The Yassifitn of Ken: Earrg Magic Ken and his endurg gay legacy • GCN

gay ken

Wh Greta Gerwig's Barbie set to h theaters this July, we cid to take a look back at the past, prent, and future of gay Barbie dolls.

Contents:

THE YASSIFITN OF KEN: EARRG MAGIC KEN AND HIS ENDURG GAY LEGACY

Remember when Mattel accintally ma a super gay Ken doll? We do. And queer people ma him the bt sellg Ken doll, ever. * gay ken *

So they had no ia that say, Madonna’s ol back up dancers, were actually gay that’s how we end up wh Earrg Magic Ken, a pann to Earrg Magic Barbie clad a purple mh shirt, a purple leather vt, wearg a big, shy, silver rg around his neck. While he fs to some gay stereotyp, (pecially om the early '90s), ’s the necklace that really got everyone’s gay thor and journalist Dan Savage explas a lumn about the doll om 1993, the late '80s and early '90s, bis beg a sex toy, a ck rg was the queer fashn statement of the time. The accsory was a staple of the gay club culture that was blowg up at the time, a scene Ken would f right to wh his leather/mh ensemble.

Mattel stnchly ni the doll was tend to have anythg to do wh homosexualy at all. Some even claim the bt sellg Barbie mol ever, but as Mattel is unwillg to discs our iend Ken’s current stat, that tle go to Total Hair Barbie (released the year before), he will always have his ltle place history as the time Barbie supported her boyiend explorg his homosexual tennci. By makg him gay.

THE TE STORY OF MATTEL ACCINTALLY RELEASG A SUPER GAY KEN DOLL

Photos of Ryan Goslg as Ken 'Barbie' ll to md Earrg Magic Ken, aka Gay Ken, who lighted the queer muny and dismayed Mattel. * gay ken *

Some fans, however, have noticed certa siari between Goslg’s look and another time gay fans went nuts over Ken.

THE FUTURE OF GAY BARBIE DOLLS AND THE HISTORY OF EARRG MAGIC KEN

Simply put, Ken isn’t ol — and Mattel isn’t havg . The children’s answers, likely rmed by media (some would later ce Madonna’s background dancers) and club-culture trends, spire Ken’s new look and what would bee an famo nightmare for Mattel. The doll was lled Earrg Magic Ken, which is the absolute bt name for an accintally gay doll. * gay ken *

That’s right – Goslg bears a strikg remblance to Earrg Magic Ken – sometim known as Gay Ken or even Cock Rg Ken. Between his purple mh top and fx-leather vt, bleach-blon two-toned hair, sgular pierced ear and necklace holdg a good sized rg (whatever termology you want to lend to ), Ken screams early-’90s-gay-rave-attene. The trend started among gay men, but then spread, beg a fashnable accent piece regardls of genr.

Word got around about how Mattel had created a gay Ken plete wh a ck rg, somewhat thanks to Savage’s article. Tryg to shove their accintally-gay Ken back to the closet by pullg him off the shelv, Mattel martyred him stead, makg Earrg Magic Ken a llector’s em and an in. © 2022 GCN (Gay Communy News).

HOW BARBIE'S BOYIEND KEN BEME AN ACCINTAL GAY IN

* gay ken *

” — only a whole lot Cyle Suz for In The KnowThe doll was lled Earrg Magic Ken, which is the absolute bt name for an accintally gay doll.

Te to his name, his ear is pierced on the left si, which was largely nsired to be “the gay ear” to pierce at the time and a vert way of ditg queerns.

THE LOW-KEY SADNS OF GAY KEN

Barbie has been a femist symbol for a while but do you know about the time when Mattel accintally created a 'gay' Ken doll? * gay ken *

And that’s not all to mentn, his necklace was almost cidly moled after a sexual accsory trend of leathers and club-kids the doll’s 1993 release, activist and wrer Dan Savage, who at the time was workg for queer-foced newspaper The Stranger, wrote a piece about the doll’s cidly “gay” look. “New Ken, ” as he was termed, was officially “Gay Ken. Even before Earrg Magic Ken, gay jok surround fashn-lovg Ken for his sat sus and affiliatn wh the hyper-feme world of unlike the jok about Ken’s sexualy, Earrg Magic Ken was the first time queer people weren’t the butt of the “gay Ken” joke.

In fact, that year, 44 percent of the natn believed “gay relatnships” — not marriage, simply datg someone of the oppose genr — should be 1993, Mattel (or any other brand, for that matter) would have never knowgly released a product for queer people bee would alienate the brand’s re nsumer: nservative married moms middle Ameri who are buyg Barbie for their Katie Dupere for In The KnowEarrg Magic Ken likely stck such a chord wh gay men and queer people bee was reprentatn when no one wanted to reprent . The toy giant now sells Creatable World dolls which allow for genr exploratn and Ken dolls that, let’s face , are gayer than Earrg Magic Ken ever was. More om In The Know:Nordstrom lnch first genr clive llectnDolce Va’s unisex Pri llectn go up to women’s shoe size 13The Phluid Project lnch fabric face masks to celebrate Pri MonthShop our favore bety products om In The Know Bety on post The te story of Mattel accintally releasg a super gay Ken doll appeared first on In The Know.

LGBTQUTNNAIRE: GET TO KNOW KIDD KENN, THE RISG GAY RAPPER READY TO CHANGE HIP-HOP

When to gay Barbie dolls, the Mattel toy pany hasn’t always been a pneer, but they have always been the center of the nversatn.

He’s the first (untentnally) gay-d Barbie doll created by Mattel 1993. And for all we know, Earrg Magic Ken stigated the unfound fear among agile mascule fathers regardg the notn that playg wh dolls uld lead to their sons beg gay.

But 1993, Mattel released Earrg Magic Ken, a doll that quickly beme an accintal gay in.

