LGBT Flashback 1997 - The Billy Doll: The Worlds First Anatomilly Correct Gay Doll

Contents:

• WHAT ABOUT GAY BOB?
• MEET GAY BOB, THE 1977 DOLL THAT URGED PEOPLE TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET
• HOW GAY BOB, THE WORLD’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DOLL, CAME TO BE
• OUT AND PROUD: GAY BOB DOLLS AND THEIR PLACE HISTORY
• REMEMBERG BOB, THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY DOLL, WHO WANTED TO BE A HERO
• GAY BOB AND EARRG MAGIC KEN: A SHORT HISTORY OF GAY DOLLS
• LGBT FLASHBACK 1997 – THE BILLY DOLL: THE WORLDS FIRST ANATOMILLY CORRECT GAY DOLL
• TOM HOLLAND’S GAY SEX SCENE SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ALIGHT AFTER THE ACTOR SAID PLAYG THE ROLE ‘BROKE HIM’

WHAT ABOUT GAY BOB?

At face value, Gay Bob’s msage about the mers of g out seems earnt, pog the valu of urage, honty, and livg thentilly; however, the brandg and sign of the Gay Bob doll are brash. We had somethg to learn om the gay movement, jt like we did om the black civil rights movement, and the women’s movement and that is havg the urage to stand up and say, ‘I have a right to be what I am.

Durg a prs blz for the doll’s release, Rosenberg also dited that Gay Bob was a spoof of other “amorpho, sexls dolls, ” which was undoubtedly a reference to Mattel’s KenTM and BarbieTM. He had a preprogrammed voice rerdg that played the earnt msage, “Gay people are no different than straight people… if everyone me ‘out of their closets, ’ there wouldn’t be so many angry, trated, ightened people. ” This reerated msagg om his fashn talog that fed “g out of the closet” as what uld be scribed as Gay Bob’s manifto—be urageo by g out of your closet and livg hontly, like Gay Bob!

MEET GAY BOB, THE 1977 DOLL THAT URGED PEOPLE TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET

But Gay Bob was more than jt clever packagg; he also promoted the ia that g out of the closet, beg open and hont wh the people your life, was a powerful and urageo act. Gay Rights and Gay Inty had entered more mon areas the cultural nversatn, but LGBTQ+ people were still discrimated agast, stigmatized, and legislated agast on large and small sl.

At the same time Gay Bob h the mail-orr adult-centric talogs (and a uple of biastal boutique shelv) sger and anti-gay rights activist Ana Bryant found Save Our Children, Inc, which opposed the gay rights movement. Rowe lled the Gay Bob dolls, “evince of the speratn of the homosexual mpaign has reached s effort to put the homosexual liftyle, which is a athstyle, across to the Amerin people.

That changed 1997 wh Totem Internatnal’s troductn of the Billy doll who claimed to be the first “Out and Proud Gay Doll”—although that distctn clearly belongs to Gay Bob. While fans celebrated the cln of Mamie and Lyte as reprentatn and clivy, also led to homophobic backlash straight out of Ana Bryant’s book several s after Save the Children began. It would be easy to look at the story of Gay Bob and thk was simply a novelty em that got ught up the polics of the time for a brief moment and is now largely fotten.

HOW GAY BOB, THE WORLD’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DOLL, CAME TO BE

Enraged nsumers plaed that a toy wh a homosexual backstory would lead to other ”disgtg” dolls like “Priscilla the Prostute” and “Danny the Dope Pher.” Esquire award Gay Bob s “Dub Achievement Award.” And anti-gay anizatns across the Uned Stat bltered.

The doll’s creator, Harvey Rosenberg, a former advertisg executive who veloped marketg mpaigns for var rporatns, wanted Gay Bob to “liberate” men om “tradnal sexual rol.” He created the doll soon after a seri of shocks rocked his life: quick succsn, his marriage fell apart and his mother beme serly ill.

OUT AND PROUD: GAY BOB DOLLS AND THEIR PLACE HISTORY

Though Gay Bob was certaly humoro—the doll was signed to be anatomilly rrect, and proment gay activists such as Bce Voeller told reporters that people should “al wh [the doll] lightly and enjoy ”—Rosenberg’s tentns seem to have been scere. When asked why he would pour $10,000 of his money to the Gay Bob’s productn, he replied, “we had somethg to learn om the gay movement, jt like we did om the black civil rights movement and the women’s movement, and that is havg the urage to stand up and say ‘I have a right to be what I am.’”.

When Gay Bob h stor 1978, that right to be gay and equal was once aga unr attack, most notably om Ana Bryant, a sger and well-known brand ambassador who mobilized opposn to a Da County, Florida ordance that outlawed discrimatn on the basis of sexual orientatn. “They will e money, dgs, alhol, any means to get what they want.” In June 1977, she had the le repealed, and her anti-gay csa—which gaed wispread media attentn—sparked siar ventur Mnota, Oregon, Kansas, and California.

