Amaya Scheer and her family (Photo courtesy of American Girl Magazine)
A group of conservative moms blasted American Girl after the magazine for kids featured an 11-year-old girl with two dads in an article.
Amaya Scheer’s dads, Rob and Reece Scheer, told NBC4 they were shocked when they heard the remarks were from OneMillionMoms.com last week. Rob, whose family lives in Damascus, Md., told NBC4, “The only thing [American Girl] did was they showed an amazing, happy family.”
He added that he was surprised the attacks didn’t come from a group of men: “These were moms, moms who are looking at a picture of our children and making a judgement on them.”
The American Girl article showcased Amaya’s life since she and her brother were adopted by the Scheers in 2009. She talks her about day-to-day activities like playing sports and donating items to kids who are less fortunate, as well as her experiences in foster care before finding a permanent home, reports The Washington Post.
One Million Moms is an online project of the Mississippi-based American Family Association. Part of the group’s online statement blasting the feature reads:
One Million Moms is extremely disappointed that American Girl, owned by Mattel, is promoting sin in the November/December 2015 issue of its magazine. On pages 28-31 of the magazine is an article titled “Forever Family” about adoption from foster care, which would have been wonderful if they had not decided to include a large picture of a girl with her two dads, Daddy and Dada, and three other adopted children.
Because it’s a child’s magazine, the statement continued, American Girl should have written about a child with heterosexual parents “and remained neutral in the culture war.” They went on to tell supporters to contact the magazine about their grievances and avoid purchasing from Mattel “until it takes a neutral stand.”
The Scheers have since received overwhelming support from their community. Rob told NBC4, “On Sunday, our congregation all stood to say that they loved us, they support us and that we are just like any other family.”