12 GAY TV CHARACTERS WHO NEVER SAID THEY WERE GAYAND MORE DRAG QUEENS ARE HTG TV! WHO WAS LEFT OUT?{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}TVBY MICHAEL MTOSEPTEMBER 18, 2017/11:22 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:1910PX;WIDTH:2610PX;}ABC PHOTO ARCHIV/DISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAMENT CONTENT VIA GETTY IMAGBY MICHAEL MTOSEPTEMBER 18, 2017 / 11:22 AM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"12 GAY TV CHARACTERS WHO NEVER SAID THEY WERE GAY","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2017-09-18T15:22:38.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2017-09-18T15:22:38.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"MICHAEL MTO","KEYWORDS":"MTO UNFILTERED","ARTICLESECTN":"TV"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WAY BEFORE CHARACTERS—AND ACTORS—ULD BE OUT OF THE CLOSET, THERE WAS A SPATE OF THEM ON TV THAT GAVE EVERY DITN OF BEG GAY WHOUT ACTUALLY SAYG SO. FOR THE GENERATN THAT GREW UP WHOUT A LOT OF LGBT VISIBILY, THE D PERSONAS PROVID SOME REHG GAYNS AN OTHERWISE EXCLIVELY HETERO LANDSPE. THE DISHONTLY OPAQUE WAY THEY WERE PRENTED MA THEM A TILLATG TNT RATHER THAN A LIBERATG BREAKTHROUGH, BUT THEY STILL MA A DIFFERENCE. HERE’S A DOZEN OF THE MOST MEMORABLE ON (AND BY THE WAY, SOME OF THE CHARACTERS WERE GIVEN OPPOSE-SEX LOVE TERTS, BUT THAT DIDN’T FOOL ME A B):{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}DR. ZACHARY SMH ON LOST {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:75%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}A QUEENY, SCHEMG DOCTOR A SHY SILVER BODYSU, NNG BEHD A ROCK WH A BOY OUTER SPACE? “DANGER, WILL ROBSON” ED. EVEN STAR JUNE LOCKHART SAID SHE THOUGHT THE CHARACTER WAS GAY. AS PLAYED BY JONATHAN HARRIS THE THE 1960S S, THE DOC HAD MAJOR {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MR. BELVEREABC PHOTO ARCHIV/DISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAMENT CONTENT VIA GETTY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}CLIFTON WEBB PLAYED THE STARCHY ENGLISH HOEKEEPER THE MOVI. ON THE S VERSN (1985-’90), WAS CHRISTOPHER HEWETT, WHO FLAMED UP A STORM THE ROLE. IN REAL LIFE A “NFIRMED BACHELOR,” HEWETT HAD PLAYED THE GAYER THAN GAY DIRECTOR ROGER DE BRIS THE ORIGAL MOVIE OF THE PRODUCERS, SO THIS WAS NOT EXACTLY A {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MEL COOLEY ON THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOWCBS VIA GETTY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN THE 1960S, THE GAYT THG ON THE AIR WAS MEL (PICTURED: LEFT), THE EXTREMELY MANNERED AND IMPER TV PRODUCER ON VAN DYKE’S H S. BALD AND BPECTACLED RICHARD DEAN PLAYED THE PART WH A NOTICEABLY SWISHY MEANOR. HE WENT ON TO PLAY KAYE BALLARD’S HBAND, ROGER BUELL, THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW (1968-9), REPLACG THE EQUALLY MPY ROGER C. CARMEL THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BIG AL, THE SPORTSTER ON ROWAN AND MART'S {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:56.49999999999999%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}AS PLAYED BY FUNNY MAN ALAN SU ON THE H LATE ‘60S/EARLY ‘70S SHOW OF WACKY SKETCH AND SHTICKS, AL WAS AN EFFEMATE SPORTSSTER WHO ABSOLUTELY LOVED RGG THE BELL. ANOTHER OF SU’ CHARACTERS ON THE SHOW WAS A GUY WHO SWAGGERS TO A BAR THE OLD WT AND ORRS A OZEN DAIQUIRI. THE PEOPLE WERE CLEARLY GAY, AND SO WAS ALAN, WHO WAS MARRIED TO A WOMAN FOR A TIME, BUT DATED MEN ON THE SI. SADLY, THE IC FELT THE NEED TO GIVE TERVIEWS BOASTG ABOUT WHAT A STRAIGHT STUD HE WAS. EVEN SADR, HE BEME OVERE WH WHAT HE FELT WAS THE HOMOPHOBIC SLANT OF THE MATERIAL HE WAS GIVEN TO DO. SU DIED {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}UNCLE ARTHUR ON BEWCHEDABC PHOTO ARCHIV/DISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAMENT CONTENT VIA GETTY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}FROM ’65 TO ’71, BEWCHED—WH ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY AS A WCH-SLASH-HOEWIFE—WAS GAY STATN TV, THANKS TO SUPPORTG PLAYERS LIKE AGN MOOREHEAD, ACTG ALL REGAL AND BCHY FABULO OUTFS. AND OF URSE THERE WAS PL LYN AS UNCLE ARTHUR, WHICH THE ACTOR BROUGHT ALL HIS GAY TICS TO, RULTG A TYPILLY DARG AND HILAR PERFORMANCE. MUCH LATER, LYN WENT EVEN FARTHER, WH GAYISH NUENDO ON THE HOLLYWOOD SQUAR. (“PL, WHY DO HELL’S ANGELS WEAR LEATHER?” “BEE CHIFFON WRKL TOO EASILY.”) HE DIED 1981, NEVER HAVG E OUT ON THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}CLAYMORE GREGG ON THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIRDISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAMENT CONTENT VIA GETTY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN THE SAME VE AS LYN, CHARL NELSON REILLY WAS A ONE-MAN MPFT WHO WAS GAYER THAN LIBERACE’S TOOTHBSH. AS CLAYMORE, THE NUTTY GUY WHO RENTS THE HNTED TTAGE TO MRS. MUIR ON THE ENJOYABLE S (1968-’70), HE WAS FSY AND FUNNY AND VERY QUEENY. AND JT LIKE LYN WENT ON TO GAME SHOW PYROTECHNICS, REILLY STOLE THE MATCH GAME WH HIS FLAILG ARMS AND QUICK W. HE ALSO HAD IMPRSIVE THEATER {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}EDWARD EVERETT HORTON ON THE ADVENTUR OF ROCKY AND BULLWKLE AND FRIENDSUNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE/UNIVERSAL IMAG GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGUNIVERSAL IMAG GROUP {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE GAY VOICE? ABSOLUTELY—LET ME EXPLA. FROM 1959 ON, ROCKY AND BULLWKLE WERE FUN AND BORIS AND NATASHA WERE MPY (PECIALLY NATASHA), BUT WHEN THE FRACTURED FAIRY TAL SEGMENT ME ON, I WAS TLY GAY HEAVEN. THE TAL—RETELLG CLASSIC YARNS WH QUIRKY TWISTS—VOLVED EDWARD EVERETT HORTON’S FT NARRATN, WH LOTS OF WORDPLAY AND DOUBLE ENTENDR. HE ME OFF SO UNAPOLOGETILLY GAY—AND WAS JT HIS VOICE! BUT THIS WAS NOTHG NEW; HORTON WAS PLAYG D GAY MEN BACK THE DAYS OF FRED AND GGER MILS AND SCREWBALL EDI. A FIZZY TOAST TO {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:56.49999999999999%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}A GAY ANIMATED CHARACTER? WELL, Y, THAT’S HOW THE PRISSY PK MOUNTA LN (VOICED BY DAWS