The te story of Mattel accintally releasg a super gay Ken doll

gay ken doll wedding set

or nearly 60 years Barbie and Ken—the dolls produced by Mattel—have been a pair. But a gay uple is meetg wh Mattel the hop of changg that. After they plaed about a lack of “diversy” to Mattel, they secured a meetg wh the toymakers the hop of helpg them expand their doll le.

Contents:

BARBIE’S WEIRDO DOLLS: ALL ABOUT MIDGE, EARRG MAGIC KEN, AND MOREGRETA GERWIG’S MOVIE CLUS WKY MEOS OM SOME OF MATTEL’S MOST FAMO DISNTUED PRODUCTS—AND AT LEAST ONE THAT’S STILL AVAILABLE STOR.BY HILLARY BISJULY 21, 2023COURTY OF MATTEL INC.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEALAS, YOU NNOT BUY A WEIRD BARBIE DOLL WHO LOOKS LIKE KATE MCKNON—YOU’LL JT HAVE TO CHOP OFF A REGULAR DOLL’S HAIR AND SCRIBBLE ON HER FACE YOURSELF. BUT YOU N BUY A VERSN OF THE POOPG BARBIE DOG THAT WEIRD BARBIE LIV WH GRETA GERWIG’S BARBIE. THE PLASTIC PET PACKAGED WH A BARBIE WEARG A STRIPED SWEATER AND SPORTY SNEAKERS; S OFFICIALLY SANCTNED NAME IS THE BARBIE WALK AND POTTY PUP. “WHEN ’S TIME FOR A POTTY BREAK, PH ON THE PUPPY’S TAIL,” THE AD PY READS. “BARBIE DOLL N CLEAN UP G THE BROOM AND SOPER.” CONGRATULATNS, KID. HERE’S A PILE OF CRAP!BARBIE IS A MERCHANDISER’S DREAM, A GENERALLY WELL-RECEIVED, ENARGLY SUBVERSIVE PRODUCT THAT’S STILL, AT HEART, A GLORIFIED TWO-HOUR TOY MERCIAL. BUT TO THE FILM’S CRED, DON’T SHY AWAY OM REFERENCG SOME OF MATTEL’S ODR OFFERGS. ACRDG TO A NEW YORKER ARTICLE, THE FETG DOG IS ACTUALLY BASED ON TANNER, A BARBIE ACCSORY OM THE GHTS THAT ATE S OWN POOP—Y!—AND WAS EVENTUALLY RELLED NOT FOR BEG DISGTG, BUT BEE THE MAG SI BARBIE’S POOPER SOPER ULD E LOOSE AND BE SWALLOWED BY A CHILD. (THE WALK AND POTTY PUP APPEARS TO BE SENTIALLY THE SAME TOY, M MAGS.) BELOW, WE TAKE STOCK OF MORE TOYS LIKE TANNER: THE REAL-LIFE WEIRD BARBI THAT DREW PLATS, RISN, AND CELEBRATN AS ACCINTAL GAY INS. PROT BARBIE IS NOT AMONG THEM—AT LEAST, NOT YET.COURTY OF MATTEL, INC.MIDGEEMERALD FENNELL HAS A GLORIFIED MEO BARBIE AS MIDGE, A REDHEAD DOLL WH A BUN THE OVEN. Y, THAT’S RIGHT: MIDGE IS PREGNANT. THAT DIFFERENTIAT THE MOVIE’S VERSN OF THE DOLL OM HER ORIGAL RNATN, LNCHED 1963 AS BARBIE’S MORE APPROACHABLE BT PAL. SHE WAS DISNTUED 1967, THEN RETRODUCED 1987, AGA THE ’90S, AND, MOST FAMOLY, ONE MORE TIME THE GHTS, AS PART OF THE “HAPPY FAY” SET—WHICH GAVE MIDGE A TY DOLL BABY THAT ULD BE PLACED EHER A BULGG STOMACH (WHICH GIRLS ULD MAGILLY ATTACH AND TACH OM MIDGE’S MIDDLE) OR “BORN” OUT OF THAT SAME PLASTIC DOME. HER HBAND AND THREE-YEAR-OLD SON WERE SOLD SEPARATELY.GGER GAETZ, WIFE OF MATT, ANNOUNCED TUDAY THAT SHE HAD SEEN THE BARBIE MOVIE, AND WAS DISAPPOTED BY PART DUE TO THE FILM’S “UNFAIR TREATMENT OF PREGNANT BARBIE MIDGE.” IRONIC, SCE NSERVATIVE IRE WAS STMENTAL GETTG HAPPY FAY MIDGE NCELED. “IT’S A BAD IA. IT PROMOT TEENAGE PREGNANCY. WHAT WOULD AN 8-YEAR-OLD OR 12-YEAR-OLD GET OUT OF THAT DOLL BABY?” ONE MOTHER ASKED THE