REMEMBERG BOB, THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY DOLL, WHO WANTED TO BE A HERO

And, turns out, those nsumers who feared the troductn of more “disgtg” dolls were partially rrect—Rosenberg soon gave Gay Bob a fay of his own, wh brothers Marty Macho, Executive Eddie, Anx Al, and Straight Steve (who lived the suburbs and wore blue sus), and sisters Fashnable Fran, Liberated Libby, and Nervo Nelly. Jun 12, 2020Failed to save articlePlease try agaThis article is more than 3 years 1860s Germany, Karl Herich Ulrichs urged other gay people to publicly reveal their sexual orientatn.

Digned to look like a batn of Pl Newman and Robert Redford and packed to his own rdboard closet, Gay Bob was the brachild of former advertisg executive Harvey Rosenberg. In an terview to promote Gay Bob, Rosenberg once said, “Bob’s perfect for an executive’s sk, dash board ornament, the attache se, the bathtub rim, a health club gym bag.

GAY BOB AND EARRG MAGIC KEN: A SHORT HISTORY OF GAY DOLLS

Edward Rowe, the executive director of Protect Ameri’s Children, was quoted a 1978 issue of the Ptsburgh Post-Gazette scribg Gay Bob as “another evince of the speratn the homosexual mpaign has reached s effort to put homosexual liftyle, which is a ath style, across to the Amerin people. Acrdg to the anti-gay lobby group Protect Ameri’s Children, Bob was “evince of the speratn the homosexual mpaign has reached s effort to put the homosexual liftyle across to the Amerin people. ” Funny enough, Bob’s “g out” party cid directly wh the righteo prence of the “Save Our Children” mpaign, a movement led by sger and polil activist, Ana Bryant, that manufactured an atmosphere of hatred on the basis that gay people were recg children.

“I thk every gay man was aware of Gay Bob, ” says Chris Byrne, a 30-year-pl veteran of the toy dtry, thor of five books on toy history, and a featured expert on Netflix’s h documentary, The Toys That Ma Us. The fal mol of the doll effectively exaggerated that penis, turng to both a parative crique of “real men” as well as an unmistakably unfortable jab at anti-gay activists. Gay Bob, as he was dubbed, wore tight jeans and wboy boots, and was by no means your average Ken (he sported a ltle extra, if you tch our drift), so his mere existence was a bold statement a world not yet ready to accept the LGBTQ+ muny.

LGBT FLASHBACK 1997 – THE BILLY DOLL: THE WORLDS FIRST ANATOMILLY CORRECT GAY DOLL

Dpe beg somewhat tongue--cheek both name and sign—and spe beg wily cricized and eher rejected or banned by most retailers—Gay Bob did mark a step forward visibily and acceptance for the gay populatn, offerg a glimmer of hope for those fightg for equal rights and reprentatn 1970s Ameri. In June 1970, on the anniversary of the Stonewall rts, the first gay pri para was held several Amerin ci, wh participants marchg to memorate the events of the prev year and to ll for equal rights and regnn. In July 1974, the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn voted to remove homosexualy om the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs, a major step toward stigmatizg homosexualy.

Durg the 1970s, sodomy laws, which crimalized homosexualy, were still place many Amerin stat; Harvey Milk was assassated jt one year after beg elected; and 1977, the Save Our Children mpaign, led by Christian pop sger Ana Bryant, succsfully repealed a newly enacted ordance Da County, Florida, that prohibed discrimatn based on sexual orientatn.

TOM HOLLAND’S GAY SEX SCENE SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ALIGHT AFTER THE ACTOR SAID PLAYG THE ROLE ‘BROKE HIM’

So, he broke ti wh all the rporatns he had prevly worked wh and vted $10, 000 of his own money (equivalent to about $50, 000 today) to fund the velopment of the Gay Bob doll, which he knew would be a dissent act. When asked about the fancial grounds unrpng this cisn, he supposedly said nothg of the market at all, but simply replied wh, “I’m not gay, but we had somethg to learn om the gay movement, jt like we did om the black civil rights movement, and the women’s movement—and that is havg the urage to stand up and say, ‘I have a right to be what I am.

An expensively ma doll, Gay Bob was packaged que genly—his box was signed to look like a closet, featurg an illtrated wardrobe on the si, and a simulated closet door on the outsi. Wh a pact, mcular stature of 13 ch (33 cm) and a price range of $15 to $20, Gay Bob was envisned as a blend of the dashg charm of Pl Newman and the sophistited elegance of Robert Redford.

Wh his well-groomed, short and feathery blon hair, the gold cha around his neck and a sgle pierced ear wh a blue earrg, he embodied a nfint and stylish appearance, oozg wh mascule energy while nveyg the bold and adventuro spir of the ntemporary homosexual liftyle. A host of other accsori and outfs were further scribed the acpanyg fashn talog, showsg Gay Bob’s wi range of styl, om the adventuro and gged “Gay Mounta Climber” ensemble to the preppy “Gay Polo Club Member” attire to the laid-back “Gay Suburbane” and “Gay Farmer” looks. On the pl si, Gay Bob earned himself an explic reference Frank Zappa’s 1979 three-part rock opera, Joe’s Garage, more particularly the first scene of Act II, “The Closet.