BUTLER AND STARTED 1961) WAS PLAYED, AND I FOUND HIM EVEN MORE APPEALG THAN THE PK PANTHER. THE CHARACTER EXHIBED ALL THE NERVONS, NARCISSISM, AND LIMP WRISTEDNS OF YOUR EVERYDAY GAY STEREOTYPE PLUCKED OUT OF THE WILD. “HEAVENS TO MURGATROYD!” AS SNAGS WOULD {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MILTON THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SIARLY, THE MILTON THE MONSTER SHOW—A RTOON SERI THE 1960S—TROTTED OUT A WHOLE ASSORTMENT OF GAY CREATUR, FOR ANYONE WHO WAS PAYG ATTENTN. THERE WAS MILTON HIMSELF, A FRANKENSTE TYPE BUT OVERLOAD WH TENRNS AND A GOMER PYLE-ISH VOICE, PL PROFSOR WEIRDO AND HIS PISSY ASSISTANT COUNT KOOK (“BETTER HOLD MY HAND, I’M FEELG SICK!”). WHAT’S MORE, THE WOMEN’S VOIC WERE DONE BY MEN. OH, {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}ANTHONY BOUVIER ON DIGNG WOMENFOTOS INTERNATNAL/COURTY GETTY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MHACH TAYLOR PLAYED THE TERR SIGN ASSISTANT ON THE H SERI. (1986-93). IN ’87, HE PLAYED HOLLYWOOD MONTROSE, THE OVER-THE-TOP WDOW DRSER MANNEQU. IN REAL LIFE, HE WAS MARRIED AND HAD FOUR KIDS, SO I HAVE NO {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MR. MOONEY ON THE LUCY SHOWCBS VIA GETTY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}CHARACTER ACTOR GALE GORDON HAMMED UP AS LUCILLE BALL’S FOIL, THE NSTANTLY FLTERED AND BARKG BANKER THEODORE J. MOONEY, ON THE LUCY SHOW (1963-8). HE JT ME OFF LIKE SUCH A GIRL! LUCY OBVLY LIKED GALE’S STORM OF AFFECTATNS BEE HE ME BACK FOR ROL HERE’S LUCY AND LIFE WH {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}KG TUT ON BATMANABC PHOTO ARCHIV/DISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAMENT CONTENT VIA GETTY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}VICTOR BUONO WAS THE GO-TO PUDGY ‘60S CHARACTER ACTOR FOR MPY VILLAY. IN THE TALE OF GROTQUE SIBLG RIVALRY WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, HE WASN’T SO MUCH VILLAO AS SORT OF CREEPILY SLEAZY, YET THE MOST CENT ONE THE ROOM BY FLT. (IN FD, HE WAS SEEN ANNOUNCG HIMSELF TO BETTE DAVIS AS A BIG HOMOSEXUAL. HE LATER GOT BTED A MOVIE THEATER ORAL SEX CINT THAT WAS HHED UP.) THE H SHOW BATMAN WAS FAMO FOR S GAY-IENDLY GUT STARS LIKE EARTHA KT, JULIE NEWMAR, ETHEL MERMAN, AND TALLULAH BANKHEAD. ALONG WH BEWCHED, THIS SHOW HELPED TAPULT ME OUT OF THE CLOSET EVEN WHOUT THE WORD “GAY” EVER HAVG BEEN UTTERED. BUONO WAS GREAT AS TUT, THOUGH HE SEEMED MORE QUEEN THAN KG. HE DIED OF A HEART ATTACK AT {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HONORARY MENTN: GOMER PYLE (JIM NABORS), FRED “REN” STUBBS (FRED BERRY) ON WHAT’S HAPPENG!!, THE MARTIAN (RAY WALSTON) ON MY FAVORE MARTIAN, MONROE FIC (JIM J. BULLOCK) ON TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, BARNABAS COLLS (JONATHAN FRID) ON DARK SHADOWS, URKEL (JALEEL WHE) ON FAY MATTERS, UNCLE FTER (JACKIE COOGAN) THE ADDAMS FAY, DOOGIE HOWSER, M.D. (NEIL PATRICK HARRIS), THE BROTHER ON SMALL WONR, TKY WKY (TELETUBBI), SQUIDWARD (SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS), AND ANYTHG PLAYED BY DON KNOTTS—AND AS FOR THE LADI, JO (NANCY MCKEON) ON THE FACTS OF LIFE, MISS JANE HATHAWAY (NANCY KULP) ON THE BEVERLY HILLBILLI, AND ALICE (ANN B. DAVIS) ON THE BRADY BUNCH. Y, I KNOW SHE WAS CRAZY FOR SAM THE BUTCHER. I’M SURE HE WAS A BEARD!CBS VIA GETTY IMAGFRED CLARK AS DR. RAY CLYBURN, NANCY KULP AS JANE HATHAWAY AND RAYMOND BAILEY AS MILBURN DRYSDALE THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES EPISO, "HAIR-RAISG HOLIDAY." ORIGAL AIRDATE, OCTOBER 2, {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}TODAY, GAY PEOPLE ON TV ARE OUT AND DRS! FN TV JT ANNOUNCED THAT ’S THROWG SHA: QUEENS OF NYC, A 12-PART DOCERI ABOUT THE NYC DRAG CULTURE, FEATURG LOL FAVOR LIKE MARTI GOULD CUMMGS, TA BURNER, PAIGE TURNER, HOLLY BOX SPRGS, JADA VALENCIAGA, JASME RICE LABEIJA, CHELSEA PIERS, AND BRA FILTER. GREAT CHOIC—I’VE ENJOYED THEM ALL. AS FOR HOW THEY ST THE SHOW—WHICH PREMIER OCTOBER 5—CUMMGS TOLD ME, "THIS GROUP OF QUEENS REPRENTS THE HEART OF NYC DRAG. THEIR WORK ETHIC AND DRIVE TO SUCCEED THIS DTRY MAK THEM STAND OUT AS NYCS FT REPRENTATN OF DIVERSE DRAG. OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THIS SHOW BE A SUCCS AND HOPEFULLY WE N TRODUCE MORE QUEENS AS TIME GO ON TO NTUE TO SHOWSE THE EVER EVOLVG NYC DRAG MUNY." AND IF NOT, THERE MT BE A SUPPORT GROUP BY NOW FOR DRAG QUEENS WHO HAVEN'T GOTTEN ON {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SEEN ALL OVER THE TUBE ARE THE BLONDS—THE LONG-NNG, GLTERY DUO DAVID AND PHILLIPE BLOND, WHO NOT ONLY TROT OUT EYE TCHG ENSEMBL FOR FASHN WEEK, BUT PROVI A SWIRL OF BUZZY EXCEMENT, THANKS TO THE IMPOSSIBLY JAZZY DIENCE THAT FLOCKS TO THEIR SHOWS. ACTOR/REALY PERSONALY WILL WIKLE AGRE WH ME THAT ’S A GREAT IA TO TELL PEOPLE, “I’M BY DOG FASHN WEEK,” AND THEN ONLY GO TO THE BLONDS. THIS TIME, AT SKYLIGHT LAST WEEK, WAS THE UAL MADP SCENE. AND WHILE CLUB DOORMAN MARK KELLE ADPANNED, “I SEE A LOT OF NEW FAC—PLASTERED ON OLD ON,” HE’S A IC AND WAS TOTALLY JOKG, I SWEAR. THE ROOM WAS FILLED WH FASCATG LOOKG CREATUR OM THE FASHN BLOGOSPHERE—CLUDG TWO AD RGERS FOR THE OLSEN TWS, SIMULTANEOLY SNNG THEIR PHON—AND THEY EVEN PSED OM DOG INSTA-STORY TO WATCH THE SHOW. AND THAT TURNED OUT TO BE A KUBLA KHAN-SPIRED O TO OUR SHARED LOVE OF MIC AND ARTISTS WHICH STARTED WH TEYANA TAYLOR PULSG DOWN THE NWAY A DAY-GLOW JACKET. THE PLACE WAS AGLOW WH SPARKL, TRELLIS, PATCHWORK QUILTS, AND KNEE-HIGH STUDD NIM BOOTS, PPED OFF BY PHILLIPE HIMSELF FULL DRAG AND A BLDG GOLD NUMBER. IT WAS ALL SO BRIGHT YOU HAD TO WEAR SHAS—BUT ONLY REALLY OL SIGNER ON, OF {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}AND FALLY, FOR SOME BTE AMBN, IF YOU’RE NYC THIS WEEKEND, CHECK OUT MY DUETS SHOW AT ALAN CUMMG AND DANIEL NARDIC’S NEW BOE, CLUB CUMMG. I HAVE SOME ILLTR DRAG STARS AS MY DUETTG PARTNERS—ISN'T THAT ENOUGH? PL ’S A BENEF FOR SAGE—I DON’T KNOW, SOMETHG ABOUT OLD {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}TICKETS AND MORE RMATN {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}MTO {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

