservative social commentator then dropped the ‘T-bomb’ when talking about providing children with “transgender crap” and the ‘option’ to be transgender.
“I was looking at Barbies yesterday in the shop, she’s in the kitchen, she’s in the laundry, she’s doing all these stereotypical things that girls are supposed to do and you boys can’t for some reason,” MacSween said.
“If we’re looking at this transgender crap, and I’m saying that in the nicest possible way, I know that there are some people who feel they are transgender, but if we’re talking about giving little girls options, or giving little boys options, of being a [tr***y] when they’re playing with these dolls, what about the stereotypes that they’re reinforcing about a girls role is in the kitchen!” MacSween said.
MacSween was previously dropped as a regular guest from Channel Seven’s Sunrise program in March 2018, after making problematic comments about Indigenous children.
In 2016, when she took to Sunrise to call a new program encouraging gender diversity in kindergarten classrooms “disgustingly malicious and dangerous.”
In both Queensland and New South Wales, transgender individuals are still in 2019 legally required to undergo surgery, sterilization and permission from 2 doctors – just to change a gender/sex marker on their own personal birth certificate! This has to change immediately.