Gay ken doll

Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. Earring Magic Ken in particular has been the stuff of urban legend for decades, thanks to his totally-not-a-cock-ring necklace.

Mattel has been manufacturing its Barbie dolls since Shortly thereafter, it began producing dolls of Barbie's boyfriend, Ken. Girls really liked Barbie, and the doll became a certifiable cultural force, but Ken dolls never sold as well. In an effort to increase sales of Ken dolls in the early '90s, Mattel's research department worked with a group of 5-year-old girls to find out what might make them more likely to nag their parents to buy one. This workshop of young girls, inspired by images and music videos they'd seen on the then-culture-defining MTV music video network, wanted Ken to have a cool, new look, as author Matt Haig detailed in his book "Brand Failures: The Truth About the Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time.

Gay ken doll

But her boyfriend is a bit bland, a true dork best known for wearing satin tuxedos. The doll was called Earring Magic Ken , which is the absolute best name for an accidentally gay doll. Earring Magic Ken rocks a mesh lavender shirt and matching pleather vest. His hair is perfectly quaffed and expertly highlighted with chunky streaks of blonde. True to his name, his ear is pierced on the left side, which was sometimes considered to be a covert way of indicating queerness. It holds charms he can share with Barbie. It only mattered that Ken was wearing a super sexual necklace, a mesh lavender shirt and had his left ear pierced. While clueless moms picked up Earring Magic Ken for their kids, queer men flocked to toy stores, scooping up the doll accidentally modeled in their image. Mattel even went so far as to recall the doll from shelves. He was that gay. In total, Earring Magic Ken was only available for six months in — but it still reportedly remains the best-selling Ken doll of all time. Even before Earring Magic Ken, gay jokes surrounded fashion -loving Ken for his satin suits and affiliation with the hyper-feminine world of Barbie. Instead, queer people were writing the material. It was directly after the height of the AIDS crisis in the United States , and stigma around queer sexuality was rampant.

PAGE B1. InMattel had Barbie and Ken split up.

The doll is notable for inspiring a toy craze among gay men including some claims that it was the highest selling Ken doll of all time and for the controversy that ensued upon its debut. Mattel had conducted a survey of girls asking if Ken should be retained as Barbie's boyfriend or whether a new doll should be introduced in that role. These clothing choices led to gay commentator Dan Savage joking that Mattel toy designers had "spent a weekend in LA or New York dashing from rave to rave, taking notes and Polaroids. But now you see more earrings on men. They are more accepted in day-to-day life. We are trying to keep Ken updated.

By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use. And we have a special love in our hearts for one particular Ken who made a surprise appearance in the movie: gay icon Earring Magic Ken! Getty Images. Earring Magic Ken — who was a real toy created by Mattel as a part of the Earring Magic Barbie line in — comes dressed in a lavender mesh shirt, purple pleather vest, an earring in his left ear, and what appears to be a cock ring necklace. Earring Magic Ken appears in the movie with another iconic gay Ken, Sugar Daddy Ken created in , his name supposedly refers to Sugar, the name of the toy dog that comes with it in a scene where we meet some discontinued Barbies and Kens.

Gay ken doll

The doll is notable for inspiring a toy craze among gay men including some claims that it was the highest selling Ken doll of all time and for the controversy that ensued upon its debut. Mattel had conducted a survey of girls asking if Ken should be retained as Barbie's boyfriend or whether a new doll should be introduced in that role. These clothing choices led to gay commentator Dan Savage joking that Mattel toy designers had "spent a weekend in LA or New York dashing from rave to rave, taking notes and Polaroids. But now you see more earrings on men. They are more accepted in day-to-day life. We are trying to keep Ken updated.

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The kitsch factor drove Earring Magic Ken to become the best-selling Ken doll at the time. Don't wait any longer to shop. The rings were used as necklaces, bracelets, zipper-pulls, and worn just about anywhere else they could be attached. Tools Tools. Adam McDonald is a year-old gay man and film critic for the Bored as Hell podcast. Mobile Newsletter banner close. But now you see more earrings on men. Sign up today for our free newsletter. Retrieved April 26, Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the products and deals we love. So Ken should have an earring, why not? Instead, queer people were writing the material. They are more accepted in day-to-day life.

By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use. Before Ryan Gosling brought the famed male Ken doll to life on the silver screen opposite Margot Robbie in the new Barbie film which opened today, there was a very gay male doll name Gay Bob.

While clueless moms picked up Earring Magic Ken for their kids, queer men flocked to toy stores, scooping up the doll accidentally modeled in their image. Sign up today for our free newsletter. Trending stories. A major appeal of the doll for many gay men was that Mattel did not market it to them on purpose. A November study of shoppers found only 5 percent would actually consider buying a Creatable World doll. Show Leave a Comment. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Read Edit View history. Why the Barbie movie omits his most famous accessory is a mystery, though. Tools Tools. Why Mattel Recalled Earring Magic Ken As Savage outlined back in the s, the chrome metal ring used as a sex toy was also worn as a fashion accessory among certain subsets of the queer community. Meet Sean Gunn, the dreamy Olympic swimmer who just came out as gay 22h.