Bee he f nearly every sgle early-90s gay stereotype, nversatns grew around Ken’s sexualy and he quickly beme a highly sought-after Barbie pecially among gay men—rultg the doll sellg out by Christmastime shortly after s but. AI Barbie: What might future gay Barbie dolls look like? Gay cyb Ken doll.

WHY THIS 90-YEAR-OLD MAN CID TO E OUT AS GAY DURG THE PANMIC

'Gay' Earrg Magic Ken Hs the Shelv. "He's always read gay, " said Dan Savage, ternatnally renowned lumnist and podster, an email, "but has he ever read gayer than he did wh a gay sex toy around his neck? Savage origally wrote about Earrg Magic Ken the summer of 1993, when much of the pop culture world was havg a good lgh at Mattel's lack of unrstandg that while ltle kids saw what Prce, the members of Right Said Fred or Madonna's backup dancers were wearg simply as "ol, " the adult world was clued to how gay was.

The doll flew off the shelv, pecially sce gay men, cludg Savage, shed out to buy a Ken doll. Though the Earrg Magic Ken cint showed that LGBTQ culture at the time had filtrated the mastream (or, arguably, been -opted by ), Ken might've simply remaed the butt of late-night jok until Savage — who's sce gone on to serve as one of the untry's most proment sex and relatnship advice lumnists — published his explanatn of the gay-culture subtext munited by wearg the sex toy. And a form of , specific placements on clothg uld imply certa sexual preferenc among the gay crowd; you n read Savage's more tailed acunt of the nuanc the Chigo Rear's archiv.

IS ALLAN OM 'BARBIE' GAY? 5 REASONS TO THK HE MIGHT BE

"I don't thk a gay man unr 40 would even know what we we're talkg about, " he said. Adam McDonald is a 36-year-old gay man and film cric for the Bored as Hell podst. Greta Gerwig's live-actn 'Barbie' film is for the girls, gays, and theys — CONFIRMED!

So I've fallen to a rearch wormhole about Magic Earrg Ken, the ntroversial 1993 doll believed by gay llectors to be wearg a ‘ck rg’ as a necklace. The story go that the doll was pulled after fans started hailg Ken, wh his perma-tanned sk, bleach blon hair and mh t-shirt, as a gay in, and as a rult of this ntroversy, that's 's one of the rart Ken dolls out there.

BARBIE STAR MARGOT ROBBIE RPONDS TO FAN THEORI THAT KEN IS GAY

And clearly, no one red about Earrg Magic Barbie bee Earrg Magic Ken end up turng to a gay in and beme one of Mattel’s most profable dolls! This gave birth to Mattel’s early 90s gay nightmare (a betiful accint, if you ask me): Earrg Magic Ken looked like the plastic stereotype of queer fashn back then: drsed a lavenr mh t-shirt, a matchg purple leather jacket, tightly fted black jeans, and a pierced earrg at a perd when men havg pierced ears was still nsired taboo the Uned Stat.

Earrg Magic Ken was wrten about by Dan Savage who is a popular lumnist and podster, 1993 when Mattel had bee the lghg stock of pop culture for their failure to unrstand that kids of that era found outfs by Prce, members of Right Said Fred, or Madonna’s backup dancers “ol” but they were nsired by the adults as simply… gay!

The doll rocketed off the shelv, particularly bee gay men, cludg Savage, hurried out to get their hands on one. Though the Earrg Magic Ken cint evinced that LGBTQ+ culture had been absorbed to the mastream media at the time, Ken merely ntued to rema the butt of jok until Savage published his terpretatn of the gay-culture unrlyg msage nveyed by wearg the sex toy and fashn. LGBTQutnnaire: Get to Know Kidd Kenn, the Risg Gay Rapper Ready to Change Hip-Hop.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY KEN

