How Gay Bob, the World's First Openly Gay Doll, Came to Be

Contents:

• THE STORY BEHD GAY BOB, THE WORLD’S FIRST OUT-AND-PROUD DOLL
• GAY BOB ANATOMILLY RRECT ACTN FIGURE
• HOW GAY BOB, THE WORLD’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DOLL, CAME TO BE
• WHAT ABOUT GAY BOB?

THE STORY BEHD GAY BOB, THE WORLD’S FIRST OUT-AND-PROUD DOLL

“It’s another evince of the speratn the homosexual mpaign has reached s effort to put homosexual liftyle, which is a athstyle, across to the Amerin people. That year, the release of Gay Bob, billed as the world’s first openly gay doll, ed a mor sensatn. 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.

GAY BOB ANATOMILLY RRECT ACTN FIGURE

” Esquire award Gay Bob s “Dub Achievement Award. ” And anti-gay anizatns across the Uned Stat bltered.

Gay Bob, who was meant to remble a cross between Robert Redford and Pl Newman, was blond, wh a flannel shirt, tight jeans, and one pierced ear. The doll gave anti-gay anizatns plenty to fear; trsic wh was a celebratn of gay inty, evinced by Gay Bob’s programmed speech.

“Gay people, ” Bob said, “are no different than straight people… if everyone me ‘out of their closets’ there wouldn’t be so many angry, trated, ightened people. In a cheeky move, the box which Gay Bob was packaged me the outle of a closet, so that when he left his box, he was lerally g out of the closet. Gay Bob explaed: “It’s not easy to be hont about what you are — fact tak a great al of urage… But remember if Gay Bob has the urage to e out his closet, so n you.

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

A 1978 magaze advertisement for the Gay Bob doll. 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. 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. “Homosexuals will rec our children, ” she warned.

” 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. Gay Bob, which sold 2, 000 pi s first two months, appeared the heat of the polil battl.

WHAT ABOUT GAY BOB?

Inially sold through mail-orr ads gay-themed magaz, Gay Bob soon expand to boutique stor New York and San Francis. 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.

The MTV h spired Livg Dolls to produce a special le of real-life mart, cludg everyone's favore gay bass sger, Lance Bass. Let's face , Apollo may be jt as gay but he's only half as ol. Dark Wch Willow actn figureIf you want to hunt down a figure of Willow, everyone's favore Buffyverse lbian, you may as well go wh this Cequt exclive Dark Wch Willow, sce she was the first gay pictn of the character on the show.