That one ken doll gay

We reached out to Mattel for comment multiple times — to find out just how well the doll sold and whether it remains the No. Though the Earring Magic Ken incident showed that LGBTQ culture at the time had infiltrated the mainstream or, arguably, been co-opted by itKen might've simply remained the butt of late-night jokes until Savage — who's since gone on to serve as one of the country's most prominent sex and relationship advice columnists — published his explanation of the gay-culture subtext communicated by wearing the sex toy.

That's because a panel of 5-year-olds generally isn't sophisticated enough to parse the subversion of gender norms, to understand the flouting of traditional masculinity, to ken the coded language of underground fashion — or to predict the cluelessness of toy designers.

Earring Magic Ken, also known as " Gay Ken " and " Fey Ken ", [1] is a model of the Ken doll introduced by Mattel in as a companion to its Earring Magic Barbie figure, one of five dolls in the Earring Magic Barbie line.

Ken also had a flashy, circular chrome ring dangling around his neck. 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.

At this time, we should point readers who'd rather avoid more graphic discussion of human sexuality in another direction. [2][3] 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.

But there’s one key reason why Ken is always lagging significantly behind Barbie and it's a lot deeper than the doll’s seeming lack of popularity: Ken has been miscast. The rings were used as necklaces, bracelets, zipper-pulls, and worn just about anywhere else they could be attached.

The kitsch factor drove Earring Magic Ken to become the best-selling Ken doll at the time. And an earring and tight pants. 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. As Savage outlined back in the s, the chrome metal ring used as a sex toy was also worn as a fashion accessory among certain subsets of the queer community.

Ken, just like the other dolls in the Earring Magic collection, even came with a human-sized clip-on earring for the kids to wear. And a leather vest. You also could learn whether a giant squid could actually defeat a submarine. Mattel quickly pulled the dolls from the shelves and apologized for the error.

But Mattel's choice for Ken's necklace would cause a row that the company would soon regret.

When Mattel Said No

Perhaps you'd like to read about solar eclipses, or how 3-D printing works? Savage originally wrote about Earring Magic Ken in the summer ofwhen much of the pop culture world was having a good laugh at Mattel's lack of understanding that while little kids saw what Prince, the members of Right Said Fred or Madonna's backup dancers were wearing simply as "cool," the adult world was clued in to how gay it was.

The doll flew off the shelves, especially since gay men, including Savage, rushed out to buy a Ken doll. 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 History This Discontinued

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. Oh, and maybe a flashy necklace, too. 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.

But if you're sticking around beyond this paragraph, things get a little more adult. And in a form of code, specific placements on clothing could imply certain sexual preferences among the gay crowd; you can read Savage's more detailed account of the nuances in the Chicago Reader's archives.