ASSOCIATED PRS 2002. THE DOLL WAS PULLED OM WAL-MART DUE TO PLATS; JT AS NARRATOR HELEN MIRREN TELLS BARBIE, SHE WAS EVENTUALLY AXED OM THE MATTEL LP ALTOGETHER FOR BEG “TOO WEIRD.” BUT PERHAPS MIDGE GETS THE LAST LGH: ACRDG TO AT LEAST ONE LLECTOR, SHE’S NOW WORTH UP TO $400 MT NDN.COURTY OF MATTEL, INC.ALLANREMEMBER HOW MIDGE HAD A HBAND? THAT WOULD BE ALLAN, PLAYED THE MOVIE BY A VERY GAME MICHAEL CERA. ORIGALLY TRODUCED 1964, HE WAS CREATED TO BE KEN’S BT BUDDY. (BARBIE WAS NAMED FOR CREATOR RUTH HANDLER’S DGHTER, AND KEN FOR HER SON; ALLAN WAS NAMED FOR HER THEN-SON--LAW, ALLEN SEGAL.) KEN AND ALLAN ARE VERY CLOSE; AS CERA TELLS THE MOVIE, “ALL HIS CLOTH F ME” (A LE STRAIGHT OUT OF THE MERCIALS). LIKE MIDGE, ALLAN’S BEEN AND OUT OF THE BARBIE UNIVERSE FOR NEARLY 60 YEARS—MOSTLY OUT. MATTEL HASN’T YET RELEASED AN ALLAN BARBIE TIE- DOLL, BUT GIVEN HOW FUNNY CERA IS THE FILM, THEY REALLY SHOULD.MOST POPULARRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHBILL MAHER BEEFS WH “PREACHY, MAN-HATG” BARBIE MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHJAMIE LEE CURTIS DIGS HERSELF OUT OF COMMENTS ABOUT SAG-AFTRA STRIKEBY EVE BATEYCOURTY OF MATTEL, INC.VIO GIRL BARBIEDEEP WH WEIRD BARBIE’S GONZO DREAMHOE LURKS VIO GIRL BARBIE (METTE NARRATIVE), WHO LOOKS LIKE AN ODDY OM THE 90S BUT WAS ACTUALLY TRODUCED JT 13 YEARS AGO. AS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WROTE AT THE TIME, VIO GIRL “HAS A GAPG HOLE HER CHT, DISGUISED AS A FASHN PENDANT, THAT NTAS A MERA LENS.” IT’S NNECTED TO THE VIO SCREEN EMBEDD TO HER BACK. THE IA WAS THAT GIRLS ULD E THE DOLLS TO RERD AND PLAY THEIR OWN HOME MOVI. (THIS WAS 2010, REMEMBER, YEARS BEFORE WAS POSSIBLE TO SHOOT A WELL-RECEIVED DIE MOVIE ENTIRELY ON AN IPHONE.) WH THE PACY TO PTURE ABOUT 25 MUT OF FOOTAGE, USB PATIBILY, AND EE EDG SOFTWARE, YOU N IMAGE THE DOLL BEG A H WH FUTURE GRETA GERWIGS. INSTEAD, VIO GIRL WAS CENSURED BY—AND THIS IS TE—THE FBI, WHICH ISSUED AN ADVISORY SAYG THAT THE DOLL ULD POTENTIALLY BE ED TO RERD CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. PERHAPS NEEDLS TO SAY, MATTEL NO LONGER SELLS VIO GIRL BARBIE.COURTY OF MATTEL, INC.GROWG UP SKIPPERANOTHER ONE OM THE BAD IA FIL, THIS DOLL—ALSO BANISHED TO WEIRD BARBIE’S HOE OF NIGHTMAR THE FILM, WHERE SHE’S PLAYED BY HANNAH KHALIQUE-BROWN—IS THE VERSN OF BARBIE’S LTLE SISTER RELEASED 1975 THAT “GROWS AS HER FIGURE MATUR.” MEANG WHEN YOU TURN HER ARM, SHE GETS TALLER…AND HER BOOBS SWELL. NOPE!MOST POPULARRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHBILL MAHER BEEFS WH “PREACHY, MAN-HATG” BARBIE MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHJAMIE LEE CURTIS DIGS HERSELF OUT OF COMMENTS ABOUT SAG-AFTRA STRIKEBY EVE BATEYCOURTY OF MATTEL, INC.TEEN TALK BARBIERELEASED 1992 (AND PLAYED ONSCREEN BY MARISA ABELA), TEEN TALK BARBIE HAD A VOICE BOX THAT SHE ED TO SAY THGS LIKE “LET’S PLAN OUR DREAM WEDDG!” AND “MATH CLASS IS TOUGH!” FEMISTS RAILED AT THE