One of the first things my mom bought for Daniel was a soft little African American baby doll. It's very cute. He doesn't pay it any more mind at this point than he does his stuffed animals (If it doesn't make noise when he bangs it and it's not useful for teething, he's not too interested right now) but I like the fact that he has one for when he's older and into imaginative play.
My stepfather was absolutely horrified that he had a doll!! I think he's worried that Daniel's masculinity is threatened by the fact that he has two mommies.
It always made me sad that a lot of parents felt upset or defensive when their kindergarten sons would play in the dramatic play area in my classroom. I would have to talk some dads out of forbidding it! How can we expect men to be nurturing fathers when we raise little boys with the clear message that nurturing behaviors are only for girls? We had dolls, a great kitchen area, and dress up clothes. Some of my boys LOVED putting on the dresses and playing with the dolls. Kids learn by imitating adults around them - and there is rarely anyone more important to a 5 year old boy than his mommy.
We also had a great wooden dollhouse and both the boys and the girls would fight over whose turn it was to play with it. Of course, they played with it a little differently . . . The boys would often play games like "Who can get the father doll to land on the toilet from furthest away?" or "Drop the family through the chimney."