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data-ttid="ContentHearContaer" class="ContentHearContaer-cGKRbE knDxNq"><div class="ContentHearHedAccredatnWrapper-GFiQf cDNVlV"><div data-ttid="ContentHearTleBlockWrapper" class="ContentHearTleBlockWrapper-cjmSKp cCntXd"><div data-ttid="ContentHearRubric" class="ContentHearRubricBlock-LmpbT eRFpQc"><div data-ttid="ContentHearRubricDateBlock" class="ContentHearRubricDateBlock-kAQcZP fTFWxD"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX kpuNXj bric ContentHearRubricContaer-eTudtt iRsSlw"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Dolls</span></div></div></div><h1 data-ttid="ContentHearHed" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearHed-NCyCC iUEiRd jPOabC BjYFU">The Ken Doll Reboot: Beefy, Cornrowed, and Pan-Racial</h1></div><div class="ContentHearAccredatn-lfctVB etVsnJ ntent-hear__accredatn" data-ttid="ContentHearAccredatn"><div class="ContentHearDek-bIqFFZ eASNBN">For s, he achieved in stat by beg a basic, buff, blue-eyed bro. And for years, that was enough. No longer! Startg today, as part of a wi-rangg relnch, Ken has rnrows. And he’s Asian. And he’s skny. Or sometim even fat (sorry, “broad”). Cay Weaver went ep to the valley (and sign center) of the dolls to get an exclive glimpse of Mattel’s new take on the all-Amerin male.</div><div class="ContentHearByle-kmPyCa emiglw"><div class="ContentHearByleContent-dpPmNn DRFq"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl ContentHearByl-cZqgyJ bHLeKI"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH gtxxjM byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd dlWgVJ gnILss byle__preamble">By </span><a class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ByleLk-gEnFiw iUEiRd fhQbnq dzFUnH eErqIx byle__name-lk button" href="/ntributor/y-weaver">Cay Weaver</a></span></span></p><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH gtxxjM byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd dlWgVJ gnILss byle__preamble">Photography by </span><a class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ByleLk-gEnFiw iUEiRd fhQbnq dzFUnH eErqIx byle__name-lk button" href="/ntributor/spencer-lowell">Spencer Lowell</a></span></span></p></div><time data-ttid="ContentHearPublishDate" dateTime="2017-06-20T06:30:00-04:00" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearPublishDate-eIBicG iUEiRd ivrQAn cZpOSL">June 20, 2017</time></div></div><div class="SocialInsWrapper-hKMEXV ffgPVr social-ins social-ins--standard ContentHearAccredatnSocialIns-jorO fPzfaa ntent-hear__social-share"><ul data-ttid="socialInslist" class="SocialInsList-cHVTIA ivmblD social-ins__list"></ul></div></div></div><div class="ContentHearLeadAsset-hGbumP fEknXh lead-asset ContentHearLeadAssetWrapper-hfXHEc Grck lead-asset--width-fullbleed" data-ttid="ContentHearLeadAsset"><figure class="ContentHearLeadAssetContent-kOfYSG dRGWbI"><div class="ContentHearLeadAssetContentMedia-bLEIpi jjhWdS lead-asset__ntent__photo"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW jvZaPI rponsive-asset ContentHearRponsiveAsset-bREgIb hONbnm"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz ccdiSo"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa ContentHearRponsiveAsset-bREgIb hONbnm rponsive-image"><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w, 1920w, 2240w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="Image may nta Head Human Person Willa Fzgerald Doll Toy Advertisement Collage Poster and Geia Gibbs" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></picture></div></div></span></div></figure></div></div><asi class="PersistentAsiWrapper-VGrR oEIBz persistent-asi persistent-asi--align-left" style="posn:absolute;top:to;height:to" data-ttid="PersistentAsiWrapper"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jNgrSF sticky-box ContentHearPersistentAsi-fsnAmQ dFzKzm"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="SocialInsWrapper-hKMEXV ffgPVr social-ins social-ins--has-background ContentHearSocialIns-jzJiyg ctaZl social-ins--share"><ul data-ttid="socialInslist" class="SocialInsList-cHVTIA ivmblD social-ins__list"></ul></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></asi></hear></div><div data-attribute-verso-pattern="article-body" class="ArticlePageContentBackGround-cNiFNN kJkLmH article-body__ntent"><div class="ArticlePageChunksContent-etcMtP eRxRjL"><div data-ttid="ArticlePageChunks" class="ArticlePageChunks-fLyCVG eSsnKa"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bDFJoo"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa edvONh body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><div class="GroupCalloutWrapper-bPWknp gjCHDP llout llout--group llout--group-4" data-ttid="GroupCalloutWrapper"><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed llout--group-em llout--group-em-1"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Head Doll Toy Human Person and Figure" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed llout--group-em llout--group-em-2"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Accsori Tie Accsory Head Doll Toy Human Person and Figure" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed llout--group-em llout--group-em-3"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Doll and Toy" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed llout--group-em llout--group-em-4"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Doll Toy Human and Person" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure></div><p><strong>Meet Ken:</strong> He is a beefy Asian man wh 20/40 visn who equently works out of doors.</p><p>And, meet Ken: He is a young rerd executive who exprs himself through bold sneaker attire while simultaneoly beg an Ain-Amerin man of average build.</p><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad---ntent"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot---ntent" data-no-id="39appf"></div></div><p>And, meet Ken: Agast the better angels of his nature, he has bleached his hair peroxi blond, and now is termed to travel on an airplane fort and style.</p><div class="Contaer-bkChBi byNLHx"></div><p>And, meet Ken: He has a man bun, and that’s his whole thg.</p><p>In a ndn of affairs at worst disastro, at bt praved, Ken, Ken, Ken, and Ken are all datg the same woman.</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-1 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p>Her name is Barbie.</p><div class="GenericCalloutWrapper-tojWn dxKJjl llout--has-top-borr" data-ttid="GenericCallout"><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Doll Toy Human Person Figure and Barbie" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure></div><p class="has-dropp">When he buted 1961, Ken (legal name: Ken Carson) was a spdly, anemic fan of sual swimwear. Over the years, he has blossomed to a sculpted, perma-tanned in of Amerin masculy. Even if you never played wh Ken, his ty footfall has reverberated through your life; he charg early the formative years of the fairer sex, settg an impossible standard for mal agast which you will be judged forever. Ken is the first man—or, technilly, nuch—many ltle girls will ever see nu. Consequently, he teach young ladi that men are meant to have bodi like Olympic water-polo players. He’ll teach girls precisely how much taller than women men should be and (sort of) about the different ways men e the bathroom; Barbie’s Dreamhoe, a one-woman mega-mansn, featur a sgle but qutsential nod to Ken’s existence: a toilet seat that lifts up. “That’s very important for Ken om a girl’s perspective,” says Michael Shore, Mattel’s head of global nsumer sights ( means he watch kids play wh dolls). “Bee guys e toilets different om girls.”</p><p>Over time, Ken has been picted as a rappg rocker (Rapp’ Rock’ Ken), a doctor (Dr. Ken), and a sovereign of the Crystal Cav (Kg of the Crystal Cav Ken), but that is what he is rced to: someone who the toilet a myster way.</p><asi aria-hidn="te" class="PullQuoteEmbedWrapper-sc-EoVjf fQbAzo"><div class="PullQuoteDerativeBorr-sc-iUyOLj fAzNVP"></div><div class="PullQuoteEmbedContent-sc-kTcfhx eltaVW"><p>Ken is “nice,” they tell me over and over when I ask them to scribe a doll’s personaly: “a nice guy”; “a solid du”; and, most damngly: “I picture him kd of Ryan Seacrt-y.”</p></div></asi><p>That’s bee Ken is the refully librated ial plement to Barbie—a blank, sg man who do not threaten the stardom of the most telligent, talented, rapp’ rock’ prcs astront all of Malibu. Ken is “nice,” the members of the Barbie team will tell me over and over when I ask them to scribe a doll’s personaly: “a nice guy”; “a solid du”; and, most damngly: “I picture him kd of Ryan Seacrt-y.”</p><p>Well, not anymore. Startg now, Mattel is re-imagg the all-Amerin guy. He may not be as spirg as an imagary female solo homeowner or the first imagary female print, but that don’t mean he n’t have a rich imagary ner life. The cisn to give him some pth marks a new chapter for men, and dolls who are men. From this day forward, Ken don’t always have to look like the most basic at bro ever to get a B- en. He n be plited, myster—maybe even vegan. No more Mr. Nice Ken. (Actually, he’ll still be very, very nice. “We want to make sure Ken reflects a iendly view of the world,” says Shore.)</p><p>One way to make Ken more of a real-live man, Mattel cid, is to put him through a dramatic physil transformatn. And so, on the pk stiletto heels of last year’s announcement that Barbie would henceforth be available taller, shorter, and, most sensatnally, curvier versns, the pany is addg two new Ken shap to s roster and manufacturg them a larger array of sk shas and hairstyl. There will be an “origal”-size Ken wh rnrows. A “slim” Ken wh a fa. A mixed-race Ken wh a man bun. Asian Kens. Lato Kens. A pale whe Ken and a tan whe Ken. A Ken who is wearg a watch. A Ken who is…“broad.”</p><p>And the are <em>all</em> the “real” Ken. Not iends of Ken, like the already extant Brad and Steven and memorative-edn Batman doll “sculpted the likens of Ben Affleck.” Jt Ken.</p><p>This brandg is a radil attempt to alter kids’ psych. Mattel has spent the better part of six s teachg children that Barbie and Ken are whe; that Barbie and Ken are sculpted like Hellenistic statu, only pornier, spe lackg genals; that Barbie and Ken have iends—that some of their bt imagary iends are black—but that at the end of the day those iends are not que A-list superstars like Barbie and Ken. But a few years ago, sal started to tumble. Millennial moms clared Barbie out of sync wh their valu. Sudnly centivized to embrace urant clivy, the toymaker had two choic: upend the entire Barbie universe by promotg all her iends to equal stat or keep Barbie and Ken at the center of and jt make everyone—regardls of race, shape, or hairstyle—Barbie and Ken.