‘Reborn’ baby dolls spark moral panic in Brazil

While research suggests that hyper-realistic dolls have therapeutic benefits, in Brazil, a country grappling with a deep political crisis, the topic of “reborn” toy babies has sparked national concern and the drafting of 30 bills by lawmakers concerning these figurines.

On social media, in soap operas, and in newly proposed laws, it seemed that hyper-realistic baby dolls were everywhere, wrote The Guardian in an in-depth article about the hyper-real baby dolls in the Latin American country.

Approximately 30 bills related to these “reborn” dolls have been introduced across Brazil, including proposals to ban them from receiving public healthcare and to prohibit collectors from using them to claim priority in public service queues, the British news outlet added.

The baby doll controversy

The baby toy doll controversy reached a concerning high on June 6th, when a man slapped a four-month-old baby on the head, claiming he had mistaken the infant for one of the dolls. He was arrested, but is now out on bail, and the baby is reportedly doing well.

“I can’t recall any other issue that, in such a short period, managed to spark so many bills across different levels of government like this,” said Isabela Kalil, a political science and anthropology professor at the FESPSP university.

A closer look reveals that the laws are banning things that, in practice, have not occurred— at least not yet. However, there is one case of someone who tried to take a doll to a public hospital, reportedly involving a woman with a psychiatric disorder.

The lawmakers’ ideological incline

All lawmakers involved in drafting anti-reborn babies bills are right-wing and far-right wing politicians.

“If a topic is trending, these politicians will propose laws about it even if they make no sense,” said Kalil, who also coordinates a research group about the Brazilian far right.

Kalil highlighted the timing. The bills by right-wing and far-right legislators come suspiciously simultaneously to former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is now on trial for an attempted coup.

“So there is also an element of grabbing attention and pushing an agenda, especially when the right-wing camp is in crisis over Bolsonaro’s trial and no one knows who will emerge as their new leader,” she said.

On social media, unsurprisingly, “reborn baby” influencers are being trolled and even receive death threats. In this case, from right-wingers to the left.

They have therapeutic benefits

For Kalil, an anthropologist, this controversy reveals an element of pathologising women, as if owning or playing with hyper-realistic dolls were a sign of mental illness, which is misogynistic, as men are not as harshly criticised for collecting action figures or playing video games.

In any case, these hyper-realistic baby dolls are successfully being used in therapy. 

“Doll therapy improves the emotional state of people with dementia, diminishes disruptive behaviours and promotes communication,” according to a 2022 study.

The benefits may not be limited to those with dementia. It has benefited women with multiple chronic health conditions like severe osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as bipolar and general anxiety disorders. It has been found that the dolls bring her comfort. They calm her down.