Gay ken doll

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Mattel has been manufacturing its Barbie dolls since Shortly thereafter, it began producing dolls of Barbie's boyfriend, Ken. Girls really liked Barbie, and the doll became a certifiable cultural force, but Ken dolls never sold as well. In an effort to increase sales of Ken dolls in the early '90s, Mattel's research department worked with a group of 5-year-old girls to find out what might make them more likely to nag their parents to buy one. This workshop of young girls, inspired by images and music videos they'd seen on the then-culture-defining MTV music video network, wanted Ken to have a cool, new look, as author Matt Haig detailed in his book "Brand Failures: The Truth About the Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time.

Gay ken doll

But her boyfriend is a bit bland, a true dork best known for wearing satin tuxedos. The doll was called Earring Magic Ken , which is the absolute best name for an accidentally gay doll. Earring Magic Ken rocks a mesh lavender shirt and matching pleather vest. His hair is perfectly quaffed and expertly highlighted with chunky streaks of blonde. True to his name, his ear is pierced on the left side, which was sometimes considered to be a covert way of indicating queerness. It holds charms he can share with Barbie. It only mattered that Ken was wearing a super sexual necklace, a mesh lavender shirt and had his left ear pierced. While clueless moms picked up Earring Magic Ken for their kids, queer men flocked to toy stores, scooping up the doll accidentally modeled in their image. Mattel even went so far as to recall the doll from shelves. He was that gay. In total, Earring Magic Ken was only available for six months in — but it still reportedly remains the best-selling Ken doll of all time.

Mattel quickly pulled the dolls from the shelves and apologized for the error. Norfolk, Va. Clearly, it was not their gay ken doll to associate a child's doll with an adult sex accessory.

Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. Earring Magic Ken in particular has been the stuff of urban legend for decades, thanks to his totally-not-a-cock-ring necklace. It was the year , and this new Ken tried to make things feel modern. He wore a lavender mesh shirt, a purple pleather vest, baggy jeans, and black loafers. He accessorized, too, with jewelry including a single earring on his left ear and a necklace with a circular pendant. The pendant was meant as an anchor for charms that doubled as wearable clip-on earrings. But without the charms, it just looked like … well, a pleasure ring commonly worn by gay men.

But her boyfriend is a bit bland, a true dork best known for wearing satin tuxedos. The doll was called Earring Magic Ken , which is the absolute best name for an accidentally gay doll. Earring Magic Ken rocks a mesh lavender shirt and matching pleather vest. His hair is perfectly quaffed and expertly highlighted with chunky streaks of blonde. It holds charms he can share with Barbie. It only mattered that Ken was wearing a super sexual necklace, a mesh lavender shirt and had his left ear pierced. While clueless moms picked up Earring Magic Ken for their kids, queer men flocked to toy stores, scooping up the doll accidentally modeled in their image.

Gay ken doll

The Ken doll from Mattel mostly as a reputation of being the kind of hyper-masculine equivalent to Barbie. He is supposed to be Barbie's boyfriend, and that is largely how he is used to play when children get their hands on him. So, what is Ken were gay? This is not a hypothetical or a simple thought experiment, it is something that actually happened when a particular Ken doll was released in

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Earring Magic Ken in particular has been the stuff of urban legend for decades, thanks to his totally-not-a-cock-ring necklace. Download as PDF Printable version. Celebs gallery. Retrieved May 29, They are more accepted in day-to-day life. We reached out to Mattel for comment multiple times — to find out just how well the doll sold and whether it remains the No. All Rights reserved. ISBN X. The fashionable ear : a history of ear-piercing trends for men and women 1st ed. Why the Barbie movie omits his most famous accessory is a mystery, though. Skip to content Across the Yahoo Network. For several years, Barbie replaced Ken with an Australian surfer named Blaine. New York: Vantage Press. It only mattered that Ken was wearing a super sexual necklace, a mesh lavender shirt and had his left ear pierced.

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Earring Magic Ken appears in the movie with another iconic gay Ken, Sugar Daddy Ken created in , his name supposedly refers to Sugar, the name of the toy dog that comes with it in a scene where we meet some discontinued Barbies and Kens. Crafting diversity and inclusivity in beauty with Fashion Foundry 16h. Trending stories. Wall Street Journal. Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the products and deals we love. Cite This! The doll is notable for inspiring a toy craze among gay men including some claims that it was the highest selling Ken doll of all time and for the controversy that ensued upon its debut. And a leather vest. Jane Sarasohn-Kahn ed. Television gallery. Film Movies Entertainment.