</p><p>Thk of this strategy as the ice-cream-izatn of Barbie. There are an fe number of flavors, but we refer to them all by the same general name; “ice cream” isn’t necsarily vanilla—and neher is Barbie’s boyiend.</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-2 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p>It’s an trigug ia, ntled a snake p of plitns. What about the morn man necsat a Ken do-over? What are men—and Ken—for 2017? How do a rporatn select the shas of brown will e to reprent black people? Who cis how fat a fat Ken n be?</p><p>Mattel was willg to enterta my qutns, asked wh a Barbie’s nfince, but wasn’t about to send me unreleased dolls the mail. I had to go to the pany headquarters if I wanted a look at the new Kens. And so, borne by the promise that I uld spend a few mut studyg the prototyp as long as I did not photograph them nu, I set off for Ken’s native land: California, near the airport.</p><hr/></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa kFAtaa body ArticlePageBodyGridContaer-jrMoA-d xjuw body__grid-ntaer" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div data-ttid="feature-large-llout" class="CalloutFeatureLargeWrapper-cGjDsT uKfZv"><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Pants Clothg Apparel Human Person Jeans Denim People Jam Charl and Sunglass" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bDFJoo"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa edvONh body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><p class="has-dropp">The Mattel sign center, El Segundo, California, is sort of like the Pentagon, except ’s very difficult to get to. In addn to submtg a ernment ID for electronic snng and wearg a promently displayed visor’s badge for the duratn of their time on se, guts mt sign an NDA at the receptn area. The sign center is where the pany’s ultra-nfintial toy prototyp are vented before beg discreetly sent abroad for manufacturg. It is Mattel’s versn of the Wonka factory, and, acrdgly, every outsir is treated wh spicn.</p><p>Behd the secury sk is a floor-to-ceilg photo, blown up several hundred percent, of Ruth and Ellt Handler, the ceased toy-makg uple who -found Mattel. The two are everywhere the sign center—and this photo particular forc a doll’s terrifyg perspective on visors. A bgraphil exhib the wag area explas that the Handlers met as teenagers at a B’nai B’rh dance 1929; bee Barbie and Ken are named for their children (Barbara and Kenh), one uld extrapolate that Barbie and Ken are, fact, Jewish. One uld also sually make this observatn to an employee at Mattel and then, a week later, fd onelf the recipient of a pole e-mail statg emphatilly that “Barbie has never had a relign.” So perhaps is better to simply know one’s heart that Barbie is Jewish and say nothg.</p><div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--article-mid-ntent" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--article-mid-ntent nsumer-marketg-un__slot---ntent"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><p>From the wag area, I am rted to a blazg pk nference room, where I learn that, as wh Barbie’s relign, the offcial pany posn is that Ken has no age—and also that he is roughly 18, even though he has held many adult jobs. He is perpetually datg Barbie but, spe their many nuptial ceremoni, has never married her. (Per Mattel, all of Ken and Barbie’s weddgs are “dream” weddgs.) Ken has no children but has been sold alongsi a toddler “siblg” for whom he is the only apparent retaker. But the quiet tragedy of Ken’s life as the perfect man? Boys—even boys who like Barbie—don’t re about him.</p><div class="GroupCalloutWrapper-bPWknp gjCHDP llout llout--group llout--group-2" data-ttid="GroupCalloutWrapper"><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed llout--group-em llout--group-em-1"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Human Person Fger and Hand" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed llout--group-em llout--group-em-2"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Human and Person" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure></div><p>That, though, was never the pot of Ken.</p><p>“In the past,” says Michael Shore, “Ken was really viewed as more of an accsory Barbie’s world, to support the narrative of whatever was happeng wh the girls.” Ken was arm ndy, a proponent of Barbie’s enavors, a plement at a rat of about 1:7. Or at least that’s how sal worked over the years—kids own one Ken for every seven Barbi. That’s part of what the iative hop to change. Mattel mt nvce ltle girls, and the adults who le them, that men are fascatg, too. At least enough to get that number closer to two Kens for every seven Barbi. Men—and Ken—aren’t jt Seacrts, after all; they e all shas and shap (and novative fashns). Sometim they are also worthy of attentn.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan full-bleed-ad row-mid-ntent-ad"><div class="StickyMidContentAdWrapper-fSBzwl drzyIa ad-stickymidntent"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--mid-ntent should-hold-space"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--mid-ntent" data-no-id="1l8zrm"></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bDFJoo"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa edvONh body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><p>In orr to unrstand what toy men walk around dog all day, Mattel spends huge amounts of time and money analyzg “play patterns”—nsistent ways boys and girls teract wh Mattel products. The “play patterns” often take the form of standard serial-killer-type behavr: strippg Barbie and Ken naked, stylg and re-stylg Barbie’s hair. Storytellg, which the dolls are ed to act out scenars, is the most popular. It’s also where Ken sh. Although he was vented specifilly as a “boyiend” doll for Barbie (herself moled after a sexy figure marketed to German adults the 1950s), Ken’s job scriptn 2017 has broaned tremendoly: His purpose now is to reprent all the possible male characters nceivable the universe.</p><p>“When kids are really young,” says Shore— Barbie terms, really young means about 3 years old—“a lot of [storytellg] is about unrstandg the world around them. So ’s ‘hoe play.’ ”Often, “hoe play” is set the bathroom, where Ken gets his special toilet seat. It’s also why sce the ’70s, Mattel has released eight Kens wh some form of disappear-able and re-appear-able facial hair; they are perennially among the most popular Kens.</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-3 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p>“You see Barbie and Ken reprentg a lot of the people the kids’ liv,” says Shore. “Barbie uld be ‘sister,’ and Ken uld be ‘brother.’ Of urse, ‘mom’/‘dad,’ ‘mom’/‘uncle,’ ‘mom’/‘iend,’ ‘dad’/‘iend.’ ”</p><p>But jt bee Uncle-Friend Ken liv wh Mom Barbie don’t mean he’s havg sex wh her. Kids generally don’t start imagg Barbie and Ken romantic datg scenars until around send gra. And recent years, Mattel has begun reposng Ken as more of a iend than a pure love tert. (The subtext of Ken beg “tstworthy” and “nice” seems to be: Ken would never sexually asslt Barbie. He jt wants to enjoy her pany on her own terms, vis her at her mansn if that’s what she wants.)</p><p>“We always joke that Ken wh three sentials,” says Bill Greeng, a prcipal signer at Mattel. Greeng has worked at the brand for nearly 20 years and llects dolls on the si. Posssed of an encyclopedic knowledge of Kens, he is lerally livg his Barbie Dream Job. “Your tuxedo, your swimsu, and of urse he’s a prce. Those [were] his three big rol Barbie’s world.”</p><p>But if Barbie’s list of reer fields be more genr-ntral (engeerg, archecture), there’s no reason for her iend Ken to be jt a prce. And so along wh a “spy” and a “vio-game hero,” be plsible for him to be, like Barbie, one of the Fashnistas™ (the le which the new Kens will make their but).</p><p>The diversy ph has siarly lucrative goals. As Ken’s physil form chang to better reflect the creasgly multicultural world Amerin kids hab, the hope is that he will bee a more relevant (and important-to-purchase) character kids’ stori.</p><p>All those aspects be to make Ken the Platonic ial of a 2017 male: iendly; well-groomed; variant of sk lor, hairstyle, and body shape; unthreatened by his female pann’s succs; and unapologetic his study of fashn. He is straight or maybe gay or otherwise so far advanced tolerance-wise that the distguishg featur about him aren’t even worth notg—they jt are. Ken’s doll paradise is an ial society where all cizens suffer om munal prosopagnosia, never able to tell, a given moment, if they’re talkg to Broad Ken, or Slim Ken, or Origal. Ken’s inty, like the box that ntas him, is post-label.</p><div class="GroupCalloutWrapper-bPWknp gjCHDP llout llout--group llout--group-2" data-ttid="GroupCalloutWrapper"><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed llout--group-em llout--group-em-1"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Human Person Workshop Stg Furnure Chair Buildg and Factory" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed llout--group-em llout--group-em-2"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="This image may nta Human Person Birthday Cake Food Dsert and Cake" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure></div><p>In a dark rner of the sign center, a lightls cubby loted a small honeyb of intil lightls cubbi, ss a beg who is God to the Kens: Ray. Ray is Ray Cavalluzzi, the digal sculptor who brgs Kens forth to this unholy world—a tremorls man tasked wh translatg hop to plastic. Whout Cavalluzzi, signers’ visns would rema jt that: ephemeral pictur, llectns of adjectiv, mood boards lan wh puter prtouts of guys lor-blocked tank tops. Ray n make any Ken and every Ken, the Kens of Amerins’ dreams—and some they have only seen nightmar. His workspace is cluttered wh amputated doll limbs.