What About Gay Bob? | Natural History Mm

Contents:

• WHAT ABOUT GAY BOB?
• DEFINITIONS FOR GAY BOBGAY BOB
• GAY BOB
• WHAT IS "GAY BOB"
• GAYBOB
• GAY BOB ED MEANG
• POWER FNS OF GAY BOB

WHAT ABOUT GAY BOB?

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.

DEFINITIONS FOR GAY BOBGAY BOB

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! 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.

GAY BOB

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.

WHAT IS "GAY BOB"

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.

GAYBOB

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.

Standg roughly 13 ch tall, Gay Bob was KenTM doll-que.

A handsome and mascule doll, Gay Bob had a short feathery blon crew cut and was signed to look like a cross between Pl Newman and Robert Redford.

GAY BOB ED MEANG

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! Perhaps most notably the sign of Gay Bob is that he has anatomilly rrect genals.

Gay Bob’s box was signed to look like a closet.

POWER FNS OF GAY BOB

When Gay Bob was removed om the slidg se packagg, he was, effect, g out of the closet. Gay Bob was, acrdg to Rosenberg himself, a “cheaply” ma doll, packaged cleverly. It's safe to say that Gay Bob's sign was over the top-- 's mp.

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. How was Gay Bob received? “It’s a real giggle and kd of fun, ” said Bce Voeller, executive director of the Natnal Gay Task Force said at the time, “I thk we should al wh lightly and enjoy .