The First Openly Gay Doll (for everyone) Was a Trailblazer Toy
Contents:
- WHAT ABOUT GAY BOB?
- LGBT FLASHBACK 1997 – THE BILLY DOLL: THE WORLDS FIRST ANATOMILLY CORRECT GAY DOLL
- GAY BILLY DOLL - 2021 NEW EDN TOTEM ENTERTAER BILLY DOLL
WHAT ABOUT GAY BOB?
* the gay billy doll *
In 1977, Gay Bob me out of the closet. Thirteen ch tall and plastic, Gay Bob was marketed as the first openly gay doll and ma his retail but mail-orr talogs.
Gay Bob's packagg proudly (and wordily) explaed what “g out of the closet” meant:. "Hi boys, girls and grownups, I’m Gay Bob, the world’s first gay doll.
Gay people are no different than straight people. But remember, if Gay Bob has the urage to e out of his closet, so n you!
LGBT FLASHBACK 1997 – THE BILLY DOLL: THE WORLDS FIRST ANATOMILLY CORRECT GAY DOLL
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.
Gay Bob’s story is ceptively plited and tertwed toy and LGBTQ+ history. The Creator - Who Ma Gay Bob? Gay Bob was created by an advertisg executive named Harvey Rosenberg.
Rosenberg put $10, 000 of his own money to gettg Gay Bob manufactured through his pany, Gizmo Development. 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.
GAY BILLY DOLL - 2021 NEW EDN TOTEM ENTERTAER BILLY DOLL
While Rosenberg did not intify as gay, he stated that he had created the doll to liberate men om tradnal sexual rol. Acrdg to Rosenberg, regardls of a person’s sexualy, Gay Bob uld serve as an example for havg the urage to “e out of the closet” and be your te, thentic self.
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 plans to release addnal dolls that would have ma up the rt of Gay Bob’s fay (a mother, father, and two brothers); however, the other dolls were never produced.
Gay Bob dolls were sold via mail-orr advertisements gay magaz and a few boutique shops New York Cy and San Francis. Consequently, ten thoand more dolls were produced, and Gay Bob was btowed wh Esquire magaze's "Dub Achievement Award" 1978.