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan full-bleed-ad row-mid-ntent-ad"><div class="StickyMidContentAdWrapper-fSBzwl drzyIa ad-stickymidntent"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--mid-ntent should-hold-space"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--mid-ntent" data-no-id="hmkro"></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bDFJoo"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa edvONh body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><p>“They’re all over the place,” he says, bshg asi a pile of exiguo men’s legs. “Like a crab dner.”</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-4 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p>Cavalluzzi’s puter screen glows wh an image of three sexy men stripped down to their cyan blue puter-moled sk. In the middle is Origal Ken: 12 ch tall, wh abs so hard they uld cut dream diamonds for imagary engagement rgs. Next to him, Slim Ken, who is shorter, looks almost boyish, his arms and thighs lackg a gym rat’s fn, his stomach flat and ridgels. Plonked down on the left is Broad Ken. Broad Ken is more filled out than Origal Ken, his torso remag blockish where Origal’s go nve. His shoulrs and thighs are wir, too—though all Kens mt be manufactured wh a prepostero-lookg thigh gap to make easy for their troers to e off and on. (Their gros are flat bee the way fabric bunch at a 12-ch sle would make even the fatt ht of a phall seem extra-proment.)</p><p>I’ll jt e out and say : Broad Ken is a ltle disappotg. Curvy Barbie rri her weight the same way a curvy woman would: ample hips that softly bulge around her flh-lored unrwear, and an ass that jt won’t qu. Broad Ken don’t have a six-pack, but he do have pecs, and abs wh light fn—a far cry om the potbellied “Dadbod Ken” many mentators proposed when Mattel unveiled the re-proportned Barbi last January.</p><p>“Origally,” says Ray, “I ma him pnchy. I gave him a nice healthy gut. So he was the post-holiday Ken.” Ray picks up a haptic styl attached to a small mache on his sk and begs drawg visibly the air. The mache creat s own ristance based on the 3-D image on Ray’s screen, enablg him lerally to <em>feel</em> the digal clay.</p><p>“It was a matter of fdg a balance,” he says. As Ray’s wand glis through the empty air ont of him, mcl bloom unr Broad Ken’s on-screen sk. “You don’t want to go too much.”</p><p>For the Barbie team, creatg a perfectly executed regular body is a Sisyphean missn. The cisn to alter the dolls’ appearance stems om a general broang of Amerin bety standards, as lovg yourself has been transformed om a nsolatn prize to an aspiratnal behavr. The plitg factor for Ken is that those standards have broaned more regard to women, possibly bee men already had more leeway wh their appearance. Acrdg to a 1996 study, the odds of meetg a man wh Ken’s ialized shape were about 1 50. The odds of meetg a woman wh Barbie’s: ls than 1 100,000. Make the origal pencil-th Barbie closer to the shape of the average Amerin woman (“curvy”) and the effects are dramatic. To achieve the same drastic visual impact wh Ken, signers would have had to make his body much, much larger. But make Ken too big and crics would argue that he looks unhealthy. Keep him too trim and he’s unattaable.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan full-bleed-ad row-mid-ntent-ad"><div class="StickyMidContentAdWrapper-fSBzwl drzyIa ad-stickymidntent"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--mid-ntent should-hold-space"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--mid-ntent" data-no-id="nwbq1t"></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bDFJoo"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa edvONh body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><p>And what uld you even ll him?</p><p>“Wh Barbie [ was] clear what was offensive wh the curvier doll vers what wasn’t,” says Michelle Chidoni, a polished, ftly amiable executive om the global brand munitns partment. We are stg a pac nference room surround by Barbi fashns so cuttg-edge that to scribe them would be illegal. But I will reveal to the rear that a great multu of the outfs are both fabulo and fun. “People [ foc groups] didn’t want to be lled ‘pl-size.’ ‘Curvy’ was the clear wner. [But] where ‘curvy’ the female world of fashn has bee somethg that’s sirable and sexy and posive, the men’s fashn world has not gone there yet.”</p><p>Mattel’s nstant aim when scribg body typ is to unearth a marketg term wh “a ntral-to-posive associatn.” They don’t always fd on the first try. Or send. Or third. Inially, their attempt to repture the proud spir of “curvy” for a male doll, the Barbie team borrowed a word om the boys’ clothg dtry: “hky.” Foc-group reactns were disastro.</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-5 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p>“‘Hky’ jt turned off every guy we talked to,” says Chidoni, shakg her head. “A lot were really trmatized by that—as a child, shoppg a hky sectn.” “Athletic” was rejected on the notn that athlet n have vastly different body typ. “Brawny” didn’t fare much better. And so: “broad.”</p><p>But for all the adjective aga, a ctomer walkg through the toy aisle at Target won’t even see “broad” (or “slim,” or “origal”) on the dolls’ packagg; there will be nothg to signify that the dolls are different siz, except, of urse, the dolls themselv. The terms were veloped exprsly for Mattel’s announcement and to facilate onle shoppg. Also not listed anywhere on the packagg: the doll’s race.</p><hr/><div class="GenericCalloutWrapper-tojWn dxKJjl llout--has-top-borr" data-ttid="GenericCallout"><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="Image may nta Doll and Toy" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure></div><p class="has-dropp">Now that we are a natn of woke ba and Tmp supporters, may feel like Barbie waed too long (or way, way too long) to make a ncerted effort at diversy. Rell, however, that the predomantly whe brand has fallen out of favor only recently. Until a uple years ago, Barbie’s sal had been on a general cle sce her but 1959 to an 85 percent whe Uned Stat. On a grand sle, the revamp is occurrg on schle: More than half of Amerin children are expected to be part of a mory race or ethnic group by 2020, acrdg to the Cens Bure. Mattel is changg s standard pictn of the all-Amerin male jt as be fislly wise to do so: as Ameri tips over to a untry of Dad-Neighbor-Boyiends who are ambiguoly diverse race, tra, and fashn. Whatever this is—the dream of the enlightened man or perhaps even jt the dream of a man who seems Brazilian—isn’t such a bad thg to propagate.</p><p>To watch the signers rponsible for givg Ken fac (and rac) at work, I am rted (by no ls than four people—all of whom uld outn me should I make a break for the secret room where Mattel shrks down human women to Barbie siz) to the largt area the sign center, a vast utilarian atelier l wh a batn of skylights and fluorcent tub and divid to a maze of cubicl and open-air worktabl. One such table is lan wh metal stands, on which several dozen pated doll heads of var shap, exprsns, lors, and hairstyl are impaled on spik—an admonory display of ntemptible traors om Tudor England’s hottt town.</p><p>Ken’s body is ma of acrylonrile butadiene styrene plastic—the same sturdy material on the si of most reigerators. The new crop of Kens will feature seven new sk ton (pl ne hairstyl and heads—“face sculpts” pany jargon). If a 3-year-old girl has a biracial black and Lato father, Mattel wants to make easier for her (or her parents) to fd and purchase a rrpondg Ken. But “biracial black and Lato” n manift self humans numerable shas and is jt one possible racial batn.</p><p>“The lors aren’t signed for each specific doll,” Barbie sign VP Kim Culmone tells me her once when I ask how her team term which seven sk shas are worthy of a global dience. (Sce 1982, Mattel has perdilly released non-whe versns of some existent Kens, but the pany would not say which.) “They’re almost signed like a patg palette. So rather than sayg, ‘This doll is Asian and now I’m pickg his sk tone,’ ’s makg sure we have a variety of light sk ton that st a ltle b yellow. Some that may st a ltle pker. Then movg to mid-range and gog all the way to dark.”</p><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image"><noscript><img alt="Image may nta Human Person Clothg Apparel Footwear Shoe Advertisement Collage Poster and Kev Thorn" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div></figure><p>Sk lor, of urse, is jt one ditor of racial phenotype. There’s also hair. Face shape. Nose and ey and lips. Bee is cheaper and easier to form to trite short hairstyl, like rnrows, the new Kens all have mold hair—hair patterns cut directly to the plastic of their head and pated—rather than the shy plastic fibers that Barbie swgs around so luxurly. (Barbie’s hair is ma of the same stuff as Saran Wrap.) Although Ken’s hollow head is rotost as a sgle piece of plastic, hair and face sculpts n be paired up and swched around any batn.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan full-bleed-ad row-mid-ntent-ad"><div class="StickyMidContentAdWrapper-fSBzwl drzyIa ad-stickymidntent"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--mid-ntent should-hold-space"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--mid-ntent" data-no-id="12y3s"></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bDFJoo"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa edvONh body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><p>“For an Ain-Amerin face sculpt,” signer Bill Greeng explas, “the nose is flatter, wir. But we’ve done more blend rac. So even if you have, say, an Ain-Amerin-shaped nose, we might do a Csian sk tone bee we know that there are mixed rac. You fely still have blond-haired, blue-eyed Ken, and you still have an Ain-Amerin Ken, but there are some that uld be: Is he Lato? Is he Middle Eastern?”</p><p>“[Some of the Fashnista Kens] are a ltle b ethnilly ambiguo, and that’s kd of the pot,” says Chidoni. “The pat is where you get the shape of the ey and the shape of the lips, so that really not racial cu as well. You uld have an Origal Ken sculpt and pat differently and get a really different look.”