The exposure of elementary school children to transgender dolls with removable genitalia and the funding source for the university-developed products are the subject of a new House investigation, Education and Workforce Committee Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI) announced Friday.
Developed by the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Institute for Sexual and Gender Health, and now a commercial product branded as MyGender Dolls, the dolls - which come with removable internal and external genitals - target children as young as four years old and offer a vast array of transgender offerings
The MyGender Dolls website even advertises (unexplained) “expansion packs.”
On Friday, Chairman Walberg sent a letter to Dr. Kristen Mark, PhD, MPH Director Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health, a press release from the congressman’s office Friday explains:
“Walberg is demanding answers about who paid for the project, whether the dolls have been or will be used in public elementary schools, and what safeguards are in place to protect parents’ rights when schools introduce young children to these materials.”
Chairman Walberg has set a deadline of September 14, 2026 for Dr. Mark to provide the following information:
- A list of all federal funding sources that have, directly or indirectly, supported the development or implementation of the MyGender Dolls project.
- Copies of the grant awardees’ applications associated with the MyGender Dolls project.
- Copies of the notification letters or other written communications informing the applicants of the grant awards associated with the MyGender Dolls project.
- All documents and communications between elementary school staff and two University of Michigan Medical School faculty members.
- Confirmation of whether minor students participated in the development of the MyGender Dolls project, are participating in any ongoing part of the project, or will be participating in the future.
The letter says the committee is concerned that federal taxpayer dollars may have been used to fund the development of the transgender dolls with removable genitalia and their use in therapy sessions with children as young as four years old:
“[T]he Committee seeks specific information about the MyGender Dolls research project and any plans to implement the project in public elementary school settings. The Committee is concerned about whether funds received under any of these ESEA programs have been or will be used by district or school staff for deployment of the dolls.”
“The project may also raise concerns under Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA),” the letter adds.
The university has been deleting publicly-available information about the transgender doll project since it was recently brought to the attention of the American public.
“Previously, the university had a webpage dedicated to the project, but it was removed at some point after The College Fix first reported on it in December 2024,” The College Fix noted in a July 10, 2026 article.
What’s more, details about the intent and development of the transgender doll products have been deleted from at least two University of Minnesota publications, Fox News reports.
No details about the advertised “Expansion Packs,” “Training Materials” and “Doll Bases” are available on the MyGender Dolls website and links to “Our Products,” “Learn,” “Our Story,” “For Caregivers” and “For Clinicians” at the top of the homepage are all nonfunctional.