DOLL, SPIRG A CLASSIC EPISO OF THE SIMPSONS THAT READS SORT OF LIKE A FIRST DRAFT FOR GERWIG’S BARBIE MOVIE.COURTY OF MATTEL, INC.EARRG MAGIC KENWHEN BARBIE (MARGOT ROBBIE) AND KEN (RYAN GOSLG) ROLLERBLA TO VENICE BEACH, KEN MOMENTARILY FDS HIMSELF RECEIVG APPRECIATIVE GLANC OM TWO QUEER-D BYSTANRS. THOSE GUYS MAY HAVE BEEN EVEN MORE EXCED TO MEET ANOTHER WEIRD BARBIE PAL: EARRG MAGIC KEN (TOM STOURTON THE MOVIE), RELEASED 1993. HE WAS CLAD PURPLE LEATHER AND MH; HE HAD, OF URSE, A SGLE GLEAMG HOOP EARRG. MOST POPULARRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHBILL MAHER BEEFS WH “PREACHY, MAN-HATG” BARBIE MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHJAMIE LEE CURTIS DIGS HERSELF OUT OF COMMENTS ABOUT SAG-AFTRA STRIKEBY EVE BATEYHE WAS PART OF THE PANY’S NEW EARRG MAGIC LE, BUT IMMEDIATELY STOOD APART AFTER BEG UNOFFICIALLY ADOPTED BY THE GAY MUNY—NOT LEAST BEE OF THE STUNNG SILVER PENDANT HE WORE AROUND HIS NECK. (FANS LIKE SEX ADVICE LUMNIST DAN SAVAGE TERPRETED THE JEWELRY UH, DIFFERENTLY THAN MATTEL DID. “IT’S A NECKLACE. IT HOLDS CHARMS HE N SHARE WH BARBIE,” A SPOKWOMAN TOLD HIM AT THE TIME. “C’MON, THIS IS A DOLL SIGNED FOR LTLE GIRLS.”) HE WAS MEANT TO MAKE GIRLS THK KEN WAS OL. INSTEAD, HE GOT A BUNCH OF OL MEN TO THK KEN WAS OL, WHICH IS HONTLY A MORE IMPRSIVE ACHIEVEMENT.COURTY OF MATTEL, INC.SUGAR’S DADDY (OR IS IT SUGAR DADDY?) KENBY 2009—11 YEARS AFTER WILL & GRACE BUTED!—ONE MIGHT EXPECT MATTEL TO HAVE GROWN WISER TO THE WAYS S PRODUCTS WOULD BE TERPRETED BY ADULTS. THAT WAS THE YEAR THE PANY RELEASED SUGAR’S DADDY KEN (NOTE THE POSSSIVE NOUN!), PART OF S PALM BEACH LE OF TOYS AIMED AT GROWN-UP LLECTORS. SUGAR’S DADDY (PLAYED BY ROB BRYDON THE FILM) ME WH A WELL-TAILORED PAISLEY BLAZER, A SMART PAIR OF WHE LOAFERS, AND A TEENY WHE TERRIER ON A PK LEASH. THAT WOULD BE SUGAR. “THE LTLE DOG’S NAME IS ACTUALLY SUGAR,” A MATTEL SPOKWOMAN TOLD THE NEW YORK POST AT THE TIME. “THAT’S WHERE THE NAME OM. HE’S SUGAR’S DADDY, AS A REFERENCE TO THE DOG.” UH HUH. SPEAKG TO ABC NEWS, THE PANY SEEMED SLIGHTLY MORE SELF-AWARE. “AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS LLECTN IS TARGETED TOWARD ADULTS,” A SPOKWOMAN TOLD THE OUTLET. “WHILE THE NAME OF THE DOLL DO REFER BACK TO THE DOG, I THK PEOPLE ARE GOG TO TERPRET AS THEY WANT TO TERPRET .” SO THIS SE, AT LEAST, THE JOKE MAY HAVE BEEN ON THE RT OF .MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIRRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, INHERG GRACELAND, AND MORETE CRIME, TE FAH: THE SERIAL KILLER AND THE TEXAS MOM WHO STOPPED HIMCAN YOU NAME THE FILM THAT LNCHED BRIE LARSON, RAMI MALEK, AND MORE?THE ABSOLUTELY WILST DETAILS OF THE GOVERNMENT’S LATT INDICTMENT AGAST DONALD TMPIVANKA TMP IS NOT LETTG HER DAD’S MOUNTG LEGAL WO RU HER SUMMERINSI ETON COLLEGE, HARRY AND WILLIAM’S POSH ALMA MATERTHE 25 BT SHOWS ON NETFLIX TO WATCH RIGHT NOWFROM THE ARCHIVE: TOO HEPBURN FOR HOLLYWOOD (2006)HILLARY BIS