</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-6 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p>The goals of Mattel’s new Ken exercise are lofty—even if they stem om the adult play pattern of creasg prof margs. It’s hard not to feel hopeful about the effects on kids’ self-teem if stead of beg tght om an early age that people who look like them are ls important, the msage is that they, too, are good enough to be the ma attractn. (For the same reason, Fashnista Barbie and Ken retail for the same price—so neher is more valuable than the other.) But even now, there are lims to Mattel’s willgns to impose diversy. A major stickg pot is non-doll Barbie ntent like vios and books, which Ken and Barbie will ntue to be picted as what the pany lls “the inic characters”—meang the svelte blond, blue-eyed versns. This would appear to unrcut much of the work done by llg everyone, of every shape and lor, “Barbie” or “Ken” doll form. It will certaly tt the lims of 3-year-olds’ abili to prehend the Barbie multiverse hypothis.</p><p>Fundamentally, dolls are for kids who know very ltle about society—s norms and s flaws. And so ’s certaly possible that the tangibl—the sk pigments, the love handl, the vic bate surroundg packagg-appropriate marketg terms—matter more to parents than to children, who are already makg an sane logil leap by pretendg a ty man wh plastic hair is engaged a fulfillg romantic relatnship wh a partially topls mermaid. In the long n, Fashnista Kens may be most valuable their functn as time psul, prervg plastic amber not jt clothg and bety ials but also what’s important to this generatn of Amerin parents: rejectg elism, embracg a wir variety of rac and body typ, puttg one’s hair a ol bun. Mattel knows that, ultimately, don’t matter if children are ntent to play God wh any small humanoid figure; they’re signg kids’ toys for adults. Adults are the on wh cred rds, after all. You’ve got to give them what they want. And what is that the Uned Stat of 2017? A thickset myopic Asian Ken.</p><p><strong>Cay Weaver</strong> <em>is a</em> GQ <em>wrer and edor.</em></p><p><em>This story origally appeared the July 2017 issue wh the tle “Y, We Ken.”</em></p></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan full-bleed-ad row-mid-ntent-ad"><div class="StickyMidContentAdWrapper-fSBzwl drzyIa ad-stickymidntent"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--mid-ntent should-hold-space"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--mid-ntent" data-no-id="3gp0rs"></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bDFJoo"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa edvONh body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><hr/><div role="headg" aria-level="6" class="headg-h6">Watch Now:</div><div role="headg" aria-level="4" class="headg-h4">There’s a Ken Doll For Everyone Now</div><figure class="CneVioEmbedFigure-kCfJjN hdJOda e-vio-embed"><div data-ttid="script-ntaer"></div></figure></div></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 PaywallInleBarrierWhWrapperGrid-fyrGfS jyGBoi"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="body body__le-barrier article__body article__body--grid-margs"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"><asi class="PaywallInleBarrierWrapper-iBnuqk lfXXa-D" data-ttid="PaywallInleBarrierWrapper"><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--paywall-le-barrier" role="prentatn" aria-live="pole" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--paywall-le-barrier"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></asi></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 ContentWrapperGrid-fvkmBv jfHKjr"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="body body__ntaer"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"></div></div></div></div></div></div></article><div class="ContentFooterWrapper-jVNdRG dTJkpP ArticlePageContentFooterGrid-ccsXYy eMZRHU article-body__footer"><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"></div></div></div><div data-ttid="ContentFooterBottom" class="ContentFooterBottom-jwWZfC kcbyiW"><div class="ntent-bottom-anchor"></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--article-footer" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--article-footer"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div><div data-attr-viewport-monor="" class="recirc-list-wrapper viewport-monor-anchor"><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><asi class="RecircListTextOverlayWrapper-EAayj ikNPKA ContentFooterRelated-kEBiFe kVUuwq"><div class="recirc-list__ntaer"><hear class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ RecircListTextOverlayHeadg-icEzDE iUEiRd fWXTnu iCFeNq">Read More</hear><ul class="RecircListTextOverlayItems-kknlpG lpbERO recirc-list__ems hi-read-more-ad"><li class="RecircListTextOverlayItem-dLTGJZ DRac"><a class="OverlaySummaryItemWrapper-jydJgB eInHsS summary-em-trackg__image-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-1" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href="><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset OverlaySummaryItemRponsiveAsset-gAMhYK cOqLsu"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa OverlaySummaryItemRponsiveAsset-gAMhYK cOqLsu rponsive-image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz jgsWEn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><img alt="How Black Women Rappers Expand What Barbie Could Be" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></div></div></picture></span><div class="OverlaySummaryItemContent-ddGOWz fHZSgO"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX hXmUmf bric bric--wh-bg BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ OverlaySummaryItemRubric-bFqsqT iUEiRd bGlCJj cvqxGA"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Culture</span></div><div data-ttid="ClampWrapper" class="ClampWrapper-kZxfkB hTTNGO clamp"><div class="ClampContent-hilPkr jVhSBH"><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ OverlaySummaryItemHed-cljMtD iUEiRd hNEuYK cRpZRn">How Black Women Rappers Expand What Barbie Could Be</div></div></div><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl OverlaySummaryItemByl-bogcUE fjwtNK"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH bfGBQB byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd dlWgVJ gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Heven Haile</span></span></p></div></div></a></li><li class="RecircListTextOverlayItem-dLTGJZ DRac"><a class="OverlaySummaryItemWrapper-jydJgB eInHsS summary-em-trackg__image-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-2" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href="><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset OverlaySummaryItemRponsiveAsset-gAMhYK cOqLsu"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa OverlaySummaryItemRponsiveAsset-gAMhYK cOqLsu rponsive-image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz jgsWEn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><img alt="How Greta Gerwig Reptured Old Hollywood Technilor Magic for Barbie" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></div></div></picture></span><div class="OverlaySummaryItemContent-ddGOWz fHZSgO"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX hXmUmf bric bric--wh-bg BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ OverlaySummaryItemRubric-bFqsqT iUEiRd bGlCJj cvqxGA"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Culture</span></div><div data-ttid="ClampWrapper" class="ClampWrapper-kZxfkB hTTNGO clamp"><div class="ClampContent-hilPkr jVhSBH"><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ OverlaySummaryItemHed-cljMtD iUEiRd hNEuYK cRpZRn">How Greta Gerwig Reptured Old Hollywood Technilor Magic for <em>Barbie</em></div></div></div><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl OverlaySummaryItemByl-bogcUE fjwtNK"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH bfGBQB byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd dlWgVJ gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Charl Bram</span></span></p></div></div></a></li><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--read-more"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--read-more" data-no-id="5cdd"></div></div><li class="RecircListTextOverlayItem-dLTGJZ DRac"><a class="OverlaySummaryItemWrapper-jydJgB eInHsS summary-em-trackg__image-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-3" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href="><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset OverlaySummaryItemRponsiveAsset-gAMhYK cOqLsu"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa OverlaySummaryItemRponsiveAsset-gAMhYK cOqLsu rponsive-image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz jgsWEn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><img alt="Oppenheimer’s Costume Digner Lov All of Your Barbenheimer Outfs" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></div></div></picture></span><div class="OverlaySummaryItemContent-ddGOWz fHZSgO"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX hXmUmf bric bric--wh-bg BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ OverlaySummaryItemRubric-bFqsqT iUEiRd bGlCJj cvqxGA"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Style</span></div><div data-ttid="ClampWrapper" class="ClampWrapper-kZxfkB hTTNGO clamp"><div class="ClampContent-hilPkr jVhSBH"><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ OverlaySummaryItemHed-cljMtD iUEiRd hNEuYK cRpZRn"><em>Oppenheimer</em>’s Costume Digner Lov All of Your Barbenheimer Outfs</div></div></div><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl OverlaySummaryItemByl-bogcUE fjwtNK"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH bfGBQB byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd dlWgVJ gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Eileen Cartter</span></span></p></div></div></a></li><li class="RecircListTextOverlayItem-dLTGJZ DRac"><a class="OverlaySummaryItemWrapper-jydJgB eInHsS summary-em-trackg__image-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-4" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href="><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset OverlaySummaryItemRponsiveAsset-gAMhYK cOqLsu"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa OverlaySummaryItemRponsiveAsset-gAMhYK cOqLsu rponsive-image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz jgsWEn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 800w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 800w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="Michael Cera Breaks Down His 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