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 doll wedding set *

In the distant past of 1993, gay marriage wasn’t legal any state the untry. Sodomy laws all over Ameri attempted to outlaw gay sex by crimalizg any oral or anal erotic ntact. And Dan Savage, a sex-advice lumnist then only known to rears of a few pennt alt-newspapers around the untry, was pable of makg breakout news wh a sndalo revelatn: Mattel’s latt Ken doll, part of the Earrg Magic le of Barbie toys, was openly moled on gay fashn.

“For about a year every gay boy at a rave was wearg at least one, ” Savage wrote.

“What the ltle girls were seeg, and tellg Mattel was ol, wasn’t what their relatns were wearg — unls they had hip queer relativ — but the homoerotic fashns and imagery they were seeg on MTV, what they saw Madonna’s dancers wearg her ncerts and films and, as happens, what ACT UP/Queer Natn fags and dyk were wearg to mos and rav, ” Savage wrote. Earrg Magic Ken, released 1993, beme a cult em among gay men thanks to his pierced ear. ”Dependg on whom you ask, Ken may be the epome of emasculatn, an all-Amerin sex symbol, a femist fantasy or a gay in.

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

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 doll wedding set *

LGBTQ sex lumnist Dan Savage noted that Earrg Magic Ken’s wardrobe rembled outfs seen at gay rav a few years prr (leave to Ken to be jt behd the tim). And to many who’d seen the doll, the rg around his neck rembled a certa sex toy popular among straight and gay men alike.

Even though Mattel nied that he was signed wh gay men md, he was one of the few mastream toys at the time that stck a chord wh LGBTQ nsumers. ) Below, we take stock of more toys like Tanner: the real-life Weird Barbi that drew plats, risn, and celebratn as accintal gay ins.

MEET GAY BOB, THE OUT AND PROUD ANATOMILLY CORRECT DIS-ERA DOLL

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. * gay ken doll wedding set *

He was part of the pany’s new Earrg Magic le, but immediately stood apart after beg unofficially adopted by the gay muny—not least bee of the stunng silver pendant he wore around his neck.

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

MATTEL SCHL MEETG TO DISCS GAY WEDDG SETS FOR BARBIE DOLLS

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.

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.

GAY BARBIE? COUPLE PH FOR “DIVERSY” DOLL SETS

While many are qutng the sexual inty of Ken the new Barbie movie, there’s one studly dis-era male doll whose sexual inty has never been Ryan Goslg brought the famed male Ken doll to life on the silver screen oppose Margot Robbie the new Barbie film which opened today, there was a very gay male doll name Gay Gay Bob doll me out of his closet 1977 much to the displeasure of the right-wg culture warrrs of the time, not jt bee Bob was out and proud but also bee he me wh a penis. The Natural History Mm of Los Angel County tailed the history of Gay Bob and his girthy plastic male dollhood a blog post. And an actual Gay Bob doll is featured the Gay is Good llectn at the Mm of the Cy of New York.

MAN ASKS MATTEL FOR GAY KEN WEDDG SET PUBLISHED DECEMBER 20, 2018 ENTERTAMENT FOX 4 NEWS DALLAS-FORT WORTH SHARE COPY LK EMAIL FACEBOOK TWTER LKEDIN REDD ARTICLE PHOTO URTY MATT JABI NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - WHEN AN ARIZONA MAN ULDN'T FD THE PERFECT THANK YOU GIFT FOR HIS EIGHT-YEAR-OLD NIECE WHO WILL BE A FLOWER GIRL HIS UPG SAME-SEX WEDDG, HE CREATED HIS OWN. MATT JABI TOOK TO INSTAGRAM ON DEC. 8 TO SHARE A PHOTO OF THE GAY KEN TOY WEDDG SET HE FASHNED OUT OF A BARBIE WEDDG SET G TWO KEN DOLLS. BOTH OF THE DOLLS ARE TUXEDOS, ONE A WHE JACKET AND BLACK TIE AND THE OTHER A BLACK JACKET WH PK TIE. "WE THOUGHT WOULD BE SPECIAL TO GIVE HER SOMETHG WH A LTLE MEANG BEHD ," WROTE JABI. SEVERAL DAYS LATER JABI RETURNED TO INSTAGRAM WH AN UPDATE. TOY GIANT MATTEL GOT WD OF THE TOY SET AND REACHED OUT TO JABI.  MATTEL NFIRMED TO THAT THEY HAD SET UP A MEETG. "@MATTEL GOT BACK TO ME AND WE ARE SETTG UP A MEETG TO DISCS MORE. WE ARE MEETG WH THEIR SIGN TEAM CLUDG THE HEAD OF THE @BARBIE SIGN TEAM!! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT. I PROMISE TO KEEP YOU POSTED EVERY STEP OF THE WAY."   LAST YEAR, MATTEL ANNOUNCED THAT BARBIE'S BOYIEND WOULD GET A MAKEOVER WH 15 NEW KEN DOLLS OF DIFFERENT SK TON AND HAIR STYL.   TRENDG NOW ARRT MA OAK CLIFF APARTMENT SHOOTOUT WH BURGLARY SPECT POSG AS MATENANCE MAN 'TIPPG ANGEL' LEAV WARS LARGE TIPS AT ROWLETT RTRANTS MICHAEL IRV MAK TV RETURN ON FS1'S UNDISPUTED NORTH TEXAS TO SEE A BREAK OM THE TRIPLE-DIG HEAT. HERE'S HOW LONG WILL LAST. 29-YEAR-OLD MOTHER SHOT AND KILLED DALLAS, SPECT CHARGED DAILY NEWSLETTER

Available through mail-orr talogs and at select stor San Francis and New York Cy, the 13-ch-long (or tall pendg upon how you measure the sorts of thgs) doll was the brachild of Harvey Rosenberg, a straight advertisg executive who vted $10, 000 his own money to kickstart the Bob wore a plaid flannel shirt, cuffed blue jeans, wboy boots, wh a gold cha around his neck and a leather man purse on one the packagg and the advertisg of the Gay Bob doll were risqué and tongue--cheek.

The box looked like an actual closet so Gay Bob me out of the closet every time he me out to play. Another 10, 000 were produced, but Rosenberg was never able to produce the promised le of Bob’s male iends or any of the clothg ems that appeared the clothg talog that was clud Gay Bob’s closet while Ken’s sexual inty may or may not be doubt, there’s never been a qutn about Gay Bob’s queer pri. And let’s jt say where Barbie’s Ken doll is lackg, Gay Bob is packg.

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.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY KEN DOLL WEDDING SET

The te story of Mattel accintally releasg a super gay